Any Thoughts on This Digital Camera-Sony Mavica?

[biglou]

Just thought I'd ask in here. We have a 3 year old sony Mavica at work that records straight to a floppy and it has been flawless despite my repeated attempts at MX movie making with it. Here is a link to a similar version: Click! This is Best Buy, but Wal-Mart has the exact camera at the same price. Any thoughts on this camera? I think it would be fine, judging from my experience with the work unit. Sorry, but I don't know any specs on the work one. This one does accept the memory stick as well as the floppy. If you all get a minute or two to check it out, let me know about the resolution, zoom range, and just what you think in general, etc. Thanks! :)

 

[Okiewan]

1.2 megapixels is kinda low by today's standards, but unless you plan to actually print pictures, that doesn't matter that much.

Looks like a nice camera to me, price is right. I'd wait for Rich to respond, he's also a dig cam Einstein.

 

[BRush]

We also have a Sony Mavica at work. May not be the highest of high-tech, but it's a nice unit and does what you want it to do without a lot of fuss.

 

[biglou]

I don't foresee ever printing anything and expecting photo quality. Most of what I snap is for Emailing, saving on hard-drive, posting here on DRN, etc.
I also forgot to mention that I get 10% off that price at Best Buy this Fri-Sat-Sun. Well, actually, 10% off just about anything. But $360 for a proven platform with mpeg capability (I have some experience with the MPEG side of the work camera-See sig line) sounds pretty good to me.
I noticed that it says "No" under Audio. I will double check but I think there is a mic for MPEG mode.

Rich, any thoughts?

 

[JuliusPleaser]

I like my Mavica. I bought an FD-95 last year, and it works well for a digispode like me. I got mine at Jerkit City for $599. It was on sale from $699, so I thought it was a good deal. It has waaay more capability than I'll ever be able to utilize.

Get the Memory Stik. You'll run out of floppies in a hurry if you take many hi-res pics.

 

[dave186]

We have a bunch of the mavicas at school. Im not a big fan of the floppy thing, but it works. The main thing about the floppies is its slow to read and write and it only holds 1.44mb, if the cam will take memory sticks, use that. The price is a bit high too, all of the sony cams are spendy. I have a $150 HP camera that is 1.2 megapixel. The only thing its lacking is the optical zoom and MPEG capability.

 

[Okiewan]

Disregard :(
I can't find it.

 

[Rich Rohrich]

I've always really liked the older Mavic floppy cameras but I haven't had the chance to goof around with any of the newer versions. Here's a link to Steve's Digicam review site. A great resource when it's time to buy a camera.
I didn't see a specific revire on the FD100 but he covers some of the other Sonys with similar feature sets so it's worth a look. For $400 bucks it's hard to go wrong unless you are looking for pro quality pictures.

http://www.steves-digicams.com/hardware_reviews.html

 

[HomeMadeSin]

Sorry to butt in, but I gotta! :D

Overall, I have found the Sony units to be poor on photo quality (mainly resolution) and high on price. A couple of years back, my in-laws bought the Mavica w/floppy. The wanted to buy us one and turned it down (chose to take the money and buy a Firewire card for true digital video capture). The reason was simple: I could've bought a Barbie digital camera with the same resolution for nearly 25% of the price!

I realize that the floppy idea was neat, but it is extremely slow (like transfering photos across Serial cord). Besides, the days of floppies has been numbered for some time (die already!)

Resolution is as important as processor speed for a computer. I tend to follow the same logic many apply to CPUs: buy the max speed you can get.

The units I've used and liked include the Kodaks and Nikons. The Kodak takes great pictures and works well. The main drawback I didn't like was the lack of attachments for the lens (like filters -no threads) and limited optical zoom.

I currently use a Nikon Coolpix 990 - sweet camera. Plenty of resolution and has both dummy mode and manual (pro mode). Filters and such can be attached to the lens too. You should be able to get one around $500-600 range and have a camera that will hold its own for years. Also, it comes with a USB cord which is quick. You can plug it into the computer and the camera shows up as a another hard drive. In fact, I have used the camera to transfer all kinds of files between two computers (spreadsheets, documents and photos!). It works like your hard drive in Windows Explorer.

Just my .02. I should shudder every time I see that Sony Mavica w/floppy.

