—DSC-F55E—

Description: If you want a bog-standard digital camera, don’t bother looking at Sony’s DSC-F55E. Arguably the most versatile model we looked at, this compact box of tricks not only shoots still images, with voice annotations if need be, but captures brief snatches of moving video with sound. Its lens system, complete with a 2.1 million-pixel CCD sensor, can be rotated through 180°. Although the lens is, admittedly, small, and there’s no optical zoom facility, a 2.5x digital zoom facility is provided.

Using the DSC-F55E is simplicity itself, shutter speed, exposure settings and focus all being configured automatically. You can take manual control of some options, including the intensity of the built-in flash. A colour LCD panel offers you a view through the lens, letting you make configuration changes -- including adding video effects to your images.