Sony DSC-F505VSony updates their popular DSC-F505V with a 3 megapixel sensor (2.6 million effective pixels) and all-new electronics!<<Camera Modes & Menus :(Previous) | (Next): Video, Power, Software>> Page 10:Image Storage & InterfaceReview First Posted: 06/01/2000 |
Image Storage and Interface
The DSC-F505V utilizes Sony's unique
(and thus far largely proprietary) Memory Stick for its image storage. A (rather
undersized) 8MB card came with our evaluation unit, although we don't know what
size will ship in the box with the final production models: Additional units
are available in 8MB, 16MB, 32MB and 64MB sizes. The Memory Stick has been the
subject of some controversy within the digicam community, with many people (ourselves
included) initially asking why on earth we needed yet another memory card format
for digital cameras. It's bad enough (the argument goes) that we have to contend
with the completely incompatible SmartMedia and CompactFlash standards, why
must Sony introduce yet another format into the fray?
However, after all our testing, we actually found ourselves liking the Memory
Stick the most. We're still not keen to see yet another memory format muddying
the waters for consumers, but have to admit that there's a lot to like about
the Memory Stick form factor. Relative to SmartMedia, it feels more rugged,
and doesn't expose it's electrical contacts to the environment quite as much.
Since insertion travel is much less, it should also be less subject to rubbing
wear of the plating on the contacts, something we've observed with SmartMedia.
Relative to CompactFlash, it's a fair bit more compact, and doesn't have the
dozens of pins that CF requires. (We're firmly of the opinion that the fewer
connections there are, the less chances there are for something to go wrong
with one of them.)
We also like the way the Memory Stick cards can be write-protected by sliding
a tiny switch on their back. (CF cards have no such physical write-protection
available, and SmartMedia cards require the use of expendable conductive foil
dots that are also subject to failure due to dirt or fingerprints.) While we
don't expect the rest of the world to jump onboard the Memory Stick bandwagon
anytime soon, we do feel that it's at least a viable and useful solution within
the Sony product line.
The DSC-F505V gives you five resolution options (2240 x 1680 (interpolated),
1856 x 1392, 1856 (3:2), 1280 x 960 and 640 x 480), and standard image quality/compression
at each image size. The uncompressed TIFF option is available for all but the
2240 x 1680 image size. An additional option of 320x240 pixels at high compression
is available in the "email" mode, which we didn't evaluate in our testing. All
options are accessible through the record menu. In video mode, image sizes of
320 x 240 and 160 x 112 are available (with an option for a 320 x 240 HQ mode).
Sony took some knocks on the internet shortly after their announcement of the
F505V, for their use of interpolation to produce a large image size with more
pixels in it than contained on the active CCD sensor area. Interpolation has
become such anathema to digicam owners that any mention of its use on
cameras brings immediate catcalls and derision. The fact that the F505V carries
a "3.3 megapixel" label on the side of its lens barrel (referring to the total
sensor size, even though only 2.6 megapixels are actually used) further inflamed
the issue. Fortunately, Sony was overall very forthright about how the camera
operates, how many pixels are actually in use, and has been very responsible
in their labeling of the product packaging, right down to the "hang tag" that
is attached to the unit in retail displays. The other saving grace is that the
F505V produces such sharp images that it actually bests some of the "true" 3
megapixel cameras on the market! (See our "First Look"
review for further details on this, including comparison pictures.) As for
the largest image size, we did indeed see a slight improvement in visible detail
relative to simply interpolating the 1:1 image size (the 1856 x 1392 pixel size)
in Photoshop(tm) using bicubic spline interpolation: There thus does appear
to be some merit (albeit slight) to Sony's much-touted interpolation method
that works directly from the raw sensor data, rather than from the final processed
file. For ourselves, we personally would probably be content to save memory
space and just use the 1856 x 1392 pixel image size for most of our shots, rather
than looking for the last iota of resolution the interpolated images deliver.
At the bottom line though, even the uninterpolated images hold their own very
well even against the current crop of 3 megapixel competitors.
Turning back to the storage medium again, you can protect individual images
on the Memory Stick from accidental erasure (except from formatting) through
the setup menu on the DSC-F505V. As noted above, the entire Memory Stick can
be write protected by sliding the lock switch on the card into the lock position.
Write protection also prevents the Memory Stick from being formatted. An 8MB
Memory Stick accommodates up to 80 seconds of video in Presentation format (320
x 240 pixels) and up to about 320 seconds in Video Mail format (160 x 112 pixels).
Here's a look at the average capacity of an 8MB card for still images:
| Resolution/Quality vs Image Capacity | Uncompressed Quality | Normal Quality | |
| High Resolution (2240x1680) |
Images | 0 | 5 |
| Approx. Compression | n/a | 8:1 | |
| Standard Resolution (1856x1392) |
Images | 1 | 6 |
| Approx. Compression | 1:1 | 6:1 | |
| Low Resolution (1280x960) |
Images | 2 | 13 |
| Approx. Compression | 1:1 | 6:1 | |
| VGA Resolution (640x480) |
Images | 8 | 130 |
| Approx. Compression | 1:1 | 15:1 | |
Note that the DSC-F505V differs from most digicams (but is similar to
other Sony models) in that it doesn't tell you what the remaining image capacity
is. Instead, it tells how many images have been taken and provides a graphic
"thermometer bar" type image of the Memory Stick as the space fills
up.
The DSC-F505V interfaces to a host computer via a USB interface. We
timed the USB transfer of a movie file at 14.8 seconds for 5,359 KBytes. That
translates to 362 KB/second, a very reasonable transfer rate for a 2.6 megapixel
digicam.
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