 

[JPIVEY]

I have 5 of them in the field, They are great for emailing photos to Owners and Architects and they are easy for the guys to use. Reproducing a photograph will they ya bummin', But for Email and Internet it a good unit and you'd be happy with it

 

[kciH]

I just got a sony PC-50. I got it for $270 new. It is 2.whatever megapixels. It takes excellent pictures at :) :) this megapixel level and has a 6x zoom. I would stay away from the Mavica's. What are you going to do with 1.44mB of storage? I put a 64MB memory stick in this camera and it will take ALOT of pictures at the highest resolution level which is 1200x1600, you'd get about 2 of those on a floppy on a good day. This is a model that will soon be phased out I think, so you should be able to get a good deal on it. It's compact and light and seems fairly durable. It uses batteries like Don Jaun uses the ladies, so I'd suggest a battery pack and charger (about $100). While I was typing this, I checked out Sony.com and saw that it is no longer there, there's a PC-51 now. It takes very good high res pictures, so it may be worth your while to check it out. Just my $.02

PS I just checked that link. NO WAY for that money, cause it's still going to need a battery and charger and you'll have to devise a way to carry around 88.8 floppy discs in place of a $80-90 128MB memory stick. These things just connect to a USB port on your PC or you can buy a memory stick reader and you can move a lot of info in a short time, which you cannot say about a floppy disc, let alone 88.8 of them. :)

 

[JuliusPleaser]

Sony sells a Memory Stik floppy adapter for all Mavica cameras. My FD-95 came with a battery and a charger, also. I can get 25 640x480 images on one floppy. I can get 3 @ 1600x1200. I haven't purchased the adapter and Memory Stik, cuz I "inherited" a couple hundred floppies.

 

[Jaybird]

LogiTech is releasing a high res./low priced dig. real soon. Something like less than $300. (3.5 mg?)

I think you can find a better deal than the Mavica, Lou.

 

[biglou]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. Rich-Great link. Thank you. I have figured out that this particular camera does not record sound when it does an mpeg clip. The battery and charger, along with USB cable are standard. It is also "dual media capable" in that it has a memory card slot and a 3.5 floppy. Everything I read on Steve's Camera site and in other reviews said that the mavicas are greatly improved and very easy to use. One other thing that I really like about them is the instant shutter response. How many times have we sat at the track trying to get a picture of someone airborne only to see that you took a shot of nothing?

I think I will definitely go with a Mavica, and at 10% off, I can afford to step up to 2meg resolution and sound for my mpeg recordings.

Thanks again, everyone. :)

 

[bsmith]

Sorry I'm late :) Here is what I have

(From Steve's)The CAMEDIA C-700 UltraZoom is the world's smallest 10X optical zoom digital camera. Packed with advanced capabilities and offering outstanding image quality and control, it establishes a new industry benchmark for compactness, style, versatility and ease of use. The C-700 UltraZoom's lens is the equivalent of a 38mm - 380mm lens on a 35mm camera. This optical zoom capability is complemented by a 2.7X seamless digital zoom, which extends the camera's maximum zoom range to 1,026mm

I like the zoom, more then a higher megapixel. The only thing I dislike is the shutter speed, which the Sony sounds like that's not an issue.

 

[biglou]

I think I've made a final decision. The Sony DSC-S75. 3+ Megapixel resolution, 3X optical/6X digital zoom, 1.6" macro capa bility, movies with sound (runtime limited only by mem stick capacity), USB port, great reviews, many manual controls, etc, etc. I can get it locally for $450. Let me go find a link(s)...

 

[biglou]

Here's Steves review:http://www.steves-digicams.com/2001_reviews/s75.html

 

[biglou]

Here's what I get tomorrow: Sony MVC-CD200. List is $599, reduced to $549, minus $55 for 10% coupon, minus $100 mail in rebate = $395 final cost! Can't beat that. This is one that I have experience with, also. It is like our newer work camera. Here are the rough specs and a link to the Best Buy page: (I also picked up Gran Tourismo 3 for the PS2 for $20! Scha-wing!)

Full page: Click!

The rough specs:

2.1-megapixel Super HAD CCD image sensor

Records images to a 3" Mavica CD-R/RW disc (156MB)

3x optical/6x digital zoom

MPEG movie, MPEG HQ, voice memo and text modes

2.5" 123K pixel precision LCD viewfinder

1600 x 1200 maximum picture size

High-speed scan autofocus with AF illuminator light and manual focus modes

3-mode auto pop-up flash with selectable red-eye reduction

 

[Jaybird]

I do know that an associate of mine uses a newer Mavica and we can hold a flashlight on an item in very dimly lit area and the picture is great with no flash.

