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Back to Full Sony MVC-CD500 Review
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	*	CD-RW provides 156 megabytes of write-once or rewritable storage!
	*	5-megapixel CCD delivers up to 2,592 x 1,944 pixel images
	*	Surprisingly compact for a disc-media camera
	*	Excellent image sharpness, color, and low light shooting capability

Manufacturer Overview
The year 2003 brings important new capabilities to Sony's revolutionary CD-Mavica digital camera line, which first began in late Spring 2000 with the introduction of the Mavica CD1000. Storing their images on CD-R (and now CD-RW) discs, the CD-Mavicas are a logical extension to Sony's original and enormously popular floppy-disk-based Mavica design. With each 80mm CD-R/RW disc storing 156 MB of data for well under a dollar at retail, the CD-Mavicas make nearly perfect traveling companions, since you can fit gigabytes of permanent storage into less space than that occupied by one paperback novel.

The improvements in this year's CD-Mavica lineup are less sweeping than those implemented in 2002, but the CD500 continues the tradition of the CD400 before it, of offering true "enthusiast" features in a CD-based digicam.

With introductory list prices of $499 and $699 for the MVC-CD350 and CD500 respectively, the new models once again reduce the cost of entry for CD-R(W) technology in a digicam, competing with conventional digicams at fairly modest price premiums. Of course, all the whizzy CD technology would be meaningless if the cameras didn't perform up to par with other non-CD models on the market. Fortunately (for Sony and our readers alike), my tests indicate that the new cameras perform very well indeed, on a par with other top models in their respective resolution categories. Given the low cost of the (high capacity) media and their relatively compact sizes, these new cameras could be the ideal "vacation cameras," perfectly suited for extended trips without a computer to offload images. - The long battery life afforded by Sony's InfoLithium battery technology is also most welcome on extended outings. If you're planning a long trip, you'd do well to seriously consider one of these new CD-Mavica cameras!

High Points

• 5-megapixel CCD delivering up to 2,592 x 1,944-pixel resolution images.
• 3x, 7-21mm Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar lens (equivalent to a 34-102mm lens on a 35mm camera).
• "Smart Zoom" digital magnification, up to 3.8x at 3.1M, 6.1x at 1.2M and 12x at VGA resolutions.
• Color LCD monitor with "sunlight assist" backlight feature.
• Auto and manual focus control, with Hologram AF focus assistance.
• Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Manual, and Scene exposure modes.
• Shutter speeds from 1/1,000 to eight seconds.
• Apertures from f/2.0 to f/8.0.
• Movie mode with sound, as well as Clip Motion, and Multi Burst recording modes.
• Burst 3 and Auto-Exposure Bracketing shooting modes, plus 10-second self-timer.
• Spot metering and AE Lock functions.
• Built-in, pop-up flash with four operating modes.
• External flash hot shoe and external flash sync socket.
• Adjustable white balance with six modes, including "One-Push" manual adjustment.
• Automatic ISO or 100, 200, and 400 equivalent settings.
• Picture Effects menu and sharpness adjustment.
• JPEG, GIF, and uncompressed TIFF file formats.
• Images saved to three-inch (80mm) CD-R or CD-RW media (156MB per disc).
• USB cable for high-speed connection to a PC or Mac.
• Software CD containing Pixel ImageMixer, and USB drivers, appear to be Windows only.
• Power from NP-FM50 rechargeable InfoLITHIUM battery pack or included AC adapter.
• DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) compatibility.

Enhancements over last year's CD400:
For readers familiar with last year's MVC-CD400 model, here's a concise list of feature enhancements that have been added to the CD500:

• 5 megapixel CCD (increased from 4 megapixel on the CD400)
• Much (!) faster autofocus and reduced shutter delay
• AF Mode enhancements: Options for Single, Monitor or Continuous autofocus operation.
• New Spot AF mode.
• Center-weighted metering mode
• Contrast and saturation adjustments
• MPEGMovie VX for 640x480 continuous-recording capability
• Support for wide/tele conversion lenses
• Support for new HVL-F32X flash unit (with TTL flash metering)
• Smart Zoom: New "Smart Zoom" digital telephoto implementation avoids image resampling for improved image quality.
• Enhanced user interface
• Support for multiple recording folders, to help manage your photos
• Print Image Matching II support (CD400 was PIM-I compatible)
• Lower price! ($200 lower street price at introduction.)

Executive Overview
Improving on the already excellent line of Mavica digicams, Sony has introduced the CD500, which boasts all of the great features of last year's CD400 model plus a few key extras. The CD500 has a larger, five-megapixel CCD for capturing higher resolution images (a maximum resolution of 2,592 x 1,944 pixels) and continues the CD400's large buffer memory, which reduces the camera's shot-to-shot cycle times in still-picture mode, allows "review before save" operation, and greatly extends the camera's movie recording times. (You can actually record continuously, up to the capacity of the CD-R(W) disc!) Sony has also included its innovative Hologram AF feature, which precisely focuses the camera even in complete darkness (more on that later). The CD500 once again includes an external flash hot shoe for mounting more powerful flash units, but this year's shoe includes additional contacts to support Sony's new (and very versatile) HVL-F32X external flash unit. The user interface has also been updated somewhat, moving more frequently-accessed camera functions from the LCD menu system to external buttons on the case.. What remains the same on the CD500 is the convenience and capacity of the CD-R recording media introduced with the CD1000 and continued in the CD250, CD300 and CD400 models. Similar in size to the CD400, the CD500 is by no means a "pocket" camera, but nonetheless easy enough to tote in a small camera bag. An accompanying neck strap lets you carry the CD500 ready to shoot.

The CD500 doesn't offer an optical viewfinder, only a large, color LCD monitor for image composition. (Sony does offer an optional clip-on eye level finder attachment that shields the LCD from ambient light and lets you view it through an eyepiece.) An information display on the LCD monitor reports the remaining battery power, CD capacity, flash status, and the number of available images, plus various exposure settings, such as aperture, shutter speed, exposure compensation, image size, and quality. A "Solar Assist" feature includes a small translucent window above the LCD that directs additional light behind the panel in bright conditions. This added illumination boosts the effective brightness of the LCD's backlight, making the display much more usable in direct sunlight and other very bright shooting conditions.

