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Have had an older one that uses floppies any one with opinions on the
newer ones that stores images on the mini CD's?

JK wrote:

> more flexible). Is there a small separate battery powered device
> that has slots for several different types of flash memory cards, and
> burns a regular sized CDR with the contents of the card? That would
> be extremely useful.

Acer Steno
Nixvue Vista

JK <> wrote in message news:<>...
> The Mavica CD500 has a nice lens and takes nice photos, however
> there are some very annoying things about it other than the camera
> being large.
>
> http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_...cd500_pg5.html
>
> I suggest that you avoid it unless you absolutely must have a CD
> based camera
><snip>



It is interesting about how different people can read the same review
and yet come to differing conclusions.

I believe that Steve's Digicam review was quite complimentary to the
Mavica CD500:
"This optical storage technology is not without its disadvantages
however. At power-up the disc must spin up to speed and be read to
locate where to write the next image file. This took as long as 20
seconds when I had a disc that was almost full. The time it takes to
write an image to disc is considerably longer than flash cards, 10
seconds on a fresh disc. The shot-to-shot time is about average at
about 3 seconds in single mode (all shot in 5M Fine mode - no flash.)
<snip>
The CD500 features a 5-area high-speed scan autofocus and a new laser
"hologram" focusing assist device to insure accurately focused
pictures. <snip>Sony has addressed what so many other manufacturers
are still ignoring, the CD500 focuses accurately in low contrast/low
light conditions. The "Cool Factor" for this feature alone is a
definite ten!
<snip>
The bottom line is image quality and thanks to an excellent lens and
well-refined image processing hardware, the CD500 delivers sharp,
colorful and properly exposed images. The cost per picture is minimal
thanks to the CD disc storage and the battery life is very good so we
rate the CD500 as an excellent 5-megapixel camera value. With the
CD-500's lower initial price ($700 as of April 2003), inexpensive
recording media, huge color LCD and impressive image quality, this
camera is sure to please. If you don't need 5 megapixels of resolution
then look at the 3.2-megapixel Sony CD350 for about $200 less, we
should have a review of it soon."

I have gone through a progression of Sony Mavica cameras: FD-91,
FD-95, CD1000, and now CD500. No significant problems with any of
them. I purchased the MVC-CD500 about four weeks ago, and I've been
pleased enough with it to order an assortment of accessories from
SonyStyle.com.

I miss the huge 10x stabilized zoom lens of the 2.1 megapixels CD1000
camera, but I enjoy capability for long (up to almost 6 minutes, the
full capacity of the 3-inch mini CD) MPEG movies of the 5-megapixels
CD500. The 15-seconds MPEG movies of the CD1000 tended to be too
short to be interesting.

All that being said, I believe that there is much validity to the
concept of including a portable laptop computer with your digital
camera gear when travelling on vacation.

I initially was drawn towards the Mavica cameras because I had no
laptop computer but I easily could carry adequate quantities of the
cheap media. My last couple of summer vacations (each lasting seven
to ten days) resulted with my "acquiring" over a gigabyte (1 GB =
1,000 MB) of photos each time, a quantity that required only 6 - 8
mini CD-R (costing a total of about US$8 for the generic media).
Much less expensive than purchasing a laptop computer!

Alas, all my economical efforts just got shattered: I just placed my
order for a Sony GRT170 laptop computer to take with me on next week's
vacation. I'll now be able to download MagicStick photos and other
flash memory cards from the cameras of people that I meet while
travelling.

On Sat, 09 Aug 2003 14:39:46 GMT, helpneeded
<> wrote:

>Have had an older one that uses floppies any one with opinions on the
>newer ones that stores images on the mini CD's?
Here's a reply that I had to essentially the same question last week.
In the interests of not reinventing the wheel (and of sleeping
tonight), I've just lightly edited it and offer it up again for your
perusal.

Excellent pictures. Write times are a bit longish (6-12 seconds for a
5MP pic on the CD500), but the write buffer holds about 9 pictures
before delaying your shooting. I take a *lot* of pictures (it isn't
unheard of for me to take 300+ pictures in an hour or two if I'm
somewhere especially interesting), and I don't think I've ever hit the
buffer limit.

The big plus, at least for me, is that I can run off for the weekend
(or a week, or whatever) with a shirt pocket full of CDs and not worry
about bringing along a laptop or running out of storage space. On a
recent trip to Indianapolis, I was able to shoot and shoot and shoot.
Around a gig of pictures later, I was awfully glad that I wasn't
dealing with flash cards. You can save the CDs and output the pictures
to a TV as a slide show, so it's very easy to share pictures with
friends/family who either don't have a computer, or don't have one in
a spot conducive to socializing.

I love my camera. 2 family members have CD Mavicas and love them. My
first CD Mavica was sold to a chum, who loves it. A bit bulkier than
most digicams, but really nice cameras with a lot of features. And, if
you're used to a floppy Mavica, the bulk won't seem bad at all.

As they say on Reading Rainbow, though, you don't have to take my word
for it. Check out the following links:

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/CD500/CD50A.HTM
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_reviews/cd500.html
http://www.epinions.com/pr-Digital_C...g=mavica+cd500

Ultimately, only you can decide if it's the right camera for you, but
I don't know anyone who's got a CD Mavica who doesn't absolutely adore
it.


Cheers,
Viller Ramone