Sony MVC-FD97Sony adds a Memory Stick and USB to the FD95 - No more file-compression blues!<<Video, Power, Software :(Previous) | (Next): Reference: Datasheet>> Page 12:Test Results & ConclusionReview First Posted: 2/9/2001 |
Test Results
In keeping with our standard policy, our comments here are rather condensed, summarizing our key findings. For a full commentary on each of the test images, see the MVC-FD97's "pictures" page.
As with all Imaging Resource camera tests, we encourage you to let your own eyes be the judge of how well the devices performed. Explore the images on the pictures page, to see how well the FD97 performed, and how its images compare to other cameras you may be considering buying.
Overall, the FD97 produced very good images, with excellent color and good detail. Color accuracy was great throughout our testing, although the large cyan, magenta, and yellow blocks on our Davebox target appeared just slightly undersaturated. The camera's white balance system handled most of our lighting situations well, though it had some trouble with the difficult indoor portrait. (The manual balance worked quite well for that test though.) The FD97 picked up the subtle tonal variations of the Q60 chart, up to the "B" range, and also caught the difference between the red and magenta color blocks on the horizontal color chart of the Davebox. Despite the occasional color casts and the occasional slight undersaturation, the FD97's color performance was quite good.
In the resolution department, the FD97 performed about in the middle of the pack among 2 megapixel cameras we've tested, and virtually identically to the earlier FD95. (No surprise there, since as far as we know, it's the same lens and CCD.) We "called" the visual resolution at about 800 lines horizontally, 650 vertically. We saw more color moire patterns and artifacts in the vertical axis, but they weren't too severe in either direction. Overall, a good performance. (The biggest benefit of the FD97 relative to the FD95 is that the lower image compression available when operating using Memory Sticks for image storage significantly reduces JPEG artifacts.)
Optical distortion on the FD97 is moderate at the wide angle end, as we measured an approximate 0.76 percent barrel distortion. The telephoto end fared much better, as we couldn't find even a pixel of pincushion distortion. Chromatic aberration is also relatively low, showing about one or two pixels of coloration on each side of the black target lines. (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.)
The FD97 offers good exposure control, with a variety of Program AE modes that include Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Twilight, Twilight Plus, Landscape, Panfocus and Automatic exposure modes (although there's still no full manual mode, which is something we like to see on a higher end camera like this one). There's also a choice between spot and matrix metering. We found great highlight detail in many of our tests, particularly noticeable in the white gauze section of the Davebox target and in the strong highlights of the model's shirt and the white flowers in our outdoor portrait test.
The FD97 did a good job in the low-light category, as we were able to obtain very bright, clear images at light levels as low as one foot-candle (11 lux), in both the Shutter Priority and Twilight Plus exposure modes. In Twilight Plus mode, images were still usable at the 1/2 of a foot-candle light level (5.5 lux), but progressively darkened at the lower light levels. In the Shutter Priority exposure mode, images were still usable as low as the 1/8 and 1/16 of a foot-candle light levels (1.3 and 0.67 lux). (That's really dark!) In both the Twilight Plus and Shutter Priority exposure modes, we noticed a very cool color cast in the darker images that shifted to warmer one at the one foot-candle (11 lux) and higher light levels. Noise remained minimal in both exposure modes. To put the FD97's low-light performance into perspective, an average city night scene under modern street lighting corresponds to a light level of about one foot-candle, so the camera should be able to handle well-lit night scenes in Twilight Plus mode, and is able to go very dark when using Shutter Priority metering.
Given that the FD97 has an electronic optical viewfinder, which is essentially a smaller version of the LCD monitor, we expected to find the exact same frame accuracy for both. Instead, we found that the frame accuracy differed slightly at the wide angle setting, though the telephoto setting produced identical results for both viewfinders. In both cases, the LCD monitor and optical viewfinder were just a little tight. The optical viewfinder showed about 90.8 percent of the final image area at wide angle, and about 91.4 percent at telephoto, at all three image sizes. The LCD monitor showed approximately 89.5 percent accuracy at wide angle, and about 91.4 percent at telephoto, again at all three image sizes. We generally like to see LCD monitors as close to 100 percent accuracy as possible, so the FD97 falls a little short. (We do make our usual complaint about electronic viewfinders though, namely that they don't work in very dim lighting situations. This is not a particular fault of Sony or the FD97, but rather of electronic viewfinders in general.) Flash distribution looks dim but even at the telephoto setting, and much brighter at the wide angle setting with just a little falloff in the corners.
The FD97 does an excellent job in the macro category, capturing a minimum area of just 0.73 x 0.55 inches (18.57 x 13.93mm). Detail and resolution both look great, though the brooch and coins came out slightly soft (doubtless due to the limited depth of field when working that close). Even the tiny details of the dollar bill paper and gray backboard were visible, with just a little noise in the gray background. Color balance also looks good throughout the image. The FD97's built-in flash is blocked by the very long lens barrel, and is ineffective at this close range. Still, the FD97 gives an outstanding performance.
Overall, the MVC-FD97 performed very well in our testing, with very good color accuracy, low-light and macro results. Though we'd like to see a full manual exposure mode, the FD97 provides enough exposure control to take good images at very low light levels, and under otherwise challenging lighting conditions. Image quality is also very good, with low to moderate noise levels throughout most our testing. Given that we were already quite pleased with the performance of the MVC-FD95, we were very impressed with that of the MVC-FD97.
Conclusion
If you liked the MVC-FD95, you're going to love the MVC-FD97! Adding a Memory Stick slot in addition to the floppy disk drive eliminated one of the few complaints we had about the FD95: It's too-aggressive image compression. The 10x lens and Steady Shot optical stabilization system let you really reach out and grab distant subjects, and at shutter speeds way slower than you'd normally be able to get away with. Add in flexible exposure control, and a price cut of $100, and we think Sony will have a real winner here. This camera is really about being able to have your cake and eat it too: All the convenience of the floppy interface when you want it, and none of the limitations when you don't. Best of all, as of its introduction, the FD97 is actually the value leader in the marketplace, among 10x zoom-equipped digicams. A tough combination to beat!
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