Posted: 8/10/2023
Summary
I first used a Sony Mavica in the late 90’s for work, and had to decide between one “hi-res” uncompressed photo per disc, (and carrying a heap of disks), or lower the resolution to fit a few more pictures on each disk. I argued that the uncompressed bitmap had higher resolution (better), but a colleague said that the lower resolution Email (320 x 240 JPG) setting meant more pictures (but you would lose a lot of detail). We compromised on Normal (640x480)-JPG at Fine for about 15 pictures per disk.
Thankfully we can now store many hundreds of gigabytes on a microSD card and can use max res for everything without worrying.
Oh, there was also the issue of taking a photo and then the floppy drive would scream and whir as it saved the picture...not very discreet!
Year of release
2001 – can you believe the same year that a floppy disk camera was being sold was the same year the first Harry Potter movie was released! (The Philosophers/Sorcerers Stone) and the first Lord of the Rings (Fellowship). Oh, and Monsters Inc, Shrek, Oceans Eleven, The Mummy returns (don’t mention MonkeyBone!), Memento, Driven, Evolution, Lara Croft, The Fast and the Furious, AI, Cats and Dogs, Rat Race, Zoolander, Donnie Darko, Amelie, Shallow Hal, Royal Tenenbaums, The Majestic, and Spirited Away! 2001! Floppy Disks still a thing! And all these awesome movies.
2001 - 9/11 :( and the world changed forever, the Buddhas of Bamiyan were destroyed :(, The Odyssey arrived on Mars (phew), and Windows XP was released alongside Mac OS X, and HALO: Combat Evolved (which I still play to this day!)
Specs:
|
Film or Pixels |
0.3 MP - 4.5 mm (1/4 type) CCD (progressive scan) |
|
Max Resolution |
640 x 480 – 4:3 |
|
Type |
10x Zoom lens – 3 1/2” floppy disk storage – 1.44 MB |
|
Auto or Manual |
auto exposure, auto focus, manual exposure (shutter priority, aperture priority) and auto white balance |
|
Lens / Aperture |
40 – 400 mm F/1.8 – 2.9 (4.87 crop factor) |
|
Image Stabilisation |
No |
|
Shutter Speed |
1/60 – 1/4000 sec |
|
Self Timer |
Yes :) 10 seconds |
|
Exposure Comp’n |
+/- 1.5 EV (½ stops) |
|
Viewfinder |
Nope, screen only |
|
Screen |
Fixed – 2 1/2” - 84k pixel |
|
Macro focus |
Automatic macro – no manual focus - 1cm |
|
ISO / ASA |
100 |
|
Flash |
Yes |
|
Power / Battery |
1x Sony NP-F330 |
|
Weatherproof |
No |
|
Dimensions |
138 x 103 x 62 mm |
|
Weight |
580g, ~600g with battery and floppy disk |
4 pre-programmed special effects: sepia, black & white, negative art and solarize (intense light)
Program AE: soft portrait, sports, beach & ski, sunset & moon, landscape, panfocus
Link to the manual: https://www.sony.com/electronics/support/res/manuals/3066/30665441M.pdf
Lens
Zoom lens from 40 to 400 mm. 40mm f/1.8 – bright, but 40mm is quite narrow for landscapes.
Viewscreen
Tiny and lo-res, but it works :)
Pros
Not bad pics, would go in the “Weird and Wonderful” category rather than a daily-carry
Nice to hold, buttons in the right places
Cons
Who has a floppy drive nowadays! (I do)
Rating
It’s good, and I still enjoy using it
Film or Pixels / Storage
3 1/2” Floppy Disks
Ergonomics
it’s a bit big, but not too bad
Buttons and Controls:
|
Top |
Shutter release – half press to focus |
|
Bottom |
Tripod socket |
|
Front |
Flash and self timer “blinking lamp” |
|
Sides |
Floppy Disk receptacle, with Disk Eject lever on the back |
|
Back |
Lots of buttons:
|
Ease of use
Pretty easy – auto most things
Image Quality
good for such a small size
Image Samples
I don’t have any old school photos, but here’s one I took recently
and to show that .3mp is still useable, here’s a pano (with Hugin – which I’ll do a Guide for)
Final thoughts
Weird and Wonderful, fun to use
Video
it doesn’t do “video”, as such, but does “MULTI” which is like video, but images are continuously recorded as 1 file each at a rate of about 1 every 0.25 seconds. You can play them back on the LCD screen, continuously “like an animated slide show (Only once)” but when played on another machine, “only 1 image will be displayed.”
Shutter Sound
hmm – with the floppy drive grinding away – I’ll make a recording
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