The CD500 is equipped with a 3x, 7- 21mm Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar lens (equivalent to a 34-102mm lens on a 35mm camera). Zeiss optics are noted for their quality and sharpness, making the lens a significant feature of the camera. My assessment is that it performs better than the lenses on most digicams I've tested. The aperture can be manually or automatically adjusted from f/2.0-2.5 (depending on the focal length setting of the lens) to f/8.0, and focus is automatically or manually controlled, with a distance readout display on the LCD monitor to assist with manual focus. The CD500 also offers Sony's Smart Zoom at image sizes less than 4.5M (3:2). Smart Zoom provides magnification levels as high as 3.8x for 3.1M, 6.1x for 1.3M and 12x for VGA image sizes by cropping CCD data without resampling, to maintain quality. Macro performance is good, with macro focusing distances ranging from 1.62 to 8.0 inches (4 to 20 centimeters). One of the coolest innovations in low-light focusing I've seen recently is Sony's Hologram AF option, which uses a laser diode and tiny holographic diffraction grating to produce a crosshatched pattern of bright red lines on the subject. This projected pattern stays more or less "in focus" almost irrespective of subject distance, so there's always a sharp pattern for the camera to focus on. Hologram AF isn't just for low light, you'll sometimes see the camera using it in fairly normal lighting if there's not enough contrast in the subject to focus effectively with the contrast-detection AF system. (Hologram AF was first introduced on Sony's high-end DSC-F707 Cyber-shot model, and it looks like we're going to see it spreading to more and more of Sony's high-end models.)

Besides the highly effective Hologram AF, the CD500 also includes multipoint autofocus technology to calculate distance to the left and right as well as the center of the scene for subjects that aren't centered in the frame. The CD500 also lets you select from five different range finder frames (center, left, right, top or bottom).

In addition to the full Manual exposure mode, the CD500 provides Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Program AE, and Scene exposure modes. Available "scenes" in the Scene exposure mode are Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Landscape, Portrait, Snow, and Beach, each designed to obtain the best exposure for specific shooting situations. Shutter speeds are adjustable in Manual mode from 1/1,000 to eight seconds, and a Noise Reduction feature automatically engages for shutter times longer than 1/25 second.

A Spot Metering option switches the exposure metering system to take readings from the very center of the image for difficult subjects like those with strong backlighting. (A crosshair target appears in the center of the LCD monitor.) The CD500's White Balance options include Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent, Incandescent, and One-Push (manual setting), to accommodate a broad range of lighting conditions. Exposure Compensation is adjustable from -2 to +2 exposure equivalents (EV) in one-third-step increments. The camera's ISO setting offers Auto, 100, 200, or 400 equivalents, increasing performance in low-light shooting situations. The built-in, pop-up flash features Auto, Red-Eye Reduction, Forced, and Suppressed operating modes, with a variable flash intensity setting. As an added bonus, the CD500 offers a single contact external flash hot shoe, for connecting a more powerful flash to the camera, including the new Sony HVL-F32X and their older HVL-F1000 model. A Setup menu option turns the hot shoe on or off. Similar to other Sony digicams, the CD500 also features a Picture Effects, which captures images in Solarized, Sepia, and Negative Art tones. Sharpness, Saturation, and Contrast can also be adjusted from Normal to Plus or Minus settings.

The CD500 uses Sony's "MPEG EX" technology to provide greatly extended MPEG movie recording directly to the CD-R. One of the real breakthroughs of the CD400 (and its little brother the CD250) was breaking the arbitrary limit to how long you can record a movie. You can use the entire capacity of the CD-R disc, letting you record movies of up to 5 minutes, 52 seconds in the highest-quality mode (640 x 480 VGA mode), and as long as 89 minutes in "email" movie mode (low-quality,160 x 112 pixel images). This is pretty impressive, as only a very few digicams currently on the market support full VGA-resolution movie recording.. (Sony is very careful to not bill the CD Mavicas as "camcorders," and for good reason when you compare their capabilities with "real" camcorder models. Still, this enormously extended recording capability is pretty unique.)

Besides its movie recording modes, a Clip Motion option (available through the Setup menu) works like an animation sequence camera, allowing you to capture a series of up to 10 still images to be played back sequentially. The captured images are assembled inside the camera into a single animated GIF file. The camera also offers a Multi Burst mode, which captures an extremely rapid burst of 16 frames (7.5, 15 or 30 frames per second intervals can be set from the Menu in Movie mode), saved as a single 1.2M image. The frames play back at a slower frame rate, giving the effect of slow-motion footage.

Like most of the Sony Mavica line, the CD500 offers a variety of still image recording modes, including a TIFF mode for saving uncompressed images. Voice mode records sound clips to accompany captured images (great for "labeling" or annotating shots you've taken). An E-mail Record mode captures a smaller, 320 x 240-pixel image size that's perfect for e-mail transmission, in addition to an image at the selected resolution size. An Exposure Bracketing mode captures three images at different EV levels, to help ensure the best possible exposure. Finally, a Burst 3 mode captures three images in rapid succession (0.5-second intervals) with one press of the Shutter button.

Images can be saved as uncompressed TIFF, JPEGs, GIFs, or MPEGs depending on the Record mode, and are stored on the 80mm CD-R or CD-RW included with the camera. An NTSC video cable connects the camera to a television set, for reviewing images or recording them to video tape. (European models come equipped for PAL, but the camera itself can switch between the two standards via a Setup menu option.) A USB cable provides high-speed connection to PC computers. Macs running OS X can import images via the USB connection into either Image Capture or iPhoto, although I wasn't able to get my G4 PowerMac running OS X 10.2 to properly recognize the camera when using iPhoto 2.0 - Only Image Capture 2.0 worked properly. Mac users running under OS 9 or earlier can read the "finalized" CDs on Macs with the aid of the UDF Volume Access "init" provided by Roxio (formerly Adaptec Corporation). The UDF access init isn't compatible with OS X though, so the only ongoing support is for reading the CDs through the camera and its USB connection, not in a Mac CD-ROM drive directly. The included software bundle looks rather sparse, apparently consisting only of "Pixela ImageMixer", a new (and apparently PC-only) software package. (A shame that no Mac software is included. :-(

The CD500 uses an NP-FM50 InfoLITHIUM battery pack (M series), and comes with an AC adapter that doubles as a battery charger. InfoLITHIUM batteries communicate with the camera, showing exactly how much battery power has been consumed, and reporting remaining battery capacity via a small readout on the LCD screen. This is really valuable in avoiding lost shots when your batteries die unexpectedly. Battery life is also excellent, among the best I've found. That said, my standard recommendation of keeping a second battery pack charged and ready to go still stands, especially when the AC adapter isn't convenient.

Like Sony's other Mavica cameras, the CD500 is enjoyable to use, and its user interface and function set have something for everyone. The full-featured exposure control options will satisfy the most advanced user, while its auto-everything "Program" exposure mode will meet the needs of the least-experienced novice. Best of all, you get excellent image capacity with the CD-RW recording media, and a long enough movie recording time to rival some digital video cameras. Great optics, a 5-megapixel CCD, and CD-RW image storage give the CD500 a strong edge in the digicam marketplace, and the inclusion of the Hologram AF focus tool makes the camera an excellent followup to the very well received CD300. (And the inclusion of a generic hot shoe flash connector really put the camera squarely in the "enthusiast" category, when it comes to features.)

