Sony DSC-F55 Tests
Evaluating the "Cybershot" Camera
New Features
Thirty-seven pictures taken at the Dean Conklin Plumera Garden at Honolulu Botanical Garden's Koko Crater Garden.
Several native and 23 horticultural varieties of Hibiscus from the City and County of Honolulu's garden behind the Zoo.
Background
I've used quite a few different digital cameras over the past four years.
Starting about two years ago, I got one of the first FD-7 cameras. They gave me great flexibility that I've really enjoyed. The floppy disk storage is great, especially compared to the inconvenience of downloading pictures using a serial cable.
I got used to another facet of digital photography in November, 1998, when I got an Hitachi M2 camera. This one has a 260 mb hard drive. You transfer images from the camera's hard disk simply by slipping it into a PC card slot. The disk hold about 3,000 images. I quickly got used to taking a lot of pictures.
Both these cameras have a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels. They also have a relatively limited dynamic range and tend to loose details in the highlights and shadows.
The Sony DSC-F55 changes all of that. This is one of the first 2 megapixel cameras. I got it in April, 1999.
This site documents some of my early experience with it.
Purpose
The pictures that are shown in these pages are typical of those that I need to take. These range from images of plants to people. I also need pictures of places and I've come to appreciate the value of panoramic composites.
Warning: the image on this site will change as new pictures are taken.
Good News: All the images on the Sony Test pages are free of copyright. You can use them as you like. Acknowledgement is always appreciated.
The Pictures
(click on a title or picture to get to topic)
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A Few Hints
Disclaimer: The information provided here should be verified. These references don't necessarily imply an endorsement.
Camera Reviews
Memory Sticks and Adapters
This camera stores images using a new memory "form factor." The problem is that these little pieces of plastic don't fit in any of the standard computer slots. Don't worry; there are some good solutions.
In spite of my using the Sony PCcard (PCMCIA) adapter with a laptop (it slips into a standard type II slot), I've found that the UBC Antec adapter (which also requires the PCcard adapter) is both fast and convenient. I like it because it lets me hot-swap memory sticks without locking up the computer.
I have several 16 mb memory sticks and have ordered several 32 mb more. I'm used to having a lot of storage and depend on it for panoramic shots.
Panoramic Tripod Heads