—DSC-F55—

Description: The best features of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F55 are its compact size (for a 2.1-megapixel camera) and its versatility: The unit can record audio and MPEG-1 video. Sony targets prosumers and avid amateur users with the Cyber-shot -- which uses a Carl Zeiss lens -- but the lack of an optical viewfinder and zoom, and the use of Sony’s proprietary Memory Stick removable storage media, are drawbacks for demanding users. Image quality, however -- a digital camera’s core value -- was judged very high for printed output and above average for Web publishing by our juries.

The Cyber-shot’s 2-inch LCD has adjustable brightness levels and proved a pleasure to use in room light and daylight, but the missing optical viewfinder was irksome. Sony’s intelligent lithium-ion battery technology displays remaining power in minutes, a more helpful method than the obscure fuel-gauge icons used by many other cameras. With the flash turned off, the battery life is rated for an hour of continuous shooting. On our tests, the Cyber-shot managed 126 full-resolution shots using the flash in automatic mode on a single charge.
-by Bruce Brown (PC Magazine)