Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H55 review and tutorial

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H55 review

Released in February 2010, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H55 is a bunched cool zoom, or, if you prefer, biking zoom, with a 10x optical range, 14 Megapixel CCD sensor and 3 inch LCD display. It shares the aforementioned anatomy shape, lens and some appearance of the higher-end Cyber-shot DSC-HX5, with the aloft aberration actuality that in abode of the HX5′s 10 Megapixel Exmor-R backlit CMOS sensor, the H55 has a 14 Megapixel CCD sensor.

Though able of bearing bigger images, this agency the H55 lacks the HX5′s super-fast connected cutting adequacy forth with it’s hand-held afterglow and anti motion becloud modes. It additionally lacks the HX5′s congenital GPS and, admitting it can shoot HD video at 720p resolution, doesn’t allotment the college resolution 1080i advantage that’s accessible on the HX5, nor the stereo audio recording, but it does absorb the Sweep panorama affection which produces a still across-the-board angel from a panned video clip. If you’re absorbed in award out added about the H55′s added adult sibling, analysis out our Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5 review.

Travel zooms, so alleged because they backpack a big zoom into a bunched anatomy that’s able for all situations, are acceptable added accepted and all of the aloft manufacturers now activity at atomic one model. We’ve activated the Cyber-shot DSC-H55 up adjoin two added models arise at about the aforementioned time and alms agnate blueprint for almost the aforementioned money – the Nikon COOLPIX S8000 and Panasonic Lumix TZ8 / ZS5.

Measuring 103 x 58 x 28 and weighting 200g with array and card, the Cyber-shot H55 shares the exact aforementioned ambit and weight as its added able affinity the HX5. It’s 17g heavier, one millimetre taller and a brace of millimetres thicker than the Nikon COOLPIX S8000 and abate and lighter than the Panasonic Lumix TZ8 / ZS5 by a agnate amount, but to attending at and authority you you’d be adamantine apprenticed to atom the difference.

The anatomy has a slight annular appendage with a bash that runs the abounding acme of the advanced panel, accouterment a absolute able abutting fit for the additional and third fingers of your appropriate hand. A similar, abate bash on the aback feels like it was custom-built to fit your thumb. The aftereffect of this curvaceous administration is a camera anatomy that feels like it’s ashore to your duke – this is ergonomic architecture at it’s best. Our analysis archetypal was accomplished in black, but the H55 is additionally accessible in silver.

The H55′s top console is home to a small, flush-mounted on/off button, a gun-metal blah bang absolution with zoom collar and, on the cigar-tube-shaped appropriate edge, a 7-position access punch with Movie, Sweep Panorama, Manual, Program auto, Able auto, Accessible and Arena modes.

Round the aback there’s annihilation added than moulded artificial in the top bisected of the rear panel, which is allotment of the acumen the H55 is so able to hold. In the lower bisected is a playback button, accepted 4-way ascendancy pad and agenda and annul buttons.

You won’t acquisition flaps and doors on the abandon of best Sony compacts and the H55 is no exception. Instead, Sony favours a distinct proprietary adapter in the boilerplate of the abject of the camera. The supplied cable that connects to this anchorage has a accepted USB plug, blended video and stereo audio connectors so you can affix to a computer or a accepted analogue TV. The H55 does additionally abutment HDMI achievement to HDTVs, but alone with an alternative adapter dongle.

While this distinct anchorage keeps the curve of the H55 apple-pie and chargeless from doors, if you lose or accident the supplied cable you’ll accept to shop for accession from Sony. We’d adopt to see accepted A/V, USB and HDMI connectors of the array acclimated by Nikon and Panasonic.

The array and agenda compartments are amid abaft a breach on the appropriate ancillary of the camera base. The H55 takes SD and SDHC cards in accession to Sony Memory Stick Duo and Pro Duo cards. The tripod backcountry is amid on the adverse ancillary of the base, which can accomplish it difficult to akin the camera on some tripods, but at atomic it’s beneath the lens.

The Cyber-shot H55 has a congenital in beam with a quoted ambit of 3.8 metres at the 25mm advanced bend focal length. That’s adequately average, but able-bodied abbreviate of the amount claimed by the COOLPIX 8000 and Lumix TZ8, however, as we’ve said afore these abstracts that are based on auto ISO settings don’t beggarly much. In convenance the H55 delivered ablaze alike beam that was the according of the added two models. The beam is apathetic to recharge amid shots, though, and afterwards demography a attempt application the beam we had to watch the orange aflame indicator for a abounding 8 abnormal afore the beam was accessible again. On the additional ancillary if you columnist the bang absolution all the way bottomward while you wait, the attempt gets taken as anon as the beam is ready.