Design
The Mavica CD500's body design conforms to its round, three-inch storage media, giving the camera a smooth, curved appearance similar to the CD400 model. Although it's still a handful, the CD500 is surprisingly compact given its large media size. At 5.5 x 3.825 x 4.128 inches (138.5 x 95.7 x 103mm), it definitely won't fit into most pockets, but it does come with a neck strap and is easily carried in a small accessory camera bag (highly recommended to protect the camera). At 21.2 ounces (601 grams), including the battery, the CD500 is reasonably lightweight, with a hard, plastic body that gives it a fairly strong, solid feel.

The telescoping Carl Zeiss lens dominates the left side (as viewed from the rear) of the camera's front panel, sharing its space with a small self-timer lamp and the Hologram AF laser emitter. A rubberized finger grip protrudes from the right front side, providing a comfortable hold for your right hand, which should fit comfortably around the curve of the substantial hand grip. When the camera is powered on, the 7-21mm lens extends an additional 5/8-inch beyond the fixed lens barrel. When the camera is powered off, or the Mode dial is set on the Playback or Setup positions for more than a short time, the lens retracts into the barrel. A plastic, spring-lock lens cap protects the lens surface, tethered to the camera body via a small strap. A set of filter threads just inside the lip of the barrel accommodates Sony's line of accessory lens adapter kits.

The hand grip (right) side of the camera has a neckstrap attachment eyelet, and the Command dial nearby (barely visible at the upper left corner, facing the rear or the camera), for adjusting exposure settings on the camera's LCD monitor. Just adjacent to the eyelet is the DC In connector jack, covered by a soft, plastic flap that remains attached to the camera when opened.

The left side of the camera has the second neckstrap eyelet on top (which also tethers the lens cap), and a CD-R compartment "Open" latch, external accessory connection jack , and connector compartment below. A small, hard plastic cover protects the connector compartment, which houses the USB and A/V Out connection jacks. The external flash connection jack, labeled "ACC," hosts Sony's HVL-F1000 flash unit, as well as a handful of Sony accessories. (The HVL-F32X flash unit couples directly via the contacts in the camera's hot shoe.)

The CD500's top panel features an external flash hot shoe (hooray!) with five contacts, a pop-up built-in flash head, microphone, Shutter button, Mode dial, and Power switch. There's also a small, green LED lamp next to the power switch that glows steadily whenever the camera is powered on. The pop-up flash unit sits well forward on the camera body, most likely in an effort to prevent the lens from blocking the flash on close-up subjects.

The remaining features and controls are on the CD500's back panel. These include the color LCD monitor, speaker, control buttons, and a small Command dial. An orange LED lamp above the LCD monitor lights when the flash is charging or when the camera is powered off and the battery is charging via the AC adapter. The tiny Command wheel at upper right lets you quickly change camera settings such as shutter speed and aperture, by turning the dial to scroll and pressing in to select options in editable exposure settings displayed on the LCD viewfinder. In addition to serving as a navigational tool in the LCD menu system, the Four-Way Arrow pad controls several camera functions directly through its four arrow keys, including Flash mode, Macro, Self-timer, and Quick Review. A Menu button sits below the Arrow pad. Five dedicated buttons across the bottom of the back panel control such features as Display/Backlight, AE lock, Focus mode, Exposure Compensation, and Resolution. A small, red LED to the left of these buttons indicates when the internal CD reader/writer is accessing the disc.

The CD-R compartment takes up the entire left side of the back panel, with the compartment door holding several camera control buttons and the LCD monitor. The compartment door flips open when the release lever is opened, but does not deactivate the LCD monitor. Instead a message on the LCD monitor reads "Cover Open." A tiny, red LED lamp beneath the LCD monitor lights whenever the camera is accessing the CD drive.

Finally, the CD500 features a fairly flat bottom panel with a battery compartment door and tripod mount. The angled battery compartment and the distance between the compartment door and tripod mount allow for quick battery changes while working with a tripod (something I always notice, given the amount of studio shooting I do with the cameras I test). A sliding, plastic door protects the battery compartment, and a small catch inside locks the battery into place and releases it when you're ready to recharge or replace the battery cell. The tripod mount itself is metal, a detail I always appreciate, especially on heavier units like the CD500. Also on the bottom panel (beneath the LCD monitor) is a tiny Reset button for use by service technicians, and a hidden compartment for a button battery to maintain the CD500's clock and calendar when the main battery is removed.

Viewfinder
For composing images, the CD500 features a color LCD monitor that automatically activates whenever the camera is powered on. The Display button just below the LCD monitor controls both the information and image display, turning both off or on. This button cycles through three states: viewfinder display with information overlay, viewfinder without information, and LCD off. But even when the information overlay is disabled, critical information relating to camera operation and mode settings still appears on the LCD display. Things like flash, autofocus and metering modes in programmed exposure mode, and shutter and aperture settings in aperture priority, shutter priority and manual exposure modes.

The LCD on the CD500 incorporates a "Solar Assist" (tm) feature, which I've seen on other manufacturers' cameras, and which was actually introduced by Sony a few years ago, on the FD81 camera. It consists of a small translucent window at the top of the LCD (visible in the photo above as the very bright bar on top of the LCD), which lets in ambient light behind the LCD screen to boost the effective brightness of the backlight. This feature works only in very bright surroundings, and its effectiveness will vary, depending on the orientation of the camera relative to the primary light source. (It works best when the sun is directly overhead.) Overall, I found the "assist" window to be quite helpful when using the LCD outdoors on a sunny day, making the CD500's LCD one of the most usable I've encountered for outdoor shooting. You can change the strength of the LCD backlight through the Setup menu, with options of Normal and Bright.

Optics

The CD500 is equipped with the same 3x, f/2-2.5, 7-21mm Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar lens (equivalent to a 34-102mm lens on a 35mm camera) included on the earlier CD400 and CD300 models (and the S75 and S85 Cyber-shot models before that, as far as I can tell). This lens produces unusually sharp images from corner to corner, noticeably crisper than what I've seen from many other digicams. The lens is protected by a removable, spring-lock lens cap, which comes with an easy-to-thread lens-strap opening and a small tether strap to keep it from getting lost.

In Aperture Priority and Manual modes, the aperture is manually adjustable from f/2.0 to f/8.0, in nine steps. Shutter speed is adjustable from 1/1,000 to eight seconds, with 40 available settings. Macro mode is engaged by pressing the right Arrow button, which changes the focus range to 1.62 to 8 inches (4 to 20 centimeters), when the lens is set at its shortest (wide-angle) focal length.

Exposure

Exposure control on the CD500 is just as straightforward and uncomplicated as on the CD400 model. A Mode dial on top of the camera lets you quickly select major camera operating modes. Additional control buttons on the back panel let you change basic exposure settings, such as metering options, exposure compensation, and AE Lock with a single button-push. The small Command wheel (on the right side of the camera back) simplifies exposure adjustment even more, by allowing you to change exposure compensation, manual focus, aperture, and shutter speed, simply by first using it to select the functioned desired, pressing in to highlight the function, and then turning it to make adjustments. (This is actually much simpler than it sounds, particularly once you get used to how the control works.)

