Sony MVC-CD400Sony expands its CD-equipped camera line, adding a four megapixel CCD, a huge buffer memory, Hologram Autofocus, and a standard hot shoe!<<Image Storage & Interface :(Previous) | (Next): Test Results & Conclusion>> Page 11:Video, Power, SoftwareReview First Posted: 2/20/2002 |
Video
Out
Both United States and Japanese models of the CD400 come equipped with an NTSC
video cable for connection to a television set. (I assume that European models
come with a PAL cable, since there is a PAL setting on the camera.) Once connected
to the TV, you can review images and movies or record them to video tape.
Power
The CD400 is powered by an NP-FM50 InfoLITHIUM battery pack (M series) and comes
with an AC adapter which doubles as an in-camera battery charger. The InfoLITHIUM
battery packs exchange information with the camera, reporting approximately
how many minutes of battery life are left. This information is displayed on
the LCD monitor with a small battery graphic. The AC adapter plugs into a small
socket on the camera's hand grip (just beside the neck strap eyelet). It can
run the camera without a battery inserted, or charge the battery when the camera
isn't in use.
The Li-Ion battery packs used in Sony cameras prevented me from making my usual
power measurements, but the good news is that the InfoLITHIUM system reports
projected camera runtime while the battery is being used in the camera. The
following runtimes were reported by the CD400 with a freshly charged battery,
in Capture and Playback modes. (Note that the runtime with the LCD backlight
turned off will doubtless be longer than what is indicated on the LCD monitor,
but since the time-remaining readout is only shown on the LCD screen, that information
is unavailable.) While these are some of the best runtime numbers I've seen
among digicams I've tested, I still always recommend users purchase and pack
along a second battery. (Another advantage of the Li-Ion technology used in
the InfoLITHIUM batteries is that they don't "self-discharge" like
conventional NiMH rechargeable cells do, and so can hold their charge for months
on the shelf or in your camera bag.)
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| Capture Mode, w/LCD |
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| Image Playback |
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Included Software
The Sony Mavica-CD400 comes with a software CD loaded with a package called
Pixela ImageMixer, and PTP manager (Picture Transfer Protocol, a protocol used
by Windows XP). I didn't examine Pixela ImageMixer, but was disappointed to
see that it is a Windows-only application. While you don't need any application
software to use the CD400's images on a Mac, it would be nice to see somewhat
equal support for the Mac platform. (NOTE: In order to read the CD400's discs
on the Mac, you do need a special software
"init" in your system folder, available from Roxio (formerly Adaptec
Corporation). Click here
to get the "UDF" init.)
In the Box
Included in the box are the following items:
- Sony MVC-CD400 digital camera
- Neck strap
- Lens cap (w/strap)
- NP-FM50 rechargeable InfoLITHIUM battery pack
- AC adapter / battery charger
- NTSC video cable (PAL for European models)
- USB cable for connection to PC and Mac computers
- Software CD containing ImageMixer and PTP manager software.
- One CD-RW disc, five CD-R discs, for a total of nearly 1 gigabyte(!) of image storage.
- Instruction manual
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