In Auto (flash) access the beam fires whenever the accessible ablaze isn’t able for a acceptable exposure. In modes that abutment it the beam can be affected off or on and there’s a apathetic synchro access for application the beam to backup while authoritative the best of accessible ablaze with a slower bang speed.

The Cyber-shot H55 uses an NP-BG1 Lithium Ion array which on a abounding allegation provides abundant ability for 310 shots application the CIPA (Camera Imaging Products Association) standard. This is a absolutely absorbing achievement from a camera with a 10x zoom and a 3in LCD – apparatus that can cesspool ability absolute quickly. The absolute array ability is adumbrated on the awning by a four-segment icon.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H55 advantage wide

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H55 advantage tele

The Cyber-shot H55 has the aforementioned 10x zoom lens as the HX5 with an absolute ambit of 4.25 to 42.5mm which in 35mm agreement is agnate to 25 to 250mm. Not alone is a 10x zoom in a bunched of these accommodation appealing aberrant but, in our view, Sony has amid the best accessible ambit of focal lengths. At 25mm you’re aloof central cool advanced bend breadth which agency you can get a abundant bend on all kinds of capacity from baby interiors to all-embracing landscapes. Compositionally you’ll acquisition some abundant angles to shoot with a lens that goes this advanced and it will additionally advice you get anybody in the anatomy for bound accumulation shots. A two additional columnist on the zoom collar and you’re at the 250mm end of the ambit breadth you can shoot abutting up portraits, wildlife, tightly-framed sports action, annihilation that’s out of ability and would on a bunched with bottom ability be bush detail in the centre of the frame.

It’s accurate that the H55 is 50mm abbreviate of the COOLPIX S8000′s 300mm best telephoto and there are bunched cool zooms out there that will go alike further, but for all but the smallest, best abroad subjects, the H55 will get you abutting enough.

When the on/off button is apprenticed the H55 admiral up, the lens extends by 18mm and the camera is accessible for activity in about 2 seconds. The zoom takes aloof beneath a brace of abnormal to biking through the abounding ambit at the fastest of its two acceleration settings, it would be quicker but there’s a hardly arresting apportioned adjournment amid acute the zoom collar and the motor whirring into action.

The zoom is quiet (enough to abstain any motor babble actuality recording aback it’s activated during video recording) and its access is analytic smooth. By nudging the zoom collar we were able to get it to jump through added than 20 detached steps, but the activity isn’t absolute positive. If you accord the collar the briefest of flicks annihilation happens and the addiction afresh is to over-compensate and go too far, so accomplished ascendancy is, at best, a adroitness to be acquired.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H55 Stabilisation: default

The Cyber-shot H55 has Optical SteadyShot angel stabilisation which attempts to eradicate becloud acquired by camera agitate at slower bang speeds application a arrangement that accouterment the lens elements to atone for camera motion. While beforehand Cyber-shots accustomed you to accept whether to actuate SteadyShot, on added contempo models this hasn’t been an advantage and it appears to be alive all the time. There are SteadyShot options for movies, about which added in a while.

As SteadyShot is consistently active, our accepted afore and afterwards comparisons are not possible. So what we accept actuality is a distinct 100 percent crop taken from the centre of an angel attempt with the Cyber-shot H55 with the lens continued to its best 250mm focal length. The camera was set to Program access and with the acuteness set manually to 80 ISO the metering set an acknowledgment of 1/25th of a second.

Under accustomed circumstances, i.e. afterwards stabilization, you wouldn’t apprehend to get aciculate after-effects at this focal breadth with bang speeds slower than 1/250th of a second, so the H55 let us duke authority shots over three stops slower than acceptable acumen suggests.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H55 has three capital absorption options for general-use: Multi-AF which automatically picks from nine areas, Centre AF which alone considers the boilerplate area, and Atom AF which concentrates on an alike abate breadth in the centre of the frame. Note neither Centre AF nor Atom AF modes can be adapted to accede added areas of the frame. In use the absorption is appealing quick and not generally fabricated us wait.

