Sony CyberShot W55 Review

The W55 is by far the most fashionable piece of equipment to come from the CyberShot family of cameras. Wrapped in precious pink, stunning silver, light blue and basic black, the W55 is a head turner. An everyday user, the Stamina® lithium-ion battery provides ample power for around 400 shots prior a much needed charge.

This ultra-compact digital camera uses a 7.2 megapixels imaging, Carl Zeiss® 3x optical zoom lens for superb picture quality and 2x digital zoom utilizing a 35 mm. zoom lens for added clarity. The lens has a focus range of 19.7 in.(w) with a macro focus range of 0.74 in.(w) and 6.3 - 18.9 mm. focal length for the added zooming strength.

Movie videos can be made thru the video function of the camera as it will be in JPEG format for ease of use by way of a 640 x 480(VGA) resolution.

Both pictures and videos have exposure control thru an aperture range of f7.1/f13 (w/t) -f2.8/f5.2 (w/t) and a shutter speed of 1/8 - 1/2000 sec. to capture in 1.3 frames per second your pictures in great detail.

A high ISO 1000 flash was built into the camera to provide sensitivity for low lighting or night shots of your friends while partying all night. The flash also has a red eye reduction function to red dots from your pictures so as not to ruin the moment.

The W55 also comes with a self timer that has duration of 2 - 10 sec. time difference so as not to let you be left out from the picture. The camera has a built in microphone and speakers to record all the fun you had and to play it all back.

All your pictures can be saved in the internal memory of the camera which has a storage space for up to 56 megabytes via a compression mode of fine and normal through an EXIF 2.2 compression type. Pictures can also be saved through an optional external memory card stick DUO/Pro/DUO Pro upgradeable up to 1GB for that added storage capability.

All these pictures and videos can be viewed through the revolutionary 2.5 in. LCD panel with optical viewfinder that has a screen resolution of 115,000 pixels.

The W55 has OS requirements to transfer data to a PC which are the following: Apple Mac OS 9/ OS X, Microsoft Windows 2000, ME, XP Home Edition, XP Professional. The transfer will be made through an interface type USB 2.0 or a video out interface.

All these features come bundled with software, USB cable, video cable, hand strap, Lithium battery, and battery charger and with a 1 year warranty provided by the authorized merchant. The camera itself is encased in a dimension of 2.25 in. (w), 0.88 in. (d), 3.5 in. (h), and 0.26 lbs.

PROS: The W55 is the camera to use for those who are looking for a fashion statement. This camera exudes cuteness all the way and it does not matter whether you’re a guy or girl, it would match your outfit for the day perfectly. Aside from the usual features found in cameras of its range, this camera is versatile in terms of flexibility for the task at hand.

CONS: The only thing missing from this package is a memory card; sadly this is an optional feature. Nevertheless, the camera lives up to the expectations of the Sony series.

OVERALL: In totality, the W55 is a good camera. It’s subtle yet substantial in features. Simple yet chic. Basic yet sophisticated. It provides a sense of style that you won’t go wrong with this one.

Attached Images

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