The new Sony DSC-F55 Digital Camera RULES!!!
Acutally I don’t know if it rules are not but it looks pretty cool.
I used to own a DSC-F1 and I also owned a DSC-F55. I’m currently using a DSC-F505 (with the big lens) but I miss having something small.
I’m really disappointed there is no English coverage. Neither dpreview.com, steves-digicams nor dcresource.com even lists the camera on their list of cameras sony makes and yet the camera is shipping at least in Japan.
It’s currently sony’s biggest push and they have what appears to be a brillant campaign. It’s called +ME (plus me) as in I get to be in the picture since I can flip the lens over and point it at me and my friends together. Something you can’t do with most cameras and one of the things I loved about my previous cameras in that line. It seems like it would be a great sell. The commercials all show people taking picutres many people want, ourselves with our friends and loved ones.
It’s also significantly smaller than the DSC-F55 and lighter. The DSC-F55 barely fit in my pocket. It was quite a squeeze. The DSC-F77 would have no problem.
On top of which it’s got 3x optical zoom so maybe I could give up having a nicer larger camera. It’s 4mega pixels.
Unfortunately there are no reviews for me to see some screenshots. Well, maybe I could go check some Japanese digicam sites…..
Anybody have one and want to comment?
hey i have a nikon coolpix 995 which is 3.3.4 Mpixels and it also has the lens that turns around. it has 4 x optical and i dont know how i would live without it. ill probably keep it for this year until the prices on the 5+ M pixels come down.
by the way your pictures of food and japanese life are amazing…. keep doing what your doing. that new website tokyopia looks fun too.
happy holidays
I just bought a DSC-F77 much to my bemused fujifilm-friend’s dismay. But there’s no comparison at the price; Y58,300 including an extra 128MB memory stick. There’s no optical zoom but with 4MP and a smart zoom function you dont really need it. The rotating lens is a lot of fun and practical. Battery life is good, picture quality excellent (thanx Carl Zeiss), LCD a good size and improbably intuitive to use (if your gen X).
It has lots of ‘advanced features’ : AF lock, multi AF, focus preset, spot light metering, exposure time, flash levels, special effects (B/W,sepia,negative, popart)…. everything you’ll never use.
picking nits: I dont like the docking station much, its too flimsy and requires two hands to pull the camera out. Im not sure how long this rotating lens mechanism will last… I wonder if I have to oil it at some point…
I found a Sony DSC F77 at Camweis.com and bought it.
Nice to deal with and I received it fast. The camera is a gem.
I bought it 3 months ago, I have been enjoying its cute:little,
rotating lens, easy for use…
When I first saw this unique and new product line from sony, It put me into interest. But I still want to know about the advantages and the drawback. Then I finaly bought it…coz’ I’m curious and I like the new style, new idea (not sticking with the ‘long shape sony’ model).
The reason I bought: Rotating Lens, Compact and Sleek Size, 4MP!!!
I remember that so far there are only 4 camera which has a rotating lens: Canon G2/G3, Nikon (blue one) and Nikon (half rotating).
Maybe there are more…but this F77 is the first product line that Sony has.(I suppose).
Rotating lens you can easily take pictures from more interesting angle and self photo with friend.
Compact Size…carry it most of the time.
4MP: with a reasonable price.
I discover the night shot is better than my Canon G2. Less blurr picture.
MPEG quality is good. Multi burst and clip motion are some advantages, if you like to try new things.
Battery relatively OK…just buy a spare one…you will need it…coz once you have this camera, you will shoot a lot! It’s fun…
Many people look at me when I use this camera…they said it’s cool! Maybe because they never see this model (shape) from SONY!
Flash light fairly smal but: no prob.
Optical Zoom…OK, well, I don’t really need zoom. Coz I want to get as much viewing area rather than a particular area.
Sound recording: Clear.
Handling: Light but pretty hard to find a spot to lay your finger on, unless you get used to it. But if you want to show the after shot picture to your friend whose not used to handle this camera…figer prints all over the display. Befare of droping it, friends!
