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439 of 445 found the following review helpful:
A very good choice for lots of people - easy to carry, easy to useMar 24, 2007
By Snap, Crackle and Pop
The Sony W55 is the followup to the successful and popular W50. It's a very good compact camera, easy to carry and easy to use, and reasonably priced - so most people will be happy with it.
Not much has changed from the W50, which in this case is a good thing!
One change is that the W55 is a 7 MP camera, rather than the W50's 6MP. Honestly, that's not a big plus, as they haven't made the sensor that catches the light any larger. Same (good) lenses, same size sensor = the same (good) pictures, but not better. (Though it might help a little on features like Smart Zoom.)
The obvious change is of course the colors. Don't make too much fun of that! There are 4 DSC-W series cameras in our family, colors would have kept my mother-in-law from taking my sister's camera home with her. A little personalization is a good thing.
The internal memory has been expanded (to 56MB), but I've never used the internal memory on the cameras that have had it, so I'm not sure that matters much. It might be worth knowing how to use as a backup, for another dozen or two shots if your card is full, or you have some other problem.
The controls, menus and interface on the W55 are reasonably easy to use. For example, the W55 has easy access to the various scene modes (twilight, etc), with some explanation on the screen of what those mysterious little icons mean (so you might actually use them, since it tells you what they do!). If you're new to digital photography, there will be a learning curve. But if you've used other cameras much, especially Sonys, you can pick this up and use many of the features right away.
Read the short introductory guide that comes with the camera, though!
The rechargeable battery should easily last you for a full day of shooting - hundreds of shots - with no problem. (Be a little wise about turning it off when you're not using it!) So you probably don't need a second battery, unless you're going into the woods for a while. It's nice not to have to mess with bulky AA rechargeables. Also, lithium ion batteries don't have a memory effect, so don't worry about partial recharging. Just charge the battery each night. So - before getting a second battery, try it for a while and see if you need it.
But get a case - something to protect the screen, at least. A fully closed one might help resist rain and splashes a little, too.
You'll also want to get a Memory Stick Pro Duo card - Pro cards are faster, and you need the smaller Duo size with this camera. Get a 1-2GB card so you don't have to think about running out of memory too much - if you shop carefully, you can find them for so little these days that it's well worth avoiding running out of memory. You might want a spare card if you plan to travel for more than a week, or use the video mode often - which is surprisingly good (though a bit dark) if set to fine, but uses enormous amounts of storage at that setting.
You can stretch your memory, and your hard drive space, by using one of the lower-resolution settings to take snapshots. You don't really need 7MP for all your photos!
The W55 will take better photos than those credit-card type cameras that have a tiny lens system - optics will always make a difference in a camera. Any reasonable person will be very happy with the pictures from the W55, given the size of it.
The camera will be a little slow and often take disappointing pictures in low light and dark situations. Try the High ISO mode in low light no-flash situations - the picture quality suffers some, but most people will find it useful. Realistically, no ultra-compact camera will work really well in that situation - if you need that often, think about something with a bigger lens and bigger sensor. Good light always gives the best pictures with any camera. There are limits to what you can currently expect from any ultracompact camera.
The W55 offers enough controls (through the scene modes and the Program mode) to allow a fair amount of control over the pictures, for an automatic camera.
The charger is fairly compact and rated 100-240V, so while you'll need a plug adapter overseas you won't need a voltage converter. The battery charger is a little slow, though probably OK.
Keep this camera charged and handy, and you'll find you take a lot of pictures because it's easy to carry and easy to use!
140 of 143 found the following review helpful:
 Perfect for baby/toddler picturesMay 15, 2007
By J & A
This is our third digital camera since we had a baby, but it is the first one that allows us to take nearly perfect pictures of our son (15 months old). The reason is simple: a very small shutter lag. All digital cameras (except the very expensive SRL ones) have a noticeable shutter lag (the time it takes from pressing the button to actually taking a picture). Our previous Minolta and Pentax were wonderful for still/nature pictures, but their 1+ sec shutter lag made it impossible to take pictures of a moving baby or to capture a nice smile. Now, this Sony has a shutter lag that is almost inexistent (without flash), and we can finally capture nice pictures of our son. We don't care about MP, but the 7.2MP is also a plus. The camera is also very fast to turn on, taking about 1+ sec, a very important feature for capturing those special moments. Overall, an excellent camera for our main purpose: to take family pictures.
Pros: very short shutter lag, fast turn on/off, good picture quality, easy to use intuitive interface, easy to carry, very high resolution, good bang for the bucks.
Cons: uses memory sticks (pricier than SD cards), proprietary (and more expensive to replace) cables, very noisy in very low light conditions.
Bottom line: wonderful for family pictures.