Four main exposure modes offer varying levels of automatic or manual control: Program AE, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, and Manual. In Program AE mode, the camera controls the basic exposure (although Program Shift lets you can change the combination of f-stop and shutter speed), but lets you determine all other variables, such as ISO, white balance, and flash settings. Shutter Priority lets you set the shutter speed from 1/1,000 to eight seconds, while the camera controls the lens aperture. Alternately, Aperture Priority mode lets you set the lens aperture from f/2.0 (f/2.5 with the lens set at telephoto) to f/8.0 while the camera sets the appropriate shutter speed. In both Aperture and Shutter Priority modes, the shutter and aperture values will flash in the LCD panel (when the Shutter button is pressed halfway) if the camera disagrees with the chosen settings. This gives you an opportunity to adjust the exposure without wasting a shot.

Manual exposure mode provides complete control over aperture settings, shutter speed, ISO, white balance, and metering. The camera reports the amount of under- or overexposure it thinks you've selected, with an EV value in the LCD monitor just above the aperture and shutter speed settings. If the camera disagrees with the shutter and aperture values, the EV value will flash in the LCD panel (when the Shutter button is pressed halfway), warning you to change the settings for a better exposure. In all four adjustable modes (Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual, and Program Shift), the Command wheel adjusts the aperture or shutter speed settings. An arrow on the LCD screen points to the adjustable setting, such as aperture or shutter speed. Pressing in on the wheel selects that setting, highlighting it in yellow, and allowing you to make adjustments by simply turning the wheel. Pressing on the wheel a second time deselects the setting, removing the yellow highlight, so that you can scroll to any other adjustable setting. I recall having some trouble with the Command wheel on the CD300, apparently because I sometimes pressed it too rapidly. I had no trouble whatsoever with the Command wheel on this model.

In addition to the four main exposure modes, there are six preset Scene modes to adjust the camera for shooting for specific situations: Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Landscape, Portrait, Snow, and Beach. Twilight mode adjusts the exposure to capture a bright subject in dark surroundings (neon lights would be a good example), without washing out the color. Because Twilight mode usually employs a slower shutter speed, a tripod is recommended to prevent blurring from camera movement. Twilight Portrait works along similar lines, but uses the flash in a slow-sync setting to capture a fully-illuminated subject in front of the darker background. Landscape mode uses a smaller aperture setting to keep both the background and foreground in sharp focus, allowing you to capture broad vistas of scenery. Portrait mode uses a larger lens aperture setting to decrease the depth of field, keeping the subject in sharp focus, with the background slightly blurred. Snow preserves color despite the glare of bright scenes like snowscapes and optimizes focus like landscape. Beach exposes for the blue of the water in seaside of lakeside scenes where automatic exposure systems are often fooled.

By default, the CD500 uses Multi-pattern Metering system, taking exposure readings throughout the image to determine the best overall exposure. A Center-Weighted Metering option determines exposure by the brightness of the subject at the center of the image. For high-contrast subjects, a Spot Metering option (selected via the Menu button on the back panel) takes the exposure reading from the very center of the frame. A center crosshair target appears on the LCD monitor (inside the focus brackets), to show the location of the spot exposure reading. For metering off-center subjects, you can take your reading of the subject you want metered, then use the AE Lock button on the back panel to lock the exposure reading. Once exposure is locked, you can recompose the image and release the shutter. Spot metering is very handy when dealing with difficult subjects, such as portrait shots with strong backlighting, or any subject that's substantially brighter or darker than the background.

Exposure compensation can be manually adjusted from -2 to +2 exposure values (EV) in one-third-step increments, in all exposure modes except Manual. The camera's light sensitivity can be set through the Record menu to Auto, or 100, 200, or 400 ISO equivalents, increasing the camera's low-light shooting capabilities with higher ISO settings. For exposures longer than 1/25 second, the CD500 automatically employs a Noise Reduction system, to minimize the colored pixels in dark backgrounds common with long shutter times. In my testing, I found the CD500's noise reduction processing to be very effective at eliminating so-called "hot pixels" in long time exposures. (Do note though, that the CD500 takes twice as long to complete an exposure when the noise reduction system is active. This is because it actually takes two exposures, one of the subject, and one with the shutter closed, to measure the sensor noise so it can subtract it back out of the photo. Thus, at the maximum exposure time of 8 seconds, the camera will actually be tied up for 16 seconds for each exposure.)

White Balance (WB) can also be controlled in all exposure modes except Auto, with available settings of Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent, Incandescent, and One-Push (manual setting). One-Push lets you set the camera's white balance by pointing it at a white card and telling it to use that color as a reference. As with many other Sony cameras, the CD500 offers a Picture Effects menu, providing a little in-camera creativity. Settings like Solarize, Sepia, and Negative Art can add interest to your images by altering color or reversing the highlights and shadows.

The CD500 also offers a menu selection for adjusting image sharpening in-camera, providing normal, plus and minus values. The default value of normal is fine for most uses, but you might want to boost the sharpness a bit if your shots will be printed on a low-quality inkjet printer. On the other hand, the minus sharpness setting may be useful for images that you plan to manipulate in Photoshop or any other image editing application. In these programs, you typically want to apply sharpening at the end of the manipulation process. Finally, a 10-second self-timer can be activated by pressing the down Arrow button on the back panel. Once the Shutter button has been fully depressed, the small LED lamp on the front of the camera counts down the seconds until the shutter is released (a green dot in the LCD monitor flashes as well). You can cancel the timer by pressing the down Arrow button again.

When you have images stored on the CD-R, the left arrow key on the Arrow rocker button (back panel) activates a quick review of the previously captured image, and offers a delete option for removing the image. Pressing the arrow key a second time returns you to the normal image display screen, as does pressing the Shutter button halfway.

Shutter Lag/Cycle Times
When you press the shutter release on a camera, there's usually a delay or lag time before the shutter actually fires. This allows the autofocus and autoexposure mechanisms time to do their work, and can amount to a fairly long delay in some situations. Since this number is almost never reported on, and can significantly affect the picture taking experience, I now routinely measure it using a custom test system I designed and built for the purpose.

NOTE: My qualitative characterizations of camera performance below (that is, "reasonably fast," "about average," etc.) are meant to be relative to other cameras of similar price and general capabilities. Thus, the same shutter lag that's "very fast" for a low-end consumer camera might be characterized as "quite slow" if I encountered it on a professional model. The comments are also intended as only a quick reference: If performance specs are critical for you, rely on the absolute numbers to compare cameras, rather than my purely qualitative comments.

Operation and User Interface
As I mentioned in the Design section of this review, the CD500 offers the same great user interface seen on other 2003-model Sony digicams. I've found Sony's user interface to be one of the most straightforward on the market, and in many of their 2003 models, they've moved additional camera controls to external buttons to further enhance the user experience. The ready access to exposure controls and other camera functions, and the uncomplicated menu system mean that you spend less time scrolling through menu screens and options than you would with many other cameras on the market. Although the LCD menu is still required for some settings, overall camera operation is fast and uncomplicated. The Command wheel lets you adjust the exposure compensation, aperture, and shutter speed settings quickly. The Mode dial and the assignment of some functions to quadrants on the Four-Way Arrow pad, provide even faster operation. Overall, the control system is very well thought out, and very conducive to fluid use of the camera as a photographic tool.