The auto power on/off from the rotating lense is good…so you won’t miss a moment. Some camera with zoom, they need to adjust their lense in a certain lenght of time (losing the moment)
SONY official carying case: nice on your belt and jeans. (plus they also have a small pocket for the extra battery).
Some foreign magazine did a comparizon and the result from this camera is not really sharp. But as far as I use it…I’m satisfied!
Damn right about someone who worried about the rotating lense…whether we need to oil it at some point or not…
Why I did a long review? Coz WHEN I NEED THE ENGLISH REVIEW LAST MONTH…NONE!!! ALL EUROPEAN, JAPANESE AND CHINESE REVIEW!!!
SO I HOPE THIS WORKS FOR ALL OF YOU WHO NEED THIS KIND OF INFO.
HAVE FUN WITH THE NEW CAMERA…Whether you will buy the F77 or not…but I know most of you will buy at least a camera!
Cheers!
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The comments of KLV is helpful. Thanks. I agree that there is no detailed review of this camera on the web, which is disappointing, but I can’t wait for it. I’ve just brought one in HK (Japanese/Eng version) for US$360. A very competitive price indeed. I’ve tested it and found that the quality of both the camera and the products (pictures) are exellent. The lens can capture good quality picture at different angles but the optical zoom function has to be sacrificed, which I think is the worst point. Anyway, I would recommend you to buy it because I’ve compared the photo quality of Pentax Optio and Casio Exlim at the shop. The price are similar but the qualities have no comparison at all.
does anyone have the copy of the manual in English? Please post URL
Does the DSC-F77 work with Mac OS X v10.2? If so, does it work with iPhoto or just some proprietary software?
I don’t know if it works if you plug the camera directly into the Mac (although I suspect it would) but even if it doesn’t you can always get a USB card reader for your Mac and pop the memorysticks in there. I know that will work.
Hi, this is a question for greggman?(site owner) and any other that own this camera. I am looking around for a digi-cam recently and am interested in the DSC-F77 but like the others cannot find as much info as I’d like on it.
After reading the previous posts I am pretty much sold on it except for one point, the software compatibility issue. What kind of uploading, editing, and printing software does the camera come with? And I am running the US Eng. WinXP so if the software is Japanese will there be a problem? I am half Japanese so the language part of it is no prob but was just wondering if it would install and run right if I were to install it on a Eng. XP machine?
Also, someone mentioned that they bought the Eng./Jpn version of the camera. I assume that version will have English based soft that will install ok with Eng. Windows? Is that only sold in HK/Taiwan/S’pore or other asian countries outside Japan? If so, do they sell that model in Narita? Because my g/f is going to be in Japan in a couple weeks and am wondering will she be able to find that version in Japan or not.
If (Mr.?) greggman here or anyone else can help me with these issues I would greatly appreciate it.
Well, first off, as far as I know you don’t need any special software. If you just plug it into XP it should work. Second, if there was a problem you could just get a memorystick reader. In fact, my personal opinion is it’s MUCH better to use a memorystick reader than to plug in your camera. It’s less work, it’s often faster, it doesn’t use your camera’s batteries.
Also, if it does come with software and you want to run it in Japanese just turn on Japanese support in XP and it will run. See this page for instructions.
Finally, the DSC-F77 has english menus.
Thanks Greggman, the information on the camera was very helpful. I was planning on getting a stick reader eventually anyway.
As for the OT question, I would’ve posted it somewhere more relevant but thought better than to take up multiple posts on your site.
question moved to forum
how can i get the english menus to appear on the camera? i only see japanese ones right now.
Well, assuming the menus are the same as my camera go to “設定”, there should be a menu entry that says “言語/LANGUAGE”. Pick that and it should have an options of “日本語” and “English”
i got it right after i posted it but forgot to update. thanks a lot anyway!
i started using my camera and i’m really happy with the results. if you want some sample pictures, they’re at my livejournal account. the aquarium ones may not be as good because they were all taken with a layer of glass inbetween me and the fishies, etc..but everything else is great.
i love the functions (and was blown away after reading how much the little camera could do!) and the features. it’s really convenient..no complaints, except for the zoom. it’s nothing close to my canon s40’s 11X zoom. =) but this will do considering everything else. it’s fabulous and i really recommend it.
