Sony Cyber-shot W series · launched February 2007 · a retrospective
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W55: Zeiss glass for $200
In the spring of 2007 Sony put a Carl Zeiss-branded zoom, a battery rated for 380 shots and 56 MB of built-in memory into a pocket camera that cost about a hundred dollars less than Canon's new SD1000.
Meet the camera
The photograph shows a camera that wants to be handled: brushed silver with SONY engraved at the top left, a flash window along the upper edge, and a lens ringed with the words Carl Zeiss and Vario-Tessar and the number 7.2 mega pixels. Photo Review found a plastic body clad in brushed aluminium, weighing 147 grams with the battery and strap.3 Imaging Resource thought it compact and well built, neither too bulky nor too small.1
It reached US stores in mid-February 2007 at a list price of $200,1 and it came in four colours: black, silver, blue and pink.13 CNET called it a sub-$200 camera and noted it cost $20 more than the W35 for a larger screen and a nicer finish.2 Will Greenwald at CNET found a blocky, half-plastic body built more for ease of use than for fashion, with a brushed-aluminium faceplate as its one pretty touch.2
The spring it came out
In 2007 about 131 million digital cameras shipped worldwide, up 24 percent. Canon led, Sony was second with about 16 percent of the market, roughly 20.1 million cameras, and Samsung was fourth with 10 percent.5 The iPhone, with its 2 megapixel camera, went on sale in the US in June.8 And on February 21, within days of the W55 reaching shops, Canon announced a rival: the PowerShot SD1000, also 7 megapixels, at $299.6 We cover that camera in our SD1000 retrospective. Put the two side by side and you can see what Sony was selling.
| Sony DSC-W55 | Canon SD1000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2001 | $2996 |
| Battery | 380 shots (CIPA)3 | About 210 shots7 |
| Screen | 2.5", 115,000 pixels1 | 2.5", 230,000 pixels7 |
| Top ISO | 10001 | 16007 |
| Weight | 147 g with battery3 | 125 g, camera body only7 |
| Cards | Memory Stick Duo, plus 56 MB built in41 | SD and SDHC7 |
The Canon had the sharper screen, the higher top sensitivity and the lighter body. The Sony had the price and the battery. For a buyer who wanted a camera that lasted a whole holiday, and who did not mind a softer screen, it was a persuasive trade.
Why this one was interesting
The W55's headline was value, and CNET said so bluntly: it found nothing notable or unique among the features, but its quick performance and solid pictures made it a fine budget choice.2 Compared with its predecessor, the W50, Photo Review noted that resolution had risen to 7.1 megapixels, the built-in memory had grown from 32 MB to 56 MB, and the camera now came in four colours.3 Imaging Resource added that high-ISO pictures were much improved over the W50's, especially in prints.1
It was not a camera with a new engine. Neither main review of the day dwells on the processor, and DPReview's specification page lists no image stabiliser.4 The W55 made its case with the glass on the front, the battery inside and a price that undercut the competition. The lens carried Carl Zeiss branding with the Vario-Tessar name, a 3x zoom equivalent to 38 to 114 mm at f/2.8 to f/5.2.134 A Zeiss badge on a $200 camera was the pitch, and it was a good one.
Close-ups, colour and a battery that kept going
Both reviewers found things to love. Photo Review called the close-up performance outstanding: the lens focused down to about 2 centimetres, close enough to fill the frame with a single bloom.3 Imaging Resource liked the bright, vibrant daylight colour and the realistic look of the results, though it noted that the corners went soft at macro distance.1
Then there was the battery. Photo Review quoted the CIPA rating as 380 shots, and the reviewer still had plenty of charge after more than 100 test pictures.3 Imaging Resource rated the battery life very good.1 Canon's SD1000 was rated for about 210.7 A spare NP-BG1 on Amazon ↗ is the first thing to buy today.
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The little wins
Around those headlines, the W55 was full of small things that explain why it was easy to like.
Fifty-six megabytes of its own
The camera kept 56 MB of built-in memory, up from 32 MB on the W50, and took Sony's own Memory Stick Duo cards.31 No card came in the box,1 but the built-in memory meant you could still take pictures straight away.
Quick to wake, quick to shoot
Three labs, three numbers. Rob Murray at Imaging Resource clocked about 1.7 seconds from switch-on and a shutter lag of 0.32 to 0.55 seconds.1 CNET measured 1.3 seconds to first shot and 1.4 seconds between shots, rising to 1.7 with the flash.2 Photo Review found it ready in about two seconds, with 0.35 seconds of lag and under 0.1 seconds when pre-focused.3
A small system, not just a camera
Sony sold an underwater case, telephoto and conversion lenses, filters, a slave flash and a ring light for it.1
Five distance presets
For subjects the autofocus missed, the camera offered five manual focus-distance presets.1
The black DSC-W55, a product image. · Childzy at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Pink and blue had names
Photo Review listed the colours as Caribbean blue, blush pink, black and silver.3 The black one is shown here.
