Sony Mavica MVC-FD75 > Reviews (2)

I bought my Mavica FD75 around 2 years ago after using, and being very impressed with, an older (FD71?) model at my workplace.

By current standards the FD75 is something of a dinosaur and is quite bulky due to it using floppy discs for recording images. The maximum image size that can be saved is 640 x 480 pixels which equates to approx 0.3 megapixels. If you want to print your photos then the absolute maximum size you could hope for would be 6x4", though to be quite honest I've never printed my shots.

So why did I buy the FD75? Well, the older Mavica model I'd used at work had proved to be bullet-proof over a number of years heavy useage by many users. The advantage of the FD75 over it's predecessor is the 10x zoom lens(optical, not digital zoom). Normally I use Olympus SLR cameras for my photography but I decided to enter the digital world so that I could go out and do 'research shots' without taking a heavy bag containing camera bodies, different lenses, flashgun etc. I was impressed by the 10x zoom lens, it's equivalent to a 40-400mm lens in 35mm SLR format, and functions in a similar manner in that the image goes out of focus if you try to zoom in too far to a close subject. With the lens zoomed out to its widest angle the camera will focus on a subject less than 1" from the lens - very impressive! For anyone wanting to take wider angle shots (for landscapes etc), an additional lens is available which screws onto the filter thread.

When I bought the FD75 my computer at the time used Windows 95, this meant that even if I'd wanted to, I couldn't buy a camera with a USB lead (Win 95 doesn't support USB). I've since purchased a pc with Windows XP but have no intention of updating the camera, it's a gem.

The LCD display is a nice big 2.5" unit, there's no viewfinder so this is the only means of composing the shot. When used indoors this is fine but if you use the camera outside on a bright sunny day the screen becomes virtually impossible to see clearly. I believe you can buy a rubber bellows that fits around the display so this is something I'm going to look into (no pun intended!) in the near future.

The switches and buttons are all chunky and very easy to use - a definite advantage to the camera being larger than most other digital models. The menu system is very straightforward and allows the user to set flash levels, exposure compensation, picture quality etc. A big 2 position sliding switch offers the option of either taking pictures or viewing those stored on the floppy disc, whilst other buttons offer a choice of picture effects (normal, sepia, b&w etc) and a variety of modes (sport, landscape, night views etc). The battery lasts approx 2 hours if flash isn't used and takes approx 2.5 hours to recharge.

To summarise, I'm very happy with this camera. It's very easy to use, is built to last and whilst I now have a computer with USB ports I have no intention of parting with the FD75.