I have a DSC-F1 and my girlfriend has a DSC-F55, both similar in form factor to the DSC-F77: rectangular body with a horizontally swiveling head. I found these cameras allow you to take snapshots without those around you (acutely, if at all) aware that they’re being captured. 2nd best feature: the DSC-F1 allowed for manual exposure settings that performed pretty well for poorly light environments. This in combination with the swivel head makes the camera a great companion on a night out.
Now, my DSC-F1 is showing it’s age: low resolution, poor non-expandable memory capacity, slow (serial) connection. I’m now looking at this DSC-F77. 4MP, MS, UBS (maybe Bluetooth’ll work with my Mac, too?), much smaller and lighter than either of those previous models. Everything’s great except that I just went to the store in Hamburg, Germany and they have only their display model; the thing is end-of-lifed. In the U.S., it never really hit the streets and I think Sony never put it out on the market, though there are at least some U.S.-based online retailers. And according to dpreview.com, this camera was introduced in Europe on Sep 2, 2002 (http://www.dpreview.com/news/0209/02090502sonydscf77.asp).
Mostly rhetorical: Dare I buy? Will Sony keep this category of camera alive? Has Sony decided to replace these cameras with the new lower-priced DSC-U50s? Though, from the looks of sony.jp, it looks like these cameras are still popular in Japan (http://www.sony.jp/products/di-world/cyber-shot/).
Guess I’ll check prices on eBay.
I have several friends here in Japan that have an F77 and they love them. I’d say if you like it get one. So what if Sony stops making them?
I’m worried about support. Will they and others (like Apple) update drivers and applications to work with the camera? Will I be able to buy additional batteries, optics (such as the .7 wide-angle clip-on) and other accessories for this camera years after buying the camera? If it’s a popular model, then at least third parties will produce compatible accessories and people will write compatible drivers. That’s my consider with going with a one-off camera.
Though in Japan, I would guess the situation is different. This model is pretty popular there, true?
Sony Japan is releasing a new model DSC-F77A on 19th of Sept, 2003. Models include Silver, Light Blue and Red. http://www.sony.jp/products/Consumer/DSC/DSC-F77A/index.html
Do not know what is the difference with the old model. As I do not read Japanese. Maybe is just the new colour. I personally own the black DSC-F77. Just like greggman said, it is purely a “snap shots” camera that you can carry with you all day long.
All Sony Digicam use the same USB driver(I think). WinXP has it built-in. I just came back from a trip to China with load of pictures taken with the camera. I must say the Carl Zeiss lens produced much better picture than I expected from such a small lens. Outdoor pictures are vibrant. The flash reach of the camera is very limited. So I use my Nikon SB-26 as a remote slave flash, it turned out great. It is a handy tool to record my tour. Paid USD 355.00 for the camera, worth every cents of it. Only complaint is Sony accessories are way too expensive. Like battery and memory stick. Rated 5 stars for a “snap shots” camera.
First, sony will support it as far as fixing it as long as the warranty lasts and longer if you pay them which is all you’d get anyway although of course if you are in the US you will not be supported since it’s not sold there.
As for as drivers, you don’t need any drivers to use digital cameras. Get a memorystick reader. They are like $30 and available from various vendors. You can get them for PC or Mac (and probably Linux too) so you don’t need drivers and they are easier and more convienient than pluging in your camera. For $40 you can get one that supports all the current memory formats (memorystick, compactflash, smartflash, MMC, SD, etc.)
The battery is a standard sony battery used in many other sony products so you don’t need to worry about those disappearing.
As for clip-on lenses, if you want those you shouldn’t be buying an F77. This is not the kind of camera you use to take fancy pictures, it’s the kind of camera you use to take *snap shots*. As such there will never be a ton of accessories for this camera.
