Sony MVC-FD95Sony takes the Mavica line to 2.1 megapixels, and 12-bit digitization!<<Camera Modes & Menus :(Previous) | (Next): Video, Power, Software>> Page 10:Image Storage & InterfaceReview First Posted: 7/13/2000 |
Image Storage and Interface
The MVC-FD95
records still images and movies to a 3.5 inch, 2HD, DOS formatted diskette.
This eliminates a good deal of the hassle of downloading files from the camera
to your computer, and is a primary reason for the huge popularity the Mavica
line has enjoyed in the marketplace. Instead of messing around with cables and
driver software, you just take the disk from the camera and put it in your computer.
A small disk icon on the camera's LCD display lets you know how much of the
disk is full and how many images have been shot. In addition to the standard
write protection of the entire diskette (simply slide the lock button on the
diskette itself), the MVC-FD95 allows you to protect individual images on the
disk from accidental erasure or alteration. All the standard rules for floppy
usage apply here, such as keeping diskettes away from heavy magnetic fields
and not getting them wet. This type of image storage is perfect for PC users,
who should have a floppy drive readily available on their machine. Newer Mac
users, however, will need to utilize an external floppy drive since the camera
doesn't have any digital connection jacks and the latest Macs don't come with
floppy drives.
The downside of floppy storage though, is the limited capacity offered by the
medium: 1.44 megabytes was a lot of space a few years ago, when digicams with
0.3 megapixel sensors were considered high tech, but with the 2.1 megapixel
sensor of the FD95, things are definitely a bit cramped, and only 4 high-resolution
images can fit on a diskette at a time. This also means that the images stored
with a higher level of image compression than is common on other high end digital
cameras, resulting in higher levels of compression artifacts in the images.
Still, users of earlier Mavicas will find the image quality of the FD95 a dramatic
step up from the models they've used in the past.
As a solution to the space limitations of floppies, the MVC-FD95 can also store
images on Sony MemorySticks, via an accessory floppy disk adapter. This adapter
is the same size and shape of a standard floppy, but has a slot in the side
to accept a memory stick. The net result is a "floppy disk" with up to 64 megabytes
of capacity, enough for even an extended outing. We felt that this solution
worked quite well, but were disappointed to find that the FD95 can only read
or write to the Memory Stick/Adapter combination about half as fast as it can
to floppies. The adapter also requires driver software to be installed on your
PC to interface with it, eliminating some of the elegant simplicity of the floppy
disk solution.
You get a nice selection of image sizes with the MVC-FD95, from 1600 x 1200
to 1024 x 768 to 640 x 480. There's also a 1600 3:2 aspect image size which
crops the top and bottom of the image slightly and a higher-compression/lower
quality1600 ECM image option. ("ECM" apparently stands for "Economy")
Below is the approximate amount of images and compression ratios for a standard
1.44MB diskette:
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| Normal Quality |
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| ECM Mode |
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