Control Enumeration


Shutter Button: Located on the right side of the top panel, this button sets focus and exposure when pressed halfway. Fully depressing the button fires the shutter. When the Quick Review (the shot just taken) is displayed on the screen, a half press of the Shutter button returns the LCD to the normal image display. When the Self-timer is enabled, fully depressing the Shutter button kicks off the 10-second countdown.


Mode Dial: Stacked on top of the Power Switch, this dial controls the camera's operating modes. Options include Program (camera symbol), Shutter Priority (S), Aperture Priority (A), Manual (M), Scene (SCN), Setup, Movie (film frame), and Playback modes.


Power Switch: Just beneath the Mode dial, this switch turns the camera on or off.

Command Wheel: Located on the top right side of the camera's back panel, this wheel controls aperture and shutter speed settings in Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, and Manual modes. When Manual Focus is enabled, turning the wheel adjusts focus and displays the focus distance on the LCD monitor. When the Exposure Compensation adjustment is activated, turning the wheel adjusts the exposure from -2 to +2 exposure equivalents (EV) in one-third-step increments.


Zoom Toggle: To the left of the Command wheel, the Zoom toggle controls the optical and digital zoom (when enabled) in any capture mode. In Playback mode, the wide angle button activates the Index Display mode, while the telephoto button controls the Playback Zoom up to 5x (the wide angle button also zooms back out). Once in Index Display mode, pressing the wide-angle side again displays the image information for the highlighted thumbnail, including exposure information.


Four-Way Arrow Rocker Pad (also: Flash, Quick Review, Macro, and Self-Timer Buttons): Situated just below the zoom toggle, this button serves a variety of functions. On its surface, the pad features four arrows, one pointing in each direction. When any settings menu is engaged, these arrows navigate through the menu options. Once an option is selected, you confirm the selection by pressing on the center of the button. (You will hear a dual tone when you press the center, as opposed to the single tone you hear when you press one of the arrows.) In Playback mode, the right and left arrows scroll through captured images, while the up and down arrows control the playback volume. If a movie file is displayed, pressing the center of the button triggers the movie playback. When Playback zoom is enabled, pressing the center of the button returns the LCD to the normal 1x image display.

In addition to menu scroll functions, the Arrow Pad also controls certain exposure and camera settings. The Up Arrow button is marked with a flash symbol, and cycles between Auto, Forced, Slow Synchro, and Suppressed Flash modes (in all capture modes except Movie). The Right Arrow button, marked with the macro flower symbol, enables and disables the camera's Macro mode. The Down Arrow controls the Self-timer mode, cycling between Normal and Self-timer capture modes. Finally, the Left Arrow activates and deactivates the Quick Review function, which displays the most recently captured image on the LCD screen.


Menu Button: Located directly below the Arrow Rocker Pad, on the left side, this button activates and deactivates the settings menus in any camera mode except Setup (which automatically displays the menu upon entering the mode).


Display Button: Just beneath the LCD monitor, on the far left side, the Display button controls the LCD display in all camera modes except Setup. Pressing the Display button in Playback mode sequentially cycles through three modes: Backlight off; image and information display; and image display only. In Record mode, the information display never completely disappears. - Critical exposure and mode information remains onscreen, regardless of the state of the Display Button.


AE Lock Button: The first button in the series below the LCD monitor, the AE Lock button locks an exposure reading until the shutter is snapped.


Focus Button: Adjacent to the Spot Metering button on the right, the Focus button cycles between Automatic and Manual focus modes, and manual focus-point selection. In focus point selection mode, you can select from normal multifocus operation, or choose one of five small focus areas. (One in the center, and two on either side of center, vertically and horizontally.)


Exposure Compensation Button: Directly to the right of the Focus button, the Exposure Compensation button (+/-) activates the exposure compensation adjustment, which is changed by turning the Command wheel.

Image Size / Trash Button: Directly to the right of the Exposure Compensation button, the Exposure Image Size / Trash button permits selection of available image resolutions in Record mode or deletes images in Playback mode.


Open CD-R Compartment Button: Tucked in the side of the CD-R compartment, just above the external flash connection jack, this sliding button opens the CD-R compartment door.

Camera Modes and Menus

Program AE: Marked on the Mode dial with a green camera symbol, Program mode places the camera in control of both the aperture and shutter speed settings, letting you set the remaining exposure variables (White Balance, ISO, Exposure Compensation, Image Size, Picture Quality, Flash, and Normal or Spot Metering).

Shutter Priority: In Shutter Priority mode, you set the shutter speed (from 1/1,000 to eight seconds), while the camera selects the best corresponding aperture. All other exposure variables can also be adjusted.

Aperture Priority: In Aperture Priority mode, you set the desired lens aperture (from f/2.1 to f/8.0) while the camera selects the best corresponding shutter speed. All other exposure variables can also be adjusted.

Manual: Manual exposure mode offers full user control over exposure, including aperture and shutter speed settings. All exposure variables except for exposure compensation are available in this mode.

Scene: Scene mode provides access to six preset shooting modes: Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Landscape, Portrait, Snow and Beach. The actual scenes are changed through the shooting menu, via the Scene setting. Twilight mode uses a slow shutter speed to accommodate darker shooting situations. Twilight Portrait uses the flash, in a slow sync mode, capturing the illuminated subjects in the foreground with the flash, and using the longer shutter speed to record ambient light from the background. Landscape mode uses a small aperture opening to keep both the foreground and background settings in focus. The Portrait mode uses a large aperture opening to decrease the depth of field, thereby keeping the subject in sharp focus and slightly blurring the background. Snow preserves color despite the glare of bright scenes like snowscapes and optimizes focus like landscape. Beach exposes for the blue of the water in seaside of lakeside scenes where automatic exposure is often fooled. Most exposure variables, except for aperture and shutter speed settings, are available in the Scene modes.

Setup: Setup mode lets you change basic camera settings.

Movie: Movie mode, marked on the Mode dial with a film strip symbol, captures MPEG movies with sound by default. Most exposure options are available, except for flash and ISO. If the Clip Motion option is selected from the Setup menu, Movie mode will capture up to 10 sequential still images, and combine them into a single animated GIF file. When Multi Burst is selected in the Setup menu, the camera records a rapid burst of frames, saved in a single image frame but played back on the camera as a slow motion animation.

Playback: Captured images and movies can be reviewed and played back in this mode. Images can also be erased, write-protected, copied, resized, set up for printing on a DPOF device, or played back in a slide show.

