The Sony Alpha NEX-5T ($549.99 direct, body only) is, on a basic level, the same camera as last year's NEX-5R. Sony has added NFC support (Wi-Fi was already there in the 5R) and reduced the price of the body by $100. Everything else that was good about the 5R remains—including its excellent 16-megapixel APS-C image sensor, compact body, hybrid autofocus system, and sharp, hinged 3-inch touch-screen. It doesn't quite oust our Editors' Choice mirrorless camera, the Samsung NX300, from its perch, but it's still a very versatile high-quality shooter.

Design and Features
If you've handled the NEX-5R, the 5T will feel familiar. It retains the same 2.4-by-4.4-by-1.5-inch (HWD), 9.7-ounce chassis. It's not quite as compact as the entry-level NEX-3N (2.3 by 4.4 by 1.4 inches, 9.5 ounces), but it's better built. Most of the body is metal, although the handgrip has a textured polycarbonate finish. In addition to the body-only option, it's available in a kit with a zoom lens (24-75mm equivalent). The kit also offers a $100 cost savings compared with the 5R kit with the same lens.

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The 3-inch touch-screen LCD packs a 921k-dot resolution. It's not quite the standout as it was when it was a class-leading design, but it's still an extremely sharp design. Most mirrorless cameras in this price class feature displays of similar resolution; the notable exception is the Olympus PEN Lite E-PL5 with its 460k-dot LCD. The display is quite responsive to touch—you can swipe to scroll through photos, touch an area of your frame to focus and fire the camera, and use your finger to navigate through menus. It's hinged, and can face all the way forward for self-portraits, a trick that it manages without giving up the ability to tilt it to face down so you can shoot with the camera raised above your head.

There's no hot shoe like on the NEX-6, but there is an accessory port. The 5R is the lone body to retain this interface, which is a carryover from Sony's first attempts at marketing a mirrorless camera. The 5R doesn't have a built-in flash, but there's a small add-on flash that connects to this accessory port. It can also accommodate the FDAEV1S Electronic Viewfinder, a tilting OLED EVF that is impressively sharp. If you're considering purchasing the add-on EVF, you may want to set your sights on the NEX-6; it's a little bulkier, but incorporates the EVF into its design, and uses the same image sensor as the 5T.

The control layout is identical to the 5R. The shutter release and power switch are combined, and you'll also find the programmable Fn button, movie record button, play button, and a control wheel on the top plate. The controls on the rear are all located behind the handgrip, to the right of the tilting LCD. They include two programmable function buttons, and a control dial with four directional buttons; these adjust ISO the drive mode, exposure compensation, and the information displayed on the LCD or in the EVF when shooting.

There's no physical mode dial; as with previous bodies in the NEX-5 series you're relegated to using an on-screen dial, activated by the button in the center of the rear control wheel. The menu system is also carried over, which for many, is a love it or hate it proposition. The main menu screen shows you a series of icons: Shoot Mode (the on-screen mode dial), Camera, Image Size, Brightness/Color, Playback, Application, and Setup. These each break down into a more detailed menu, and if you don't know them backwards and forwards you may struggle a bit to find the setting you're looking for. But once the camera is configured to your liking, you won't have to delve into these settings too often.

The new NFC feature allows you to pair automatically with a compatible phone, but if your phone doesn't have NFC, a password-protected connection is still possible. You'll be able to do the basics like transfer images to your iOS or Android smartphone out of the box; just download the free PlayMemories Mobile app to your phone or tablet.  But you can also download apps that run on your camera, expanding its capabilities. Free apps include the Smart Remote Control, which allows you to take control of the 5T using your phone or tablet, Direct Upload to send photos directly to PlayMemories Online, Facebook, and Flickr, Photo Retouch to perform basic image editing functions, and Picture Effect+ to add Instagram-like filters.

Then there are the paid apps. It's a shame that you Sony has opted to charge for expanding the functionality of a camera that commands a significant asking price. Prices range from $5 to $10, and if you were to buy the whole lot of available add-ons you'd be in for about $50. There are some that should arguably have been included with the camera to begin with—including Multi-Frame Noise Reduction ($4.99) and Lens Compensation ($9.99). The former improves image quality in dim light, while the latter removes the distortion, darkened corners, and chromatic aberration that some lenses exhibit.

Then there are the more special-use applications. Not everyone is in love with time lapse photography or automatic exposure bracketing, but you can add them to your NEX for $9.99 and $4.99 respectively. Cinematic Photo ($4.99) combines video with a still image, not unlike the Motion Snapshot function of the Nikon 1 J3 and other Nikon mirrorless cameras. Portrait Lighting ($4.99) brings up the exposure of faces and darkens the surrounding areas, a look that many prefer for portraiture, and Motion Shot ($4.99) takes a series of shots of action and shows your subject as they move through the frame in a single still image. The  oddest of the bunch is Light Shaft ($4.99); it adds a beam or point of light to your photos. That's a technique that can be striking if done well, but the example shots that Sony uses to show it off are anything but. If I sound a bit critical of the app store mentality it's because I am. The prices are high when compared with camera apps for iOS and Android, and I'd be much happier with the system if Sony offered these enhancements at no extra cost.