As a Sony camera, it’s not hasty to acquisition the Cyber-shot HX5 arranged with the company’s best recent face apprehension technology. Forth with Off and Auto options, the H55 allows you to absolutely accept whether to prioritise Adult or Child faces, and amazingly it works too. If face apprehension is enabled, but no faces are detected, the camera reverts to the nine-area Multi-AF mode.

The HX5 additionally appearance Sony’s Smile Bang technology, enabled by blame the rocker ascendancy to the left. This absolutely measures the admeasurement of your subject’s smile, advertence their credible animation on a calibration on the left. It’s decidedly able at accomplishing it too, and fun to watch as the bar rises and avalanche as their announcement changes. Afresh aback the user-selectable activate point is reached, the camera automatically takes a photo. There’s three activate options, with the mildest battlefront the attempt with little added than a affected accession of the lips, while the arch requires full-on acceptable grins.

The rear of the H55 is bedeviled by the 3 inch awning with 230 thousand pixels. The top button on the ascendancy disc is accustomed over to toggling awning affectation modes. Blame it upwards toggles through four affectation modes. In the absence access the awning shows an advice bury that includes the cutting mode, array level, angel size, beam access and cardinal of pictures remaining, in able auto access it additionally displays the arena acceptance icon. With the aboriginal columnist of the bang absolution the alive AF areas arise in blooming and the acknowledgment advice is displayed.

You can access the awning brightness, access the accuracy and affectation a alive histogram, and access the accuracy and about-face off the advice overlay. While it’s acceptable to accept options it’s adamantine to accept why Sony has angry the assorted advice overlays to the added awning accuracy options. There are affluence of situations in which you ability appetite to accept the histogram displayed, or the advice bury angry off afterwards adjusting the awning accuracy and adversity the consistent beneath array activity and it’s arresting not to be able to accept one afterwards the other.

Pressing the Agenda button superimposes a cardinal of settings active angular bottomward the larboard ancillary of the screen; this alternative of settings varies with the cutting mode. As anniversary ambience is highlighted, the assorted options accessible pop out to the right. In Program access you’ll be able to change the angel quality, access mode, bracket settings, acknowledgment compensation, sensitivity, white balance, focus area, metering, smile apprehension sensitivity, face apprehension access and DRO (Dynamic Ambit Optimizer).

Like added Sony compacts, the aftermost ambience in the list, adumbrated by an amount of a briefcase, takes you to a alternation of angular called agenda pages. Afresh with the camera set to Program, you’ll see tabs for Cutting Settings, Capital Settings, Memory Agenda Tool, and Clock Settings. The cutting settings accommodate AF illuminator, filigree affectation overlay, agenda zoom, booze abridgement and blink alert.

There’s additionally a Disp. Resolution advantage on the Cutting settings agenda that offers two options – accepted and High. This sets the awning resolution in abduction modes, Aerial actuality the best 230k pixels and Accepted accouterment a bargain resolution view. We acclaim you set this to high, afterwards all, why absolute your affectation to a lower resolution than it’s maximum? One reason, of course, would be to conserve array ability and it makes you admiration which access the H55′s acceptable CIPA appraisement of 310 shots was achieved. It’s not consistently accessible to set the affectation resolution, in Accessible cutting mode, for archetype it’s automatically set to Accepted and in Cine access to High.

During playback, blame the rocker upwards gives you the aforementioned best of bend as recording: accustomed accuracy with basal cutting info, added accuracy with the aforementioned cutting info, added accuracy with added capacity and finally, a apple-pie appearance afresh with added brightness. Acute the agenda button during playback accesses accelerate show, basal retouching, deletion, aegis and press options.

All of the H55′s cutting modes are accessible directly, from the access punch on the top larboard corner. These accommodate Program auto, Able auto, Easy, Manual, Movie, Sweep panorama and a SCN position which accesses 11 presets from a menu. Let’s alpha with Program auto which is a absolutely automated acknowledgment mode. This, in accepted with some added modes uses the currently set metering access – Multi, Centre, or Atom – to actuate exposure.

In Able auto access the metering is aggrandized by arena apprehension which attempts to amount out what you’re photographing and acclimatize the acknowledgment accordingly. Depending on the accountable the camera can about-face amid Twilight, Afterglow Portrait, Afterglow application a tripod, Backlight, Backlight Portrait, Landscape, Macro and Portrait.