Just my opinion
Thanks to all for the feedback.
greggman: You’ve discovered a weak point in my preference for the F77. I’m secretly wanting at DSC-V1, a 5MP “prosumer” camera–one that’s not a snapshot camera. The problem would then be two-fold: 1) I want something that I know I’d take with me everywhere, is unobtrusive and that downloads photos quickly, 2) I have a 35mm camera that performs great when I want a long-lasting high quality photo. That wide-angle objective would be a toy to play around with, even if it’s something pros would laugh at. My girlfriend has a PC-Card MemoryStick reader and it plugging it in automatically opens up iPhoto on my machine. Works great! Though, I imagined that directly connecting the camera via USB to my computer would give me richer features. Good to know the battery’s standard.
b00h00: I hope that the DSC-F77A revision will be released in the US or Germany. Though, I’m skeptical. USD 355 is a great price. I guess I’ll wait and look for the F77A to arrive.
Thanks again to everyone.
Can anyone help me with info re memory sticks. A friend in Japan just picked up an F77 for me, but said I’ll still need to buy an additional memory stick. This is my first digital camera and I have a newborn baby at home, so I’m going to be taking lots of pictures. Do I need to buy a Sony brand memory stick? Who has the best prices, etc. Thanks so much, Judith
judith: The F77 comes with a 16MB of memory stick. At the highest end, you can shoot 8 shots of fine @2272×1704 resolution picture. At the other end, you can shoot 194 shots of normal @640×480 resolution pictures.
If you are shooting pictures of your baby at home, the included memory is enough. As your can transfer them to your PC as soon as the stick is full. If not, then you’ll need a bigger stick. It all depends on the size of images that you’ll be taking. http://www.sony.jp/products/Consumer/DSC/DSC-F77/spec.html
At the moment Apacer and Lexar is making memory stick other than Sony. The most common size is 128MB. The F77 supports the new Memory Stick Pro(white colour) too…256MB, 512MB and a wopping 1GB capacity. I myself uses a (128MB x 2) Memory Stick Select made by Sony. It is a 256MB memory stick with side A & B switch.
No idea on who has the best price…do a search on the net. A good bet will be a 128MB stick(around 50.00 USD). Good luck!
Hi all, I purchased a DSC-F77A in Japan. Not surprisingly the instruction manual was in Japanese. Now, after some searching, I’ve found a link to download the instruciton manual from the European support website of sony;
http://80.88.32.114/manuals/manuals.asp?l=en&m=DSC-F77
I’d rate the camera 8 out of 10. It loses 2 marks for being a complete point and shoot camera.
THanks luv, you just saved me about an hour of looking.
I also owe a huge debt of gratitude for a link for the English manual, but found that the link as given does not work. If it doesn’t work, go directly to the numeric part of the link below and follow the website support choices until you find the right camera and manual in pdf format!
http://80.88.32.114
i also have the f-77. it is one of my best compact digital camera buys. i agree with most of the comments that the smart zoom function is not the greatest, and hardly use it. the picture quality is brilliant at close range. but i still use my f-505v for taking pictures farther than 3 meters, due to a larger aperature (lens).
the most enduring tests i have done withthis camera was at an import car show, which hosts many models. i had shot over 700 picture in two days. all pictures were taken with flash. i brought an extra battery also, but found that the camera did not drain the batteries completely. i just changed them when i felt there was lag time between picture taking. but you must remember that i was taking pictures continuously.
the rotating lens are excellent. as i was able to take pictures above crowds and in other areas where i could not see the subject completely. i must commend sony for this feature.
although the f-77 has a 4.0 megapixel resolution, i found that shooting at 3.0 was sufficient, especially, since most 15″ computer flat screens are only 1024 x 640 capable. it was more than i needed.
thanks to carl zeiss, the picture quality was superb. and even turned out better than a friends nikon coolpix.
cheers to sony for this camera. i will give a review later on the new U-50 rotating lens camera soon, although it is at only 2.0 mp.
i can’t get any software or drivers for this camera. Can anyone help!!
I’ve always found a good place to try looking is Google.
I searched for “dsc-f1 drivers” and at least today the 5th link lead to drivers.
I own a secondhand DCS-F55 but I don’t have the software for it, please can anyobe help me or direct me to where I can get one? I can’t do anything with my pictures
Just get a memory stick card reader. It’s will be more useful, more conveient, faster and won’t require any special software.
The one I have is the Kingston FCR-HS26/1 but there are 20 or 30 different ones out there. Only about $25.