160 of 165 found the following review helpful:
Stirred not ShakenMar 31, 2007
By Dennis Doverspike
"hrlitehouse"
I am just an average guy when it comes to using a camera. Probably below average. I started trying to use 100% Sony electronic products because my computer was a Sony and Sony-Sony linkages make for easy use. Given that, here is what I think of the product:
1. It is amazing how much camera you can get for the money. Compared to just 6 months ago, or a year ago, this is a lot of camera for the money. It is very small, fits easily in your pocket, but takes great pictures. Also, it is very easy to use and recharge.
2. A visit to the Sony website, suggests that Sony has new cameras coming out constantly -- new cameras that are very similar. This makes it hard to compare cameras, even within the Sony brand, and makes you feel as if your camera is obsolete the minute you buy it.
3. A problem with this camera, given it is so small -- do not shake. Your pictures will be blurry. I am a typical guy, with very little fine motor control. My hands have trouble holding small objects. Holding this camera in one hand and taking a picture -- well the results are not pleasant.
4. I tend to be disappointed by the telephoto capabilities of these small cameras. I guess if you really want to zoom in, then you have to go to a big camera. But it still seems like the small cameras could offer more.
5. Having said all of that, in the end, this camera is small and easy to carry, light weight, durable, and it is also easy to use. When you look at it, it looks well made. I ended up giving the camera to my in-laws, because they lost theirs. My in-laws tend to be technologically challenged. I said to them, just leave the dial set to the little green camera, and snap away. I have to say - they love this camera.
Overall. For the money, a great purchase, technology is amazing. Just grab it with two hands or develop a steadier aim than I have.
32 of 32 found the following review helpful:
Sony Hits The Sweet SpotJul 02, 2007
By R. Chumsae
"the_chums"
At under $250 for the camera, a 1 GB Meory Stick Duo, a good case, and an LCD protector, this is one fine camera. The base price is less than $200, the 1 GB Memory Stick Duo (stores about 370 hi-def shots) is about $33. There is a 56MB internal memory which would hold about 7 hi-def shots or 17 low-def, emailable images). Duos come in up to 8GB sizes.
The camera is not backward compatable with the Memory Stick or Memory Stick Pro. To get to the small size of this camera, both the battery and the memory card needed to be much smaller than earlier models. So, each Memory Stick Duo (about half the size of the Memory Stick Pro) comes with an adaptor which allows the Duo to be plugged into the Pro slot on your PC or printer.
The function selection wheel has always been a nice Sony design feature and it gets even better with the W55. There are now 10 picture taking modes. As you turn the selector, a short guide pops up on the LCD screen to let you know what this mode does....very, very nice feature since most shots are done in standard mode, and only once in while do you need the other modes, and now you can recall what they do!
The larger LCD is very nice but does seem vulnerable to being damaged. I recommend a good case and a quality screen protector. I bought both from Asian suppliers for less than $30 delivered (my case, alone, retails at $35).
The turn wheel ISO position allows low light/no flash by cranking the ASA to 1000 (very fast). I tested this at a play where I was about 25' out from the stage. Even in low light I was able to get good shots and good color. In the worst conditions the photos did blur, but that's life. I mention this because all my life I see people taking flash photos when the subject is many feet away - this simply does not work because small camera flash is timed with the shutter out to only 10 or 15 feet. With the W55 in ISO mode you at least have a chance of a decent photo under these conditions.
Camera recovery time and turn on time have been tremendously improved over past generation cameras. This camera turns on in about 1 second and recovery after non-flash shots is instant, flash shots recover in about 1 second. This is a big, big, win over many other cameras. This camera also has two burst modes for taking multiple photos of moving action scenes.
In the battle of cost versus quality and features, Sony really hits the sweet spot with the W55. In my view thare are some close competitors but all fall short in some way.
For more serious work, Sony offers a Lens Adaptor ($25) plus 2.7X telephoto lens ($139) plus a wide angle lens ($49) plus an underwater case ($150).
Another fun feature are the two macro modes; one for 7/16" and up, and the other for 11" and up. I haven't used these yet so cannot comment on the quality, but I expect they work fine.
Step up to the nearly identical Sony DSC W80 for about $50 more if you need image stabilization electronics. If you tend to blur your photos, or do more low light shots, then the W80 is worth the extra money.
29 of 30 found the following review helpful:
Great CameraMar 14, 2007
By Rena
I have been to the store to test out a few Sony Digital Cameras. This is the new model that just came out a month ago. I picked one up last night and it is terrific. The images are extremely clear. I was playing around last night, turned off the lights and only using my flash, I took a picture of my kitten and the picture came out as clear as day. The camera also has many settings to meet all your needs, from taking pictures outside, in the snow, or at the beach. I highly reccomend this camera and it is very easy to use.
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