Get a FREE fully-working copy of Steganos Security Suite 7 (worth £49.99) when you sign up to the Practical PC Newsletter. Review: Sony MVC-FD75
Sometimes ease of use is all you want from a digital camera. Kai Chandler looks at the Sony MVC-FD75 Digital Camera.
| Product | MVC-FD75 Digital Camera |
|---|---|
| Company | Sony |
| Web | www.sonystyle.com/ |
| Price | Around £350 inc. VAT |
| We like | Very easy to use and transfer images to the PC via 3.5" floppy disk |
| We don't like | Limited resolution, Bulky |
| Rating | 9/10 |
| Requirements |
It's fashionable to buy the latest megapixel camera and if you need high resolution to print high quality photographs then 2, 4 or even more MB images are required. Of course, large images need large memories on the camera and this bumps up the cost and time to transfer the images to your computer for editing and viewing. You also need a PC with a USB port to get manageable upload times.
Floppy disk heaven
For many users, however, ease of use is more important than image quality and this is where the Sony MVC-FD75 scores points. It stores the images on a standard 3.5" floppy disk which can easily be transferred to your computer so the images are immediately available. My ten year old mastered the camera in a few minutes and had great fun producing pictures and viewing them on the PC.
The 640x480 resolution is fine for fun pictures, email and the web but they won't bear close examination. On the other hand, you can store nearly 40 compressed JPG images on a single floppy disk. A 1/4" precision CCD image sensor with 350K pixels does the business.
Once stored on disk, the images can be viewed on the 2.5" 84K pixels LCD colour monitor and deleted if not required. The camera can also format the floppy disk to free the space completely.
Autofocus, automacro, flash and self timer add to the camera's ease of use. There are also six autoexposure modes, for example soft portrait, landscape, beach and ski.
10X optical zoom lens
The camera sports a 10X optical zoom facility, not to be confused with the software zooms of certain inferior cameras. This helps you to frame the shot as you'd wish and to bring distant objects closer.
Fun modes include sepia, black and white, solarisation and negative art but most graphics programs for the PC include these effects. An email mode produces quarter-size (320x240) images as well as the standard size images but again, this reduction could be produced on the PC, should it be necessary.
The Sony MVC-FD75 comes complete with InfoLithium© battery, battery charger, lens cap and shoulder strap but you'll need to invest in a carry case to protect your investment. The camera measures a slightly bulky 140x100x63mm and weighs in at 600g. The supplied rechargeable battery should be good for around 1000 record or playback events.
The package includes MGI PhotoSuite v8.1 for Windows and Mac and MGI VideoWave IIISE for Windows for basic image editing and viewing.
To sum up, the MVC-FD75 Digital Camera is a great fun camera that easily produces pictures suitable for the PC, email and web. The floppy disk format makes the pictures very accessible and easy to transfer to the PC. The camera doesn't have the resolution required for anything other than the smallest of prints and it's a bit bulky, presumably to accommodate the 3.5" floppy disk.
