Sony Mavica MVC FD71

I bought this camera in March 1999 and I still love it. I've taken pictures with it from coast to coast including aerials. Quality is good enough for what I'm looking for (recording trips with quick results). Uploading the images to computer can't get any easier than this.

floppy sounds good but, they are not a safe medium as most floppys form bad sectors when played back and you end up loosing all the images.

1/2 mp resolution is only good for the net.

sony mavica fd 71 often does not focus in the dark. it's better to spend some more money and buy at least a 2mp resolution camera.

i've just got this camera and i'm astonished. The focus and exposure are manual, so you can make more artful photos. Flash is automatic, manual (3 levels) or can just be turned off. That's very useful. the size is valuable for me too. i hate modern pocket type cameras. you look like tourist under those. of course they are good for tourists but not for me. floppy disc storage is an advantege too.

too bad sony installed only a LCD viewfinder. when the sun is shining brightly into the screen, you cant see anything.

but it's a really great camera. you feel like having a modern zenit.

I was amazed at first that a digital camera had been built around a floppy drive. That impressed me. Until I saw how much Sony expect you to pay for this.

Basically, the Sony FD-71 has a 350,000 pixel CCD, the same size as the £160 Agfa ePhoto 780, but costs twice as much. Why? Presumably because the miniature floppy drive is expensive to manufacture.

Problems with this camera;

The low resolution means that unless you are running a website, image quality is gonna be low. Very low. Unacceptable for even 6x4 prints, unless you get a rare shot.

The floppy drive is sluggish, so you cannot just keep your finger on the shutter and shoot away.

Floppy disks can be heavy to carry around with you. Combine this with the very considerable weight of the camera, and you will sweat if you carry this about on holiday.

The 10x optical zoom is superb, as is the quality of the screen on the rear of the camera. But don't forget, this is a budget quality camera with a mid-range price tag. For the same price you can have a Kodak DC240 (1.3 megapixel), or a Canon Powershot A50 (1.3 megapixel again), or, if you really push the boat out, spend a few pennies more on a Nikon Coolpix 700 (2.11 megapixel).

I suppose there is the argument of the convenience of floppy disk storage. But let me tell you, it is a wrong argument. Floppy disks need to be stored someplace, they are big, they deteriorate with age. A CompactFlash or SmartMedia card reader will set you back £50 at best, and means that a camera using these memory cards becomes just as convenient to use as a floppy disk based camera. And cheaper. Buy a Kodak DC215 and use the money you save from not buying this camera to buy a card reader instead

Got this Camera because Id rather have a stack of floppy disks than spend a fortune on flash cards. Transfer to PC is much simpler too. Resolution seems good. Optical zoom is upto 10x which is all I need. Money well spent.