Sony Mavica MVC FD83 0.9 MP Digital Camera

This is my second Mavica FD83. The first one was (and still is) a strong workhorse that has taken 1,000's of pictures with no problems whatsoever. I bought a newer replacement because my battery finally gave up after 9 years, and I wanted a reliable backup. The old one still works excellent.

Perfect for eBay pics, the macro function takes excellent closeup pics. I also like the manual exposure override for fine tuning the auto settings, especially indoors. The autofocus works perfect, yet the manual focus is available, which I never needed. Have not needed to record videos or to use the sound recording with pics. But, they are both useful features, especially if you want to record a memo for the picture you are taking.

Would buy this camera again, if still available. Can't imagine a better camera with so many features for the money. The Sony carrying case is nice, but a portable CD soft case costs much less and will hold the camera, charger, extra battery and a dozen floppies.

The only issue I've had is the quality of available 3½" floppy discs. Seems like a box of ten will yield only 6-7 good discs.

By today's standards, the Mavica is a very large camera and the resolution is under 1.0 Mb. But, higher resolutions are not needed for eBay pics. The optical and digital zoom features give very good results. The bulkiness of the camera is more than offset by its durability in all conditions. I have used mine in a dusty shop from below freezing to above 100°F with no problems. Even dropped it in the snow once with no issues.

The aftermarket Mavica batteries on eBay are an excellent value and work fine. But, the fit makes removal from the camera difficult. This is solved by reducing the size of the plastic battery case with sandpaper.

I am by no means a professional photographer, but I was looking for a good quality camera that was easy to use, did not require expensive extras, and would allow me to take good quality pictures. I had priced digital cameras for a while, but every time I had one firm in mind, the big "megapixel race" would resume. I didn't need a huge megapixel camera for the kind of pictures I had in mind (I am a classic jazz record collector, and wanted to start taking pictures of album cover art for a possible website or for other purposes), and I also wanted one that wasn't so small that no matter what way you hold it, ya get a finger in the aperture. The Mavica fit the bill for me in every way! It is big and bulky, easy enough for a kid to use, does not have any requirement for storing pictures other than 3.5 floppy discs that are inexpensive and can be taken from the camera right to the computer, it takes great pictures, and does not require any memory stick/storage that has it's own proprietary software to run! Is it perfect in every way? Not by any means! The battery tends to wear down pretty quickly, but for a low cost, batteries can be purchased. When a picture is taken, it takes a bit of time for it to save to the floppy, so there is a wait to take the next shot. So far, it has been flawless in operation, and the pictures are fantastic quality, much more than I expected. I would recommend this camera for the novice user who doesnt want to spend alot for a good, easy and ready to use digital camera.

The Mavica is a phenomenal camera, using a simple 2.0 3.5 floppy for the removable storage. Then, just pop the floppy into your computer, it opens with the pictures you already took, ready in JPG form. Save them, email them or edit them effortlessly.

Sony, you took the cake with this one, THANKS!

These cameras are great for the older floppy 3 1/2" disc computers, they hold enough info to create great photos in your photo editing programs, Ive been useing these for years now with great success. This specific camera will make a 1 minute short movie, plenty of room for a quicky movie. Depending on quality of picture (all fine) it will hold close to 30 pics; not as much of course as the newer digital but some people don't have the money nor the computer to use the newer items. Great camera especially for the money!

I have owned a FD73 Sony Mavica since 2000. It takes wonderful closeups and better than most digital cameras that are on the market in the lower price range. ($100-200) I amaze my friends with the close ups I can take. Even though it takes a floppy disc that is no problem because I have over 1000 or more floppys. All I do is transfer off the floppy with a SD Card and a reader. I bought this second camera FD83 for a back up . I love it because it is not a small dinky camera that is so prevelant with the digitals they sell today. I do not like dinky small buttons and like a camera that a person can hold on to. I have a Nikon Cool Pix and I'll put my Sony Mavica FD73 or FD83 up against it any day. I have taken macro shots of a raindrop on a leaf and actually see a reflection in the rain drop. I can shoot pictures of pictures that look good if not better than the original. I can also put in a floppy (say I am at a function and a person wants a copy right then and there) and make an instant copy and hand it to them. The only disadvantage is if they do not have a floppy drive on their computer. I don't know if Sony still makes the digital Mavica but so far it has been the best camera I ever owned in it's price range. I just hope that Sony continues to make the Lithium Batteries for years.