HIT: Sony Mavica 85

[Joan Marstiller <JMarstille@AOL.COM>]

Here are the replies regarding the Mavica 85:

5?  Do you mean 83 by any chance?
Here is a page where you can find bundles of reviews of camera (1 megapixels)
and, of course, the Sonys are down near the bottom of the page.
http://www.pcphotoreview.com/dc/reviews/category.cfm?CategoryID=7
The mavica is the most popular of digital cameras because they save to
floppies that work in either Macs or pcs.  They are super convenient.  The one
we used was the bottom end (did not make movies) but we loved it.  The
pictures are great for the Web or on a computer monitor but terrible when you
print them out because of the low resolution.
The Mavicas are still cameras.  If what you really want is a movie camera, try
looking at the digital camcorders reviewed on this page:
http://www.pcphotoreview.com/reviews/category.cfm?CategoryID=40
Yes,  3-year-old computers will have big problems w video, but they will
work.  We have done some video editing with some Power Macs of about that
vintage at Ackley.
I'd suggest you get a new powerhouse pc and digital camcorder if you want to
monkey around w digital video.
Of course, you need a way to input the video into your computer and a way to
get it back out again, plus a program to work on it while it's in there.  The
cheapest answer is the DVD Imac which features firewire connections.  See this
page:
http://www.pcphotoreview.com/reviews/category.cfm?CategoryID=40

I really like the Mavica FD90 and FD95 (which I have for my personal use!)
They are much better models with more clarity. If you can spend the few extra
dollars, it is well worth it.  This camera is just the best ever.

We have this camera. The video is a nonstandard MPEG that isn't readily
accepted in computers as a file. You can play it back in the camera, though.

I believe we have that same model at school and it seems to work on the PC
and I haven't heard any complaints from the elementary where they have Macs.
However, the segment of video takes up lots of disc space and is extremely
small on the screen.  I tried making it large and got larger pixels and a
grossly distorted image.  I would not buy the camera for video use.  I have
used it for school and cross country pictures and had the most success with
just using it for pictures.

I bought one for my library about a month ago.  I love it!  It is simple to
use and very versatile.  The only problem we are having is with windows
2000!  If I send the video, the digital photo from a computer with windows
2000, it doesn't work, it doesn't go thru.  If I send it from another
computer with windows 98, no problem.  If I send it from the 98 machine to a
computer with 2000, it doesn't go thru!  I have our tech people working on
it.  Unfortunately the district is installing 2000 on all the computers!

I inherited this camera just the other day.  The person who bought it (a
computer tech) moved to another school district and I am using it for
school publicity shots.
It is a wonderful camera.  I am so impressed with it.  The best thing about
it is that it uses a floppy to store the pictures on.  32 pics can be
stored on a floppy, and you can delete pics you don't want.  You just put
the floppy on the computer and use a photo program or internet explorer to
open the files and you can view the pics you took on the computer right
away!  It's great!
The battery charges up quickly, and it lasts for a little over 2 hrs.  You
can also view the pics you took by looking at the viewfinder in the camera.
 I haven't used the video feature yet, but this camera is TERRIFIC!
By all means, a great buy!

We have one and LOVE it!
We haven't had any computer problems reading it.

Our high school purchased the FD 91 and we LOVE it!  It is great for putting
pictures on the school web page.  Students use it for projects all the time.
They can take pictures out of a book for powerpoint presentations.  We send
video mail to an elementary school in North Carolina.  High Schoolers share
original fables with Kindergarteners.

I have one of the Mavica 85's with the video capacity, but my teachers
and I don't use the video feature because, while it plays back well on
the camera itself, I haven't found a good way to use it on workstations,
etc.

Joan Marstiller
LMS,Franklin Regional Middle School
Murrysville, PA  jmarstille@aol.com

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