Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W55 (silver)
Cameras Buying Guide
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February 19, 2007 06:27
3.5/5
I bought this camera the day it came out with high expectations, but I was a little disappointed with the image quality when the camera is zoomed in. The camera picks up too much 'fuzziness' when it is zoomed in, but when not, the pictures come out very clear.
For the price, the camera is definitely worth it, but if you are looking for crystal clear pictures when zoomed in, you might want to look for a more expensive alternative. Not having an image stabilization is a little tough.
I do however recommend this camera because the size and quick start up allows one to take a picture in an instant...just pull it from your pocket and shoot. -
April 1, 2007 11:37
4.5/5
I bought this camera the month it came out since Spring Break was just around the corner. I'm glad I waited for this camera! It did a magnificent job on the cruise I went to. The multiple photos (especially beach and twilight) worked very very well. While the photo modes don't allow a tremedous amount of user inputs, the options that are there are easy to understand and easy to change. I essentially filled my 1 Gb stick and the image quality is outstanding; as long as you stay in the optical 3x range since you'll always lose image quality when using digital zoom. Camera starts up quick to allow you to start shooting and there is little shutter lag or delay between pictures. My battery stayed charged over the 7 day cruise.
The only gripe I have is the placement of the USB port on the bottom of the camera. You have to lay it down on its face or on the LCD on the back once its plugged it.
The software that comes with it isn't amazing either. Sadly (for those that like it) the date stamp can only be superimposed using the software and only one by one. This can be a real pain when you have 150+ pictures from vactaion. Additionally you can't change the folder the pictures are imported to; although you can just navigate to the Stick using windows.
Additinally online support is minimal but I suspect this is only because the product is so new.
Overall, a great investment! Its quick, compact, easy to use yet verstile camera and you'll get great shots! -
March 31, 2007 02:10
4.0/5
I am very happy with it, starts right up and its ready to go.you can take pics right after each other with out alot of wait,wich I like alot.Very simple to use.the colors come out very bright and true, and focuses well in dark conditions with the assist.I Think its a great little camera for middle of the road use.Very small and compact to take anywhere and the batter life is good.I took it to disney and took about 100 pics one day and still had about 50% charge or so. -
December 29, 2007 09:25
4.5/5
This is a great camera for a mom who likes to carry it with her to snap pics anytime and share them with family and not have to use the camera-phone!!! -
July 28, 2007 05:14
4.5/5
I like this camera very much! Actually I bought it with my friend's recommendation. It took solid and very sharp pix! The flash is bright enough! Even when you try to zoom in the pix in the camera, the edges are still very sharp that no "dots dots dots" appear!
I totally disagree the one up there who said Canon is good. Canon is really bad one, when you print it out, you will know the difference! And the Canon's flash is v bad. When you shoot in backlight, Sony did an excellent job! However you can only see your dark face with the Canon camera.
Sony is a brand that you can always trust on it!
The price is very decent! What can you say for a DC of $200?
SONY DSC-W55 is already the best of the best in this price range!
I want to say one more thing that the movie mode is very user-friendly and the movie quality is pretty high. It's of MPEG format. Very good! Much better quality than AVI.
No doubt that SONY has a very high reputation, so you don't need to consider any other brands based on this price range. It's the best one. -
April 5, 2007 08:51
4.5/5
All in all I think this is a great camera for the money. Spent plenty of time researching cameras. I always tend to lean toward Sony because they always seam to outlast any other brand and are just made well. You can't go wrong with a Carl Zeiss lens either. The brushed aluminum cover is a nice feature for a sub $200 camera. Takes great photos. I am a Chef and needed a camera I could keep in the kitchen to take pictures of dishes that I created. Picked up great detail in the well lit kitchen and dimly lit dining room.
Only problem that I have is that there is no image stabilizer. Sometimes hard to hold such a small camera steady at all times but my fine motor skills are below par. Although you can catch some really cool "trailed light effects"! Also pics taken at full zoom tend to be a little blurry and have a blueish halo.
Great all around camera for those not looking to spend a fortune! -
April 5, 2007 01:02
4.0/5
I've already written a review (See the "pink" version), but I just noticed that the images CNET has posted for this camera are different than the one I have. What's up with that?? The one in the pictures seems to be more plastic (sides) and has a different layout of control/function buttons. The zoom is not a pair of recessed buttons on the back, but in a tab/lever that surrounds the shutter release. And there is no "Home" button on it either. It is much more like the images they have posted for the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W35. -
April 3, 2007 10:56
4.0/5
My friend has this camera and we took it to a WWE Wrestling event and we had 3rd row and his camera was awesome while my Sony Dscp100 camera came out with mostly blurry pictures. His camera handled the action great while I was ready to throw my camera into the ring so they can break it. Since then I have moved onto a digital Slr Nikon D40 camera. This Sony camera was great and small and a good price. -
January 5, 2009 02:01
Spectacular
2.5/5
Loved this camera at first. Six months later, it's a very different story. I started noticing lots of noise ( little dots visible throughout the images) - even when using a flash or taking photos in great lighting. Next, the mode selector messed up, changing modes on me without me touching the dial. I sent it in for service. Now guess what - they messed up an internal setting so my 7 megapixel camera is taking photos at 640 x 480 pixels - an unprintable and tiny size!! It should be taking photos at about 3,000x 2,300 pixels. As far as I can see, there is only one place to change this: Menu - P. Quality - fine or standard. But my camera is set to "fine" and it's still not producing the right size.
So, the service centre says to call Sony (1-877-sony) for technical support and the automated system puts me on hold for over an hour with no response EVER. And the service centre itself is so far away from the city that it's a 40 minute drive for me and I've already had their service centre screw it up once. Now, I've just passed the date of sale and my warranty is up. waiting for Sony to e-mail me about this problem, but not expecting much. This will be the last sony product I EVER buy.
Oh - did I mention that both times I was at the service centre someone else came in with a problem with the exact same model of camera? Do not buy this camera. In 6 months or a year you will regret it!!! -
September 2, 2008 08:15
4.0/5
if you know how to use the camera, its a great little camera. As with any camera you have to experiment and know your settings. if you want a camera that you only use one setting for then NONE of the sony's are for you. To take great pictures takes practice. I have not had the issue with the blurring unless i was in a moving car and even then it was not bad. You do need to learn to not jerk the camera as soon as you take the picture, i did that and yes the blurring is bad. this camera is great, and a great price. My sister has the similar fuju model and they are very comprable in picture quality. but the sony is less expensive! i have tried other cameras, but i will stick with sony. I have a sony DSC-h5 and i thought about upgrading to a SLR, but this camera takes such great shots that i do not know if the SLR could meet the expectations i have from my H5!
