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Feb 17 - Feb 24, 2002 |
Sony Mavica MVC-CD300
By Alessandro Cancian
Originally Published: 2001-11-25
Heavy" and "cumbersome" are the adjectives that come to mind when discussing one of the latest Sony digital cameras, the Mavica MVC-CD300.
Designed with a rather unusual shape, with the purpose of accommodating the mini CD-R (8cm) or CD-RW where the three megapixel camera stores the pictures, the MVC-CD300 does not offer an efficient grip. In a world where almost all manufacturers rely on CompactFlash cards, Memory Sticks or Microdrives to allow digital cameras to store images, Sony offers an interesting alternative with mini CDs capable of recording up to 156 MB.
Even though Sony is not new to solving problems differently from its competitors, e.g. the early Mavica with floppy disk drives, the choice of CDs for storage has negative as well as positive sides.
Cheaper than a CompactFlash card, considering the latter's exorbitant prices, the recorded CD can also be put in any computer's CD drive for downloading the pictures with no need for connection cables. CD-RWs (rewriteable) are clearly better, since they can be erased and reused, whereas CD-Rs cannot.
However, accessing the contents on the CD from the camera, e.g. for visualizing the shots taken, is far slower than with other solutions: as a consequence, viewing hi-res images takes some seconds per shot. The need to equip the MVC-CD300 with an optical mechanism for CD recording surely is among the main reasons for the camera's excessive weight and cumbersome shape.
A sorely missed accessory is the viewfinder, which can only be purchased optionally. The Mavica MVC-CD300 comes with an LCD screen (2.5"), located in the back of the camera, which can be used for visualizing the image before taking the shot. Despite the screen's excellent resolution, operating without a viewfinder is frequently difficult. Especially outside, the LCD screen can be impossible to use due to strong lighting, and as a consequence many shots will fail to meet your approval.
Moreover, it is better not to exceed in using the monitor, since it has a marked influence on the life of the rechargeable batteries coming with the MVC-CD300. I found out about this trait when the camera I was testing required recharging after as few as 50 shots.
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