Sony Cybershot DSCW55 7.2MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Black)

One year ago I took a photo class. The teacher of the class took a few minutes to discuss what kind of camera you can take with you when you do not want to lug all of your full size SLR camera gear. The camera he used was this same Sony DSCW55 digi camera. The teacher mentioned that the most important part of any camera is the Lens.....not the mega pixel rating. As you are probably aware this particular camera uses a lens made by Carl Zeiss. Zeiss lenses are known worldwide for being one of the best lenses money can buy. I bought this camera the following weekend.

One year later I am still very pleased with the camera. I have taken approx 3000 pics with it and it still works like new. It actually still looks pretty good as well. Probably due to the fact that most of the housing of the camera is made of metal not plastic.

One very nice surprise with this camera is the video function. While its nowhere near HD quality it is still very good quality considering the size of the camera. Even when viewed on my 50" plasma TV. In case you are wondering,unlike most cameras that limit the length of your videos to a pre-determined max time, you can record video for any length of time as long as you have available memory on the card. You may also mix video with photos on the same card as well.

As far as picture quality goes, I feel it takes pictures Equal to or greater than cameras of a much higher pixel rating...in fact it almost takes as good of a photo as my $1200.00 canon DSLR set up.

If you are looking for a small camera that takes great photos, has a great video feature, a good battery life, and is very durable. Stop looking because you just found it.

I actually have a different model, the 6.0 MP version purchased 2 1/2 years ago. But it looks exactly the same, so the mechanicals are probably the same. It was a great little camera while it lasted. Great pictures and great battery life. And as far I'm concerned, 6 MP is all I (and probably most people) really need.

After exactly 12 mos the rotary function switch started to act up, switching between adjacent modes unless I kept pressure on it with my finger. It got worse with time. Then I had the apparently common "stuck lens problem"; the fix is to bang it on the table, which worked. Then, last week, the shutter button broke off while it was in my wifes purse.

So I'm in the market for a new camera; it won't be another Sony.

The DSC-W55 was my first Digital Camera and wow, what an impressive first camera to own.

The picture quality is very good, it takes pictures fast, and I put an 8 GB card into it and I can take almost 2 hours of video. The video feature really does make this a video camera as well, high quality and such.

This is my second camera of this model. I loved the first one I bought last year, but dropped it on the kitchen counter about 12 inches and the lens stopped working. I was quoted $150 to repair it, and instead opted to buy the same model again because it took great photos and thinking the first camera was a lemon. Six months into owning the 2nd camera, the lens quit ejecting. In addition to cheap plastic parts on the sides, this will be my last Sony camera.

I bought this cammera almost a year ago and it has been awesome...one of my favorite things about the camera is the beach setting. Since i live near the beach i spend alot of time there and the pictures really show the rich blue color of the water and there is rarely any blur. The one thing that this camera lacks is capturing in dark situations. When it is dark the pictures often become blurry with wierd streaks of light. Besides that I love this camera...it is tiny so it fits anywhere...it is durable (trust me i have dropped it several times)...and the battery stays charged for long periods of time.