Sixteen frames in one
A multi-burst mode combined 16 frames into a single 1-megapixel picture,3 and Imaging Resource noted a fast reduced-resolution multi-burst mode too.1
Movies that needed a bigger card
VGA video at up to 30 frames per second with sound.41 Photo Review could not test it, because movie recording needed a Memory Stick PRO Duo card that was not in the box.3 Imaging Resource called the movie mode strong.1
Twilight modes and a bright assist lamp
The scene modes included Twilight, Twilight Portrait and High Sensitivity, and Imaging Resource liked the bright autofocus assist light.1
How it drew the picture
Daylight was the W55's friend. Imaging Resource found bright, vibrant colour, good overall sharpness and results that looked realistic.1 Photo Review called the colours punchy, with elevated contrast and saturation, and noted that highlights and shadows clipped in harsh sun.3 Distortion and colour fringing were low.3
Light bulbs were its enemy. All three reviewers found incandescent light a problem. Imaging Resource saw a yellow or red cast and no custom white balance to fix it, and CNET found the automatic setting harsh and yellow, advising owners to switch to the tungsten preset indoors.132 Noise is where the reviewers parted company. Imaging Resource found it improved over the W50 but still high at the top settings, with noise reduction that softened fine detail.1 CNET was kinder: it saw no significant noise at ISO 100, tiny speckles on a monitor at ISO 200 and 400 but not in prints, noise visible in prints at ISO 800, and, surprisingly, usable if grainy prints with vivid colour even at ISO 1000.2 Flash worked well above ISO 100, though red-eye was almost unavoidable in portraits.3
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Photos taken with this camera, from Wikimedia Commons, credited under each picture.
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Indoor pictures taken with the same model, where the flash fired.
What the reviewers said in 2007
| Outlet | Date | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| CNET | 27 Mar 2007 | 7.4 out of 10. Solid image quality and performance, and a brushed-aluminium faceplate that was a pretty touch on a budget camera. Marked down for a plastic body and a review button that was not easy to press. A worthwhile pick under $200, though not the fanciest camera.2 |
| Imaging Resource | 11 Apr 2007 | A pleasant, well-built and capable compact, and a very near miss for a Dave's Pick award. It lost that on its incandescent-light performance. Liked: the quick shutter, the colour, the battery and the movie mode. Disliked: noise at high ISO, the missing custom white balance and an inaccurate viewfinder.1 |
| Photo Review | Undated | 8 out of 10 (build 8, ease of use 8.5, image quality 7.5), at an Australian price of AU$449. A capable slimline camera, best for snapshot-sized prints. Marked down for soft edges, a low-resolution screen, a flimsy battery door, red-eye and weak white balance.3 |
The timeline
- 17 January 2007DPReview publishes an article on the W55.4
- Mid-February 2007The W55 reaches US stores at $200.1
- 21 February 2007Canon announces the SD1000 at $299.6
- 27 March 2007CNET publishes its review.2
- April 2007Imaging Resource publishes its review.1
- 29 June 2007The iPhone goes on sale in the US.8
In the end it was the camera the middle of the market bought: not the thinnest, not the fanciest, and priced so that nobody felt foolish. It is the kind of camera that ends up in a drawer and, years later, in a stranger's photos.
Should you buy one now?
It is a CCD camera, and it takes Memory Stick Duo cards, not SD, so budget for a card or lean on the built-in 56 MB.41 The NP-BG1 battery is the part most likely to be tired after all these years. Expect a colour cast under household bulbs, so use the tungsten setting indoors,2 and noise at the higher sensitivities,12 and treat it as a daylight camera with a surprisingly good close-up lens.
If you are wondering why cameras like this are being hunted down again, we tell that story once, in Pictures that never left the card.
Recent sold prices on eBay ↗Shop on eBay ↗NP-BG1 battery ↗
New to the jargon (CCD, ISO, xD cards, IXUS vs ELPH)? Read our plain-English digicam glossary.
Sources
- Imaging Resource, Sony DSC-W55 review by Rob Murray (dated 11 Apr 2007)
- CNET, “Sony Cyber-Shot W55” by Will Greenwald (27 Mar 2007)
- Photo Review (Australia), Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W55 review
- DPReview, Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W55 (specifications)
- Reviewed.com, “2007 worldwide digital camera market share review” (IDC figures)
- Reviewed.com, “Canon launches Pure Color LCD on SD1000 and SD750” (21 Feb 2007)
- Canon Camera Museum: PowerShot SD1000 (battery rating by CIPA)
- Wikipedia, iPhone (1st generation) (announcement and on-sale dates)
Camera photos by Pierre Bauduin (CC BY-SA 3.0) and Childzy (CC BY-SA 3.0); other photographs are credited under each one, all via Wikimedia Commons. Links to eBay and Amazon are affiliate links.