Sony DSC-F55

Say hello to Sony's $699 2.1-megapixel, swiveling lens DSC-F55 CyberShot ^TM digicam.  It features a newly-developed 1/2-inch, 2.11-million pixel CCD that yields 1600 x 1200 images. A 180-degree swiveling, 37mm Carl Zeiss lens with one-inch macro and the latest technology 2-inch, reflective hybrid color LCD monitor.

The F55 is housed in a stylish and highly durable aluminum body and is small enough (4-1/8 x 3-1/8 x 1-15/16" WxHxD) to fit in your pocket. Besides capturing high-quality JPEG still images, the CyberShot also captures 5-, 10- or 15-second MPEG movies in either 320 x 240 or 160 x 122 resolution.

Jump to the DSC-F55 specifications

The F55 was the first of Sony's two megapixel cameras to employ the new 2- inch, 122,000-pixel hybrid color LCD screen. The DSC-F505 also uses this new LCD display.

Unlike other "solar" LCD screens, the Sony hybrid does not use a trap door to direct the light onto the panel. You switch off the backlight and let the high ambient or sunlight directly illuminate the display.

Here's the F55 being used in the direct sunlight with the backlight turned off and showing a perfectly readable LCD screen - it really works!

The LCD backlight consumes quite a bit of power. When it's switched off Sony claims a 20% increase in the battery runtime.

There's nothing on the top of the camera other than the shutter release button and some advertising for that Carl Zeiss lens.

The bottom of the F55 is perfectly flat which makes for excellent stability on a tripod. Speaking of which, that's a metal tripod socket. Other than that all we find down here is the access door for the MemoryStick.

On the left side are the I/O ports, the LCD brightness control and the battery access door.

On the right side is the mode dial to switch the camera between still picture record, playback and movie recording mode. Below the mode dial is the playback speaker.

• IMAGING DEVICE 1/2" CCD, 2,100,000 pixels (gross)
• RECORDING MEDIA Memory Stick
• LENS/OPTICAL ZOOM Carl Zeiss Lens
• DIGITAL ZOOM 2.5x Digital Zoom
• MANUAL EXPOSURE f/-1.5 to f/+1.5
• ISO RATING 100
• WHITE BALANCE Auto/Manual: lndoor/Outdoor/Hold
• SHUTTER SPEED Auto (1/60-1/1000)
• PICTURE EFFECTS 4 Pre-programmed (Black & White, Sepia, Negative Art, Solarization)
• FLASH Built-In, Intelligent (Auto/On/Off)
• SELF-TIMER Built-In, 10 sec. On/Off
• FILTER DIAMETER 37mm
• DELETE/PROTECT Yes, (Select/All)
• TIME STAMP Yes (Date/Time)
• DISK/BATTERY REMAIN INDICATOR Yes
• QUALITY SETTING Standard/Fine
• AUDIOIVIDEO OUT yes (mono)
• Serial Connection RS-232C
• FOCUS High Speed Scan Autofocus with Auto Macro Capability to 1"
• FORMAT JPEG/MPEG/ Audio: MPEG
• IMAGE SIZE 1600 x 1200 UXGA (JPEG)
  1280 x 768 SXGA (JPEG)
  1024 x 768 XGA (JPEG)
  640 x 480 VGA (JPEG)
  320 x 240 (E-Mail-JPEG)
  160 x 112 (MPEG Video Mail Mode)
  320 x 240 (MPEG Presentation Mode)
• LCD 2" Hybrid/Transmissive Reflective LCD
• MICROPHONE Yes, Built-In (Mono)
• SPEAKER Yes, Built-In (Mono) with Volume Control
• BATTERY NP-F10
• POWER CONSUMPTION 3.3W
• SOFTWARE Picture Gear 3.2 Light