The H55′s arena apprehension works appealing able-bodied and is quick to analyze capacity and affectation the accordant amount on the screen. It recognised bodies absolute calmly and wasn’t decumbent to misidentification of capacity though, like the COOLPIX S8000, it occassionally articular landscapes with a advantage of sky as backlit. For point-and-shoot operation it’s absolutely account allotment this access over accepted auto operation unless you appetite to bracket, set the ISO acuteness or ascendancy one of the added settings that’s alone accessible in Program mode.

The Chiral access allows you to baddest the bang acceleration and breach of your choice, by aboriginal acute the centre button in the rocker, afresh up and bottomward to change the bang or larboard and appropriate to change the aperture. Like best compacts though, there are some limitations.

While the bang acceleration can be adapted amid 30 and 1/1600th of a second, there are alone two breach options, f3.5 and f8 at the advanced bend lens ambience and f5.5 and f13 and the telephoto lens setting. Furthermore, it appears that the H55 uses a aloof body clarify in abode of a concrete iris diaphragm to acclimatize the aperture. This has implications for abyss of acreage and angel affection which are discussed, forth with archetype images, in our HX5 review.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H55: Sweep Panorama sample

Finally, we accept the Sweep panorama mode. Across-the-board modes on compacts are annihilation new, but the acceptable access has been to advice you to shoot several overlapping images that are afresh stitched. It’s a complicated action abounding with problems and the after-effects are generally beneath than perfect. The H55 takes a altered route, cutting a abbreviate video blow as you pan the camera from which it afresh produces a still across-the-board attempt in one of two accessible sizes, standard, 4912 x 1080 pixels and wide, 7152 x 1080 pixels. It’s abundantly accessible to use and the results, one of which you can see aloft and in the gallery, are appealing spectacular.

The H55 can shoot movies in one of two formats, 720p HD and accepted resolution VGA at 640 x 480 pixels. The HD access itself has two settings, Accomplished and Standard, finer alteration the recording bitrate and appropriately the cine quality. Accomplished access annal at an boilerplate capricious bit amount of 9Mbps and Accepted at 6Mbps. Video files are encoded application an MPEG-4 codec with AAC address audio and adored as .mp4 files. Registered associates of Vimeo can download the blow apparent actuality for appraisal on their own computers.

The H55 lacks the 1080i HD access of the HX5 and can alone almanac address audio. Accession aloft aberration is that the HX5′s committed Cine recording button has abolished from the aback panel, but afresh it alone takes a additional to flick the access punch to the Cine position so it’s no abundant loss.

One of the abundant things about the H55 is that its able zoom can be acclimated during video recording. It’s belted to the slower acceleration ambience which not alone provides a adroit apathetic zoom altogether ill-fitted to movies, but keeps the babble akin low abundant to abstain actuality best up by the mic, alike admitting it’s positioned anon aloft the lens.

As we said earlier, there are two SteadyShot settings aback cutting movies – Accepted and Active, the closing alms a added able balance that in promotional videos Sony shows operating in a ‘steady cam’ fashion, cutting out bumps and jerks acquired by the columnist afterward a accountable on foot.

While it lacks the absolute fast connected cutting and stacking options of the HX5, the H55 does accept a Access access that annal up to 100 images in succession. The aboriginal four frames are attempt at a amount of 1.84fps, afresh things apathetic to approved amount of about 0.5 frames per second, in added words one anatomy every two seconds. Things don’t get any quicker alike if the angel admeasurement is reduced, so if you’re attractive for fast connected cutting you’ll accept to attending elsewhere. Admitting defective the affectionate of achievement the HX5 offers, both the Nikon COOLPIX S8000 and Panasonic LUMIX TZ8 accept more good connected cutting capabilities than the H55.

The H55 has a Cool HAD CCD sensor which annal images with a best resolution of 14 Megapixels barometer 4320 x 3240 pixels with an aspect arrangement of 4:3. A array of abate sizes are accessible including a circumscribed wide-screen 16:9 arrangement barometer 4320 x 2432 . All still angel files are JPEG aeroembolism application a distinct ambience that produces boilerplate book sizes of about 5 to 5.5MB.

The acuteness ranges from 80 ISO to 3200 ISO at abounding resolution and the H55′s bang acceleration ambit runs from 30 abnormal to 1/1600 in chiral access with a lower absolute of 1 additional in Auto access and 2 abnormal in Able auto mode.

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