Record Menu: The Record menu is accessible in all capture modes by pressing the Menu button, however, not all menu options are available in all capture modes. (The menu is normally overlaid on the live viewfinder display. I've blocked the lens to produce a black background here, to help keep down the size of the screenshot GIF.)

• Metering Mode: Selects Multi, Center or Spot metering mode.
• White Balance: Adjusts the camera's white balance to accommodate a variety of light sources. Options include: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent, Incandescent, and One-Push (manual setting).
• ISO: Changes the camera's light sensitivity level. Choices are Auto, 100, 200, and 400 ISO equivalents.
• Quality: Sets the JPEG compression level to Fine or Standard.
• Record Mode: Accesses the following recording modes:
  • TIFF: Records images in the uncompressed TIFF file format (at the 2,272 x 1,704-pixel size, in addition to another image at the pixel resolution and JPEG compression levels set under Image Size and Quality submenus).
  • Voice: Optionally records up to 40-second sound clips to accompany captured images.
  • E-Mail: Captures a separate image file size of 320 x 240 pixels for easy e-mail transmission in addition to another image at the pixel resolution size set under the Image Size submenu.
  • Exposure Bracketing: Takes three images, each at different exposure settings (one at the normal meter reading, and two more at higher and lower exposure settings). Exposure variation is established through the Setup menu, under the Bracket Step option.
  • Burst 3: Allows the camera to record up to three frames in rapid succession. Actual frame rates vary with file size and the amount of image information being recorded.
  • Normal: Returns the camera to normal still capture mode.
• Flash Level: Sets the flash intensity level to High, Normal, or Low.
• Picture Effects: Enables a variety of creative picture effects modes, including Solarize, Sepia, and Negative Art. The Off setting returns the camera to normal capture mode.
• Sharpness: Adjusts the image sharpness with options of normal, plus and minus.
• Saturation: Adjusts the image saturation with options of normal, plus and minus.
• Contrast: Adjusts the image contrast with options of normal, plus and minus.

Playback Menu: As with the Record menu, the Playback menu is accessed by pressing the Menu button when in Playback mode. The following options are available:

• Folder: Selects the folder whose images you want to play back.
• Protect: Write-protects the currently displayed image from accidental erasure or manipulation in any way (except for CD formatting, which deletes all images).
• DPOF: Marks the current image for printing on a Digital Print Order Format (DPOF) compatible device.
• Slide: Activates an automatic slide show of all images on the CD-R. You can define the picture interval and whether or not the slide show repeats itself.
• Resize: Resizes the currently displayed image to 2,592 x 1,944, 2,048 x 1,536, 1,280 x 960, or 640 x 480 pixels.
• Rotate: Rotates the displayed image 90 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise.
  

Setup Menu: The six-panel setup menu is displayed on the LCD monitor as soon as you enter Setup mode:

• Moving Image: Establishes the recording mode to be used when the mode dial is set to the Movie position: MPEG Movie, Clip Motion, or Multi Burst.
• AF Mode: Selects the focus mode from Single, Monitor or Continuous options.
  
• Smart Zoom: Turns the Smart Zoom digital zoom function on or off.
• Date/Time: Determines whether or not the date and/or time is recorded with the image. Choices are Off, Date, and Day & Time.
• Red-Eye Reduction: Enables or disables the Red-Eye Reduction flash mode.
• Hologram AF: Turns the Hologram AF lamp off, or allows the camera to use it whenever it's needed (Auto mode).
  
  
  
• Bracket Step: Designates the EV step that the exposure bracketing shots will vary by. Choices are +/- 1.0, 0.7, and 0.3 EV.
• Conversion Lens: Set to On when using the optional VCL-MHG07 conversion lens.
• Hot Shoe: Turns the flash hot shoe on or off.
  
  
  
  
  
• Finalize: Finalizes the CD-R or CD-RW, making it readable on a computer's CD-ROM drive.
• Format: Erases all the images on the CD-RW (CD-RW only, not CD-R), even write protected ones.
• Initialize: Initializes new CD-Rs or CD-RWs, so that the camera can write images to the drive.
• Unfinalize: Undoes the effects of a Finalize operation, allows the CD-RW (not CD-R) to be written to again.
  
  
  
  
• File Number: Determines the file number sequence. Normal resets the file numbering with each new CD-R inserted into the drive. Series continues file numbering from one CD-R to the next.
• Create REC. Folder: Creates a folder to store images when captured.
• Change REC. Folder: Changes the folder in which images are stored when captured.
• Confirm B. Write: Selects whether to confirm recording or deleting before writing to the disc.
  
  
  
  
• LCD Brightness: Adjusts the LCD's brightness level (really more of a contrast adjustment) to Bright, Normal, or Dark.
• LCD Backlight: Sets the backlight brightness to Normal or Bright.
• Beep: Controls the camera's operating sounds. Choices are Shutter (noise with shutter only), On (activates all camera noise), and Off (silences the camera).
• Language: Sets the menu language to English or Japanese.
• Clock Set: Sets the camera's internal clock and calendar.
  
  
• Video Out: Sets the A/V Out signal to NTSC or PAL timing.
  

Image Storage and Interface
The CD500 records still images and movies to a roughly three-inch (80mm) CD-R or CD-RW disc. This virtually eliminates the hassle of downloading files from the camera to your computer. Instead of messing around with cables and driver software, you simply take the CD from the camera and slide it into your computer's CD-ROM drive. An adapter is provided for those computers that don't accept the three-inch CD format. (This should be rare although, since the 80mm CD form factor was part of the original CD specification, so most computers should accept them.) There's also a USB connection and cable supplied with the camera (the USB port is in the connector compartment on the lens side of the camera). The USB connection lets you connect the camera as a disk drive to Windows computer (Windows 98, 98se, Me, and 2000 Professional are supported) or a Macintosh running OS X. The USB connection apparently does not support the Mac OS however.

A small CD icon on the camera's LCD display lets you know how much of the disc is full and how many images are available, depending on the current resolution and quality settings. An "R" or "RW" below the icon lets you know what sort of disc is currently loaded in the camera. In Movie mode, the LCD reports the available recording time at the current movie quality setting. The CD500 allows you to protect individual images on the disc from accidental erasure or alteration through the Playback menu. The freedom of a CD-R drive has many advantages over saving images to floppies (as on some Mavica models), the main one being the greatly increased amount of storage space -- 156MB.

It's important to note that there's a key limitation in Sony's CD-RW implementation, in that it's a sequential rewritable device, not a random access one. The reason for this is that the head movement and data clock synchronization requirements, which are dictated by true random access operation, would result in performance (write-time) tradeoffs that are unacceptable for digital camera applications. Thus, the "RW" aspect of the CD500's discs has some constraints on it. Foremost is the sequential operation, which means that you can only delete the last image recorded. That is, you can't open up more space on a disc by going back and deleting images shot earlier in the session. You can delete multiple images, but only one at a time, starting with the most recent and working backward. The huge benefit of CD-RW although, is that you can "unfinalize" and "format" discs, which (respectively) helps you save disk space when moving back and forth between camera and computer, and lets you reuse discs by wiping out all the previously captured images.

