Sony's 2007 pocket compact — 7.2MP CCD, Zeiss 3x 38-114mm lens, 2.5in LCD with optical viewfinder.
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W55 was a 2007 entry in Sony's mainstream W-series of pocket compacts, slotting above the basic DSC-W35 mainly by virtue of its larger, sharper screen. The W-series of this era mixed point-and-shoot simplicity with enthusiast touches such as an optical viewfinder, and the W55 sold in large numbers in the UK and Europe.
It used a 7.2-megapixel 1/2.5-inch Super HAD CCD and a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar 3x zoom covering 38-114mm equivalent at f/2.8-5.2, with a 2.5-inch 115k-dot LCD plus a small optical viewfinder. ISO ran from 100 to 1000 with a High Sensitivity scene mode, exposure was fully automatic, and video was 640x480 MPEG1. Storage was Memory Stick Duo/PRO Duo plus a generous 56MB internal memory, with the NP-BG1 battery rated around 380 shots.
This is an easy, genuinely shirt-pocketable snapshot camera with the punchy colour typical of mid-2000s Sony CCDs, which has helped the W-series find a second audience among digicam collectors. There is no image stabilisation and no manual exposure control, so it favours daylight shooting and casual use over low-light work.
Used examples are plentiful and cheap. Check the NP-BG1 battery holds charge — replacements are easy to source — and remember it takes Memory Stick Duo, not SD, so confirm a card is included. Inspect the lens barrel for grit, test the flash recycle, and look for LCD scratches; the internal memory allows a quick test without a card.