Digital Camera maybe Sony Mavica ??

[janette]

My MIL wants a digital camera. She's going to the Philipines next month for an extending time and wants something that she can view right away. She is not very technical and has trouble with the features on her 35mm camera. I'm looking to suggest something for her that would be fairly easy to use and understand but take decent pictures. Storage is also an issue since she doesn't have a laptop, one of her nephews there has an internet cafe so we do think she'll have some access to a comuter but not sure how much if any.

Looking at reviews the Sony Mavica looks like it might be a good choice for her. It uses a 2.5inch LCD screen as the viewfinder so she'll be able to see the pictures on the screen. It also uses CD-R as the storage so it she wouldn't have to be transfering pictures from a camera card to the computer to store them. Sounds like she just finishes the disk and the small disks should be available almost anywhere.

Anyone have one of these? Are they easy to use? Any other suggestions for her?

Thanks!!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Just my own thoughts, Janette, on the storage part. I would suggest geting a camera with Compact Flash, by far the most common memory for digital cameras (least expensive media also). A 256 card (can buy many places for $50 or less) will hold about a thousand files, give or take based on the megapixels of the camera. If she thinks she would be taking more than a thousand, just get an additional card or two.

 

[Disney_1derland]

and will go further to recommend against a Mavica for someone who is technologically challenged. They can be very touchy and don't take much to mess up your pictures. When you finalize a disk you must do it on a solid surface because if it shakes even once you can lose your pictures. Things like that. They are also not as reliable as other cameras using storage cards instead of disks. The other sonys that use the memory sticks are okay and not as touchy. I also think that compact flash is the way to go. How about a nice Canon g-5? (okay I'm biased I ADORE my canon!)

 

[dcg0317]

I own the Sony Mavica CD500 and I love it. The mini disk great for storage of your pictures, you can buy a pack of 10 at WalMart for 8.99, and each one holds 90+ pictures at the highest setting which is 5mb at very fine. You can also that movies, I got most of the fireworks display on 1 disk at MK last Sept. I like the convince of my pictures going to disk, you can view them at anytime and some home DVD plsyers can play them. It also let's you use cd-rw disk which are more ex*****ve but allows you to erase asny pictures you don't want. The only thing I don't like about it is the zoom is only 3x. It is fully atuomatic so you can just point and shoot, or if you want you can use the manualy settings if you want. Go to Steve's Digicam for a good review on this camera. If you have any question just pm and I'll try and answer them for you. I also going to show you some pictures I've taken with the camera.

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_reviews/cd500.html

 

[battricia]

I also have a mavica 500 and LOVE it! It burns about 80 pics to 1 cd at the highest resolution, it has a rechargable battery so no fuss w/ bringing tons of batteries or buying new batteries, just plug it in and it charges up. I've never had to 'lower' resolution/pic quality because I was running out of room on my card, because I just pop a new cd into the camera and i'm on my way.

The camera is fully automatic if you want it to be, or it can be just about fully manual if she ever gets the urge to be experimental.
Also you can buy the CDS on amazon.com, 50cds for $16. That's a TON of pictures, and they stay on the CD so you don't have to have a computer to store them on. Just search amazon for 'mini cd' and it'll have them on spindles like you get regular cds.

I honestly can't think of a bad thing to say about the camera. I got it for graduation in may 2003 and I use it ALL the time. It's also 5mpx so if she wants to get pics printed from snapfish or another service they come out looking just like a film image, so I'd definately suggest it.

If you'd like to PM me, I can also send you some pics that I have taken with the camera, or answer any other questions.

tricia.

 

[janette]

I may have to take her to the store and handle the cameras. I like that the screen is bigger on that one but she may rather have a regular viewfinder.

We'd probably go with with a 3megapixal, that should be plenty for her needs but enough to make a decent print if she wants them.

 

[patsvette]

i have an older mavica fd-92 which uses floppy disc and i like it ,but i just bought a canon powershot s1is and it blows it away.unlimited video,image stabilization,10 x zoom,but it was close to 600 with everything.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I have two Mavicas - one that uses floppies (about 4-5 yrs old) and one that uses the small CD (about 2 yrs old). I just got a new Cybershot this summer because I was going to be hiking and didn't want to carry so much. I get about 100 pictures on the CD, about 5-25 (depending on the quality) on the floppy. My son uses both Mavicas (he's 11 ) and has taken some very good pictures with them.

 

[bfeller]

I also have a Mavica and love it. It takes great pictures and I have some great ones from Wishes, Illuminations and the Boardwalk at night. It is great.

I also am technology challenged and this camera is great. As has been mentioned before it can be fully automatic or it can be manually controlled. (I love my 35mm SLR and am used to being able to do my own settings)

I don't think that you will be disappointed

 

[julia & nicks mom]

I used to have a Floppy Disk mavica and loved it - until I got my Kodak Easy Share - if she is technically challenged - I highly reccomend it - it is so easy to use and the 256 holds 250 pics - I always got my photo disks messed up with my work disks and sometimes I find pictures I had completely forgotten

 

[dmadman43]

What is the most important factor for her with the camera? Viewfinder size, portability, ease of use? What is her budget?

Given that she will be traveling, portability and size might be a priority. The Mavica is about the size and weight of an SLR. There are some quite nice point and shoot digital cameras with 2" viewscreens that easily fit in a pocket or purse. For example, the Fuji Finepic6800 Zoom, or the Kodak DX7630

I second what others have said about the CF vs the CD. While the CD might have some advantages, you should consider the functionality of it in the camera. It takes about 20 seconds to spin up to get ready to write. Waiting for the camera to "boot" can cost you some valuable camera shot time. It also takes longer to write the image to the CD than it does a CF card. This, too, might affect getting that next shot.

Battery life is also a consideration. An extra battery in the Mavica costs about $60 and one has to pay extra for an external charger. Otherwise the battery charges in the camera. This might be inconvenient when you need to charge that expired battery as, unless you have the external charger, you camera is out of use until the battery is charged.