 

[biglou]

Not one Best Buy in the KC metro area has any of these left. (They check the other stores inventory by computer-the ones that showed some in stock were out-salesman called around) They are still listed as $599 online, and I won't get the 10% off. So it would be $499 after mail-in rebate. The local store offered to "pre-order" one for me, but I'm not too fond of waiting for something that may not ever come in. "Oh, we're sorry, but that item has been discontinued..."

So, I'm just gonna keep borrowing the work unit until I find something else that suits my fancy. Technology will continue to get cheaper, and I've made it this far without one, what's a few more days/weeks/months? :)

 

[bscottr]

Lou,
Do you want audio on your MPEGs? Or are you more interested in stills? I see the MVC-CD200 says no audio. I'm currently looking as well and I'm leaning towards the mini-dvs with still capabilities. Not sure which model yet?

I'm not to keen on a big investment for something I'll use to record a helmet cam, damn crashes :( . But at the same time I want to be able to take stills. Most of the cameras in the $500-800 are 680k res. Anybody have any thoughts on additional capabilities and possible candidate models?

Capabilities I want for sure:
MPEG w/audio
IEEE1394
Still Image
680k + res

Hope you don't mind me tagging on here.

Scott

 

[biglou]

Scott-The MVC-CD200 does have audio with the MPEG. but I think, not sure here, think that you can only shoot for about 15 seconds for movies. Although, it does say that it has MPEG EX mode, which (I think) means that you can shoot to the extent of your media's memory capacity. Here is a link to the review on Steve's Digicam page (This is a great page for research). Click!

BTW-This model is being discontinued, hence the price reduction and rebate. I just ordered one online through Best Buy. My total final cost after rebate and $50 credit from store (it is $50 less in store than online, therefore the store will credit you the diff-just bring in your receipt) will be $485. Not bad considering what I was about to pay and what I would have gotten.

BTW-I don't think this is helmetcam compatible. I have a helmetcam too, and I run mine into my super8 camcorder that I carry in a fanny pack. Now, what I really need is a digital camcorder with auxilary A/V inputs...:)

 

[bscottr]

Originally posted by BigLou
Now, what I really need is a digital camcorder with auxiliary A/V inputs...:)

That's exactly what I want and still capable. So much out there and making a decision isn't easy. I'm one of those types that like to get painfully educated prior to purchase. :think: Thanks for the help!

Scott

 

[biglou]

I know what you mean about educating yourself before a purchase. Back in the day, and even nowadays, I was thought to be an evil genius, what with my two VCR's, my Radio Shack mixer and a CD player strewn about the living room floor along with miles of seemingly indistinguishable cables and cords. "How do you get the bike sound AND the music together?" "How can you run the camcorder through the front of the stereo?" So many questions from friends about stuff that seemed so intrinsically simple to me. As a youngster, I figured out that I didn't need no stinking amp for my $80 Sears electric guitar. All I needed was my cord and my 8-track deck through the stereo. It wasn't great, but it was loud, and loud was good! Give me analog and an octopus of cables and I am there! Something about working on jets and designing industrial control systems that makes me adept at this stuff.

Now, I got some 1200-odd dollar com-pew-tor with video capture and editing studio and this and that and the other thing, blah, blah, blah..."What'd ya say? Oh, I gotta have that option, and that one too!"
Problem is, "compatability". I get more error boxes than I can shake a stick at, and there are so many little quirks that are unexplainable that I just wanna bang my head on the keyboard until I have a severe case of qwertyuio-itis (the keys imprinted on my skull). I've had my setup for almost a year now, and all I ever managed to post was a cuople 15 second videos that were shot with, you guessed it, the work digicam (see sig line). I have a couple of mpegs at home that were captured from my super8/helmetcam, but they wont play anywhere else but in the studio (software) that created them. It says they're .avi or .wmv files, but no joy. Alas, I do have an insider who knows this stuff inside out, is intimately familiar with the system and software I have, and is going to pay me a house call one day and learn me what I'm doin' wrong. Then, hopefully, I will be truly dangerous (and one step closer to world domination. Aha, aha, ahahahahaha! *evil scientist laugh*).

Ain't technology grand?! :confused:

 

[bscottr]

Originally posted by BigLou
Ain't technology grand?! :confused:

Sir, yes, sir! :) :)