A brief note here, in response to some questions I've received about the earlier CD Mavicas: This issue of what constitutes "erasing" of an image and what images you can actually erase seems to be the cause of a lot of confusion. Several people have pointed out that the camera lets them "erase" images other than the last one shot, and in fact that they can do this on CD-R discs as well as CD-RW ones. You can always "erase" any image on either a CD-R or CD-RW disc, but you won't see a corresponding increase in storage capacity reflective of the space that the deleted image occupied. This is because "erasing" any image other than the last one shot (or any image on a CD-R disc) doesn't actually wipe out the image data from the disc, but instead merely deletes the file listing in the disc's directory so that the "erased" image data can no longer be accessed. You can only truly erase the last image data written to the disc, and then only on CD-RW media.

There's another generic limitation of CD-RW technology to be aware of, which is that the signal level delivered to the CD-ROM drive by CD-RW discs is quite a bit lower than that from normal CD-ROMs or CD-R write-once discs. Thus, some older CD-ROM drives may have trouble reading the CD-RW discs. As far as I know, any CD-ROM drive manufactured in the last three or four years should be able to read a CD-RW disc with no problem, but if you encounter difficulties, try a different CD-ROM drive before assuming it's a problem with the CD-RW disc or the CD-500 itself. (Mac owners see the note below though.)

Using the CD-Rs in the camera is relatively simple. Whenever a new disc is inserted, the camera will tell you that it needs to be initialized. Not being a CD maven, I suspect (but am not sure) that this involves writing the "lead in" area for the next session, a roughly 9MB area reserved for the table of contents information for the upcoming session. Initializing the disc appears to be a more critical operation than normal CD-R recording, as the camera asks you to place it on a level surface and avoid vibration during the process. Once a disc has been initialized, operation of the CD500 is the same as for any other Sony camera, regardless of media.

When you're done with a set of shots and want to set up the CD-R to be read in a conventional CD-ROM drive, you must "Finalize" the session. The camera leads you through this process using menu screens similar to those used for the initialization process. Finalizing also appears to be a more critical procedure than normal image writing, since the camera again asks you to rest it on a flat surface while it's being carried out. My guess is that this process writes the lead out for that session, and goes back to fill-in the session's Table of Contents in the lead-in area. The first lead-out on a disc occupies about 13MB of space, subsequent ones require about 4MB. The space taken by finalizing and reinitializing a disc leads to one of the major benefits of CD-RW technology over CD-R. With CD-R, every time you finalize and reinitialize a disc, you lose about 13MB of storage space. With CD-RW discs, you can "unfinalize" a disc, recover that space, and allow the camera to write new images to it. Additionally, unfinalizing a CD-RW doesn't erase any files. To completely erase all images on a CD-RW, the CD500 offers a Format option through the Setup menu, which also requires the camera to rest on a level surface with no vibrations. The Format function takes several minutes to complete. It's my guess that the camera is actually rewriting the entire disc, restoring it to a completely blank, initialized state. NOTE that unfinalizing and formatting are only possible with CD-RW discs, not ordinary CD-Rs.

In addition to finalizing a disc, the Playback settings menu allows you to write-protect, delete (sequentially), resize, or rotate individual images. When an image is resized, the original version is left where it is on the CD, and a new copy is appended to the end of the list of images, resized to the dimensions you selected. Rotation is much more confusing. The original image actually remains in place (even on a CD-RW disc), and a new, rotated version is recorded. The camera edits the directory structure of the disc though, so the new rotated version appears in the same place as the original, in the list of images as you step through them sequentially, or view them as thumbnails. Although the original image is still physically recorded on the disc, it is no longer accessible to either the camera or a computer. (I'm not sure, but some data-recovery programs may be able to retrieve "overwritten" or "deleted" files like this from the CD-R/RW discs.)

You can also designate whether the camera numbers each image sequentially (from one CD to the next), or restarts file numbering with each new CD, by making a change in the Setup menu. The camera's Digital Print Option Format (DPOF) compatibility allows you to mark specific images for printing. Through the Setup menu you can decide whether or not to print the date and/or time on each image as well.

Image Size options include 2,592 x 1,944, 2,592 (3:2 ratio), 2,048 x 1,536, 1,280 x 960, 640 x 480, and 320 x 240 pixels (E-Mail recording option). Movie file sizes are 640x480 (VGA), and 160 x 112 pixels for MPEG Movies, or 160 x 120 and 120 x 108 pixels for Clip Motion files. In addition to the uncompressed TIFF file format, the CD500 offers both Fine and Standard JPEG compression levels, and a GIF option for the Clip Motion recording mode.

The table below shows the approximate still image capacities and compression ratios for the CD-R/RW disc (main resolution sizes):

Notes for Mac owners: In order to avoid a 1MB limit on writeable file size, Sony had to go with the Level 3 ISO CD standard, which supports larger data sizes in packet-writing mode. This means that Macs need a UDF format extension to be able to read the resulting discs. NOTE that the "UDF Volume Access" extension that shipped with Mac OS9 is apparently not adequate to the task. Although Apple's UDF Volume Access claims support for Version 1.5 of the UDF ("Universal Disk Format (tm)") specification, Roxio's UDF Volume Access "init" is apparently required to read the version of the UDF format used by the Mavica CD500. I can, however attest to the fact that the iMac supports both the 80mm disc size, as well as the Roxio Volume Access extension, as I was able to successfully read "finalized" CDs from the CD500 on our slot-loading iMac. (A 400MHz DV model, running Mac OS 9.0.4.)

For Mac OS X users unfortunately, the situation is somewhat worse: As noted earlier in this review, Macs running OS X can import images via the USB connection into either Image Capture or iPhoto, although I wasn't able to get my G4 PowerMac running OS X 10.2 to properly recognize the camera with iPhoto 2.0. (It worked fine using Image Capture 2.0, but the application took a *long* time (a couple of minutes I think, although I didn't time it) to recognize the camera. Unfortunately, there's no equivalent to the UDF Volume Access init for Mac OS X, so the only way to read the discs is to use the camera as a USB-connected CD drive: The Mac's own CD-ROM isn't capable of recognizing the finalized CDs created by the CD500.

Lost Images? - Download this image-recovery program so you'll have it when you need it...
Since we're talking about memory and image storage, this would be a good time to mention the following: I get a ton of email from readers who've lost photos due to a corrupted memory card. It's tragic when it happens, there are few things more precious than photo memories. Corrupted memory cards can happen with any card type and any camera manufacturer, nobody's immune. "Stuff happens," as they say. A surprising number of "lost" images can be recovered with an inexpensive, easy to use piece of software though. Given the amount of email I've gotten on the topic, I now include this paragraph in all my digicam reviews. The program you need is called PhotoRescue, by DataRescue SA. Read our review of it if you'd like, but download the program now, so you'll have it. It doesn't cost a penny until you need it, and even then it's only $29, with a money back guarantee. So download PhotoRescue for Windows or PhotoRescue for Mac while you're thinking of it. (While you're at it, download the PDF manual and quickstart guide as well.) Stash the file in a safe place and it'll be there when you need it. Trust me, needing this is not a matter of if, but when... PhotoRescue is about the best and easiest tool for recovering digital photos I've seen. (Disclosure: IR gets a small commission from sales of the product, but I'd highly recommend the program even if we didn't.) OK, now back to our regularly scheduled review...

