Sony outs NEX-5R with WiFi and PlayMemories

Adding to their Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Compact Camera lineup, Sony showcased their latest creation, the NEX-5R, in the recently concluded IFA 2012 in Berlin.

This recently announced camera doesn’t offer much of an improvement from the Sony MILC that was released earlier this year such as the Sony NEX-F3 which we recently did a review of. Both the NEX-5R and NEX-F3 feature the same CMOS sensor and have the same megapixel count at 16.1.

The new camera does offer some advantage over the latter like 10fps continuous drive which was only previously available on the company’s flagship camera NEX-7. It also features a higher ISO range 100-25600 compared to 100-16000 of the NEX-F3 but it doesn’t have built-in flash which is a major letdown.

Design-wise, the NEX-5R features a dedicated Fn button and a top-plate control dial just like in the Sony NEX-7. The screen was also revamped as it now has touchscreen functionality and can be tilted upwards up to 180° just like the one in the NEX-F3 and 50° downwards just like in the NEX-7.

The greatest improvement in the NEX-5R’s is the addition of Wi-Fi functionality, which makes it the first Sony MILC to sport this feature. This wireless connectivity opened a lot of doors for the camera such as using your Sony smartphone as a wireless shutter remote via a downloadable app in Google Play Store, a feature we first saw in Samsung Wi-Fi enabled point-and-shoots.

Another new feature of the NEX-5R is the Sony PlayMemories, a term coined for easier picture management like storing your photos in the cloud, sharing/viewing it on your other device like PlayStation3 and the other things users can do with the Wi-Fi functionality such as direct upload to Facebook.

The NEX-5R is said to be formally launched this October and its price is pegged at $650PHP 38,146INR 55,087EUR 619CNY 4,731 for the camera alone $750PHP 44,014INR 63,562EUR 714CNY 5,459 with the 18-55mm kit lens. The price is a bit steep considering that the only significant improvement that this camera has over its predecessor is the Wi-Fi functionality.