Video Out
Both United States and Japanese models of the CD500 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 CD500 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 pack used in the CD500 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 CD500 with a freshly charged battery, in Capture and Playback modes. While these are excellent runtime numbers, I still always recommend you 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.)

Included Software
The Sony Mavica-CD500 comes with a software CD loaded with Pixela ImageMixer 1.5, and PTP manager (Picture Transfer Protocol, a protocol used by Windows XP). Pixela ImageMixer runs under Windows 98/Me/2000/XP and Mac OS 8.51-9.2. (NOTE: In order to read the CD500's discs on the Mac OS 9, you do need a special software "init" in your system folder, available from Roxio (formerly Adaptec Corporation). Click here to get the "UDF" init.) Per my earlier notes, there is no equivalent to this init for OS X, so OS X users are forced to transfer files via the USB connection.

In the Box
Included in the box are the following items:

• Sony CD500 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

Test Results
In keeping with my standard test policy, the comments given here summarize only my key findings. For a full commentary on each of the test images, see the Sony Mavica MVC-CD500's "pictures" page.

As with all Imaging Resource product tests, I encourage you to let your own eyes be the judge of how well the camera performed. Explore the images on the pictures page, to see how the CD500's images compare to other cameras you may be considering.

• Color: Overall, the CD500 produced very accurate color in my testing. Color casts with various white balance settings were generally minor, hues were accurate, and saturation appropriate. Skin tones were slightly cool in the outdoor portrait shot, and there was a bit more purple in the always-difficult blue flowers than I'd ideally like to see, but the color rendition was still pleasing overall. The CD500 did a pretty good job with the difficult household incandescent lighting on the Indoor Portrait test as well, its Auto white balance setting leaving about the right amount of color cast to preserve the original "mood," and the Manual option producing a more neutral tone with a slight greenish cast. The large color blocks of the "Davebox" test target were very accurate and appropriately saturated.
  
  
• Exposure: The CD500's metering system seemed slightly more accurate than average, requiring less positive exposure compensation on the Outdoor Portrait test than most cameras I've tested. I found the default tone curve of the CD500 rather contrasty though, as it tended to lose detail in strong highlights under harsh lighting conditions. (This is a perpetual dilemma for camera makers - Higher contrast tends to produce the snappier colors that most American consumers prefer, but at the cost of lost detail in deep shadows and strong highlights.) There is a reduced-contrast setting though, that helps somewhat with the contrasty tone curve.
  
  
• Resolution/Sharpness: The CD500 performed very well on the "laboratory" resolution test chart. It started showing artifacts in the test patterns at resolutions as low as 1,000 lines per picture height, in both horizontal and vertical directions (though you might argue for 800 or 900 lines in the horizontal direction). I found "strong detail" out to at least 1,300 lines, although you could argue for slightly more in the horizontal direction. "Extinction" of the target patterns didn't occur until about 1,700 lines.
  
  
• Closeups: The CD500 did exceptionally well in the macro category, capturing a tiny minimum area of only 1.6 x 1.2 inches (41 x 31 millimeters). Resolution was very high, with strong detail in the dollar bill. The coins and brooch were soft due to the reduced depth of field that comes with such short shooting distances, but that's entirely to be expected. There was a lot more softness in the corners of this shot, extending down the entire left side of the frame. This is a very common failing of digicam lenses in ultra-macro shots though, most likely caused by the optical phenomena called "curvature of field." The CD500's flash almost throttled down for the macro area, but at the closest shooting distance, created a shadow from the lens.
  
  
• Night Shots: Overall, the CD500 is a stellar performer for low light photography. - It has a maximum shutter speed of eight seconds, ample for most low-light shooting situations, including normal city street lighting at night. A long maximum exposure time isn't enough for topnotch low-light performance though, as noise and focusing issues must also be addressed. The CD500 is strong on both counts though, with an excellent noise-reduction system and a really fantastic autofocus-assist illuminator, in the form of Sony's "Hologram Autofocus." The net result is a superb low-light performance on all fronts. The shots below show the results at ISO settings from 100 to 400, as well as using the camera's "Twilight" scene mode.
  
  
• Viewfinder Accuracy: The CD500's LCD monitor is very accurate, showing almost exactly 100 percent of the final frame. Given that I like LCD monitors to be as close to 100 percent accuracy as possible, the CD500's LCD monitor is essentially perfect in that regard.
  
  
• Optical Distortion: Optical distortion on the CD500 is very low at the wide-angle end, where I measured an approximate 0.2 percent barrel distortion. The telephoto end also fared well, as I measured only a 0.1 percent pincushion distortion there. These figures are much lower than average among digicams I've tested, particularly the figure for barrel distortion. Chromatic aberration was very low as well, showing only about two or three pixels of coloration on either side of the target lines in the corners of the resolution target. (This distortion is visible as a very slight colored fringe around the objects at the edges of the field of view on the resolution target.) - I did observe more chromatic aberration in my Far Field test though.
  
  
• Battery Life: The CD500's battery life is excellent, with run times of 151 minutes in record mode and 217 minutes in playback mode. I still recommend purchasing a second battery along with the camera, but the basic run time is much better than average.
  

Conclusion

The original CD1000 CD Mavica was a revolutionary digicam, with inexpensive storage provided by CD-Rs and the trademark "universal media" appeal of the Mavica line. The CD500 expands an already excellent series, adding significant enhancements, including a larger CCD and the convenience of a very large buffer memory, not to mention audio recording and the (surprising) ability to record MPEG video and audio in real time to the CD-RW drive. I also appreciated the inclusion of the Hologram AF feature. - And most particularly, I liked the inclusion of a conventional flash hot shoe on top of the camera, a feature that turns the CD500 into a true "enthusiast's" camera. Along with its updated features, the CD500 still offers the well-designed user interface and flexible exposure control seen in other top-end Sony models. The CD500 is really one of the most "universal" cameras Sony has yet created, offering easy, fully automatic exposure and "scene" modes when you want them, or full manual control when you don't. It's really a camera that could be used about as well by a rank novice as by an advanced amateur, a fact I think will contribute to its popularity in the marketplace. I'd really like to see a less contrasty default tone curve, but the available reduced-contrast setting helps with harshly-lit subjects. Overall, another nice job on a CD-based digicam, with useful improvements over last year's top-end model, and at a lower cost to boot. Highly recommended!

Reader Comments!
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