Sony MVC-FD90 Mavica 1.2MP Digital Camera with 8x Optical Zoom

We bought this camera and the starter kit (extra higher capacity battery and carrying case) in time for a weeklong family vacation. After shooting 2000 pictures and 200 video clips on $15 worth of floppy diskettes during the trip, I want to say this is a great camera. The film developing costs saved on this trip alone could have paid for the camera!

The mpeg movies are a great feature.

I almost settled for the FD85, I'm glad we didn't because of extra features gained. This camera is smaller and cheaper than the FD95, and smaller than our "good" SLR but a bit bigger than the average point and shoot.

The FD90 works completely auto with the full range of point and shoot features found on our similarly priced SLR, or you can "cursor" through the on-screen menus and set a number of options including exposure and white balance. The "AE program button" allows you to quickly select "twilight mode", "twilight plus mode", "landscape mode", "panfocus mode" or "spot light-metering mode". The camera has a manual focus ring if you need to use it, and the flash can be set auto, manual on, manual off, or redeye. The camera also has a macro mode. I'm not a professional photographer, so I found myself playing with the manual settings learning what makes for a good photograph. It is great getting instant feedback on the digital screen. If it didn't work, I just reviewed, deleted and tried again something I've longed for using our SLR. This camera is as fun as it is useful! The FD90 is an easy point and shoot or if you want, you can control some of the action if you are just willing to read the manual and learn the controls. The camera is capable of more than just point and shoot, but the controls are unique.

Did I mention that this camera can also record short videos?

No hassle floppy diskettes are almost free these days and are available almost everywhere, only Mavica cameras write directly to them. Great feature when vacation down south got extended unexpectedly in winter months due to bad weather canceling flights back north. Windows 98/ME/2000 PC users don't need any additional software to view the pictures stored on the floppies the camera creates an HTML page right on the diskette linking pictures and movies for easy viewing. There is also a freeware utility floating around the Internet specifically written for Mavica owning PC users that will thumbnail your shots if you are into quick website creations.

You can zoom into and crop pictures, copy and format diskettes, etc. right on the camera so you don't need a PC to enjoy this camera especially with the supplied cable that plugs directly into composite inputs on your Television/VCR. Regarding the resolution, I take most of my pictures on the lowest resolutions and they are still good they print 3 x 5 no problem, even larger with very little distortion. On screen (or my TV with the supplied cable) they are great at the wimpy 640 x 480, especially with the camera in slide-show mode. Plug the camera into a VCR directly and set it on a tripod at family or church events and you have an extra camcorder! It's when you try to "blow up" a picture, or digitally zoom into a recorded shot that the extra pixels matter.

I did take 20 or 30 pictures at higher resolutions, but rarely the highest. After visiting with friends who are digital camera owners, a few with 2 mega pixel and higher possibilities, I'm hard pressed to believe most of us care for more than a mega pixel, as evidenced by the popularity of the Mavica FD73 that doesn't even have the ability. If you are a true photography buff/professional, or have some specialized business need for super clarity, I can see the mega requirement. If you rarely venture beyond 200 speed 35mm film in your SLR, and you rarely deviate from dropping your film off at the local supermarket for developing doubles on 4 x 6 with an index print, lets be realistic. For me the pictures are for memories rather than for artistic impression, and with this camera I get hundreds where I used to get dozens. With the manual features I can tinker with art when so inclined. I almost forgot to mention the solarize, B&W, Sepia, and Neg.Art effects.

Why not perfect? Well, the shutter hesitation does take some getting used to, and the camera seems to struggle a bit in low lighting although I'm not convinced I just haven't learned how to manually compensate with so many available options. I believe there is also an optional external flash. Lenses, external charger(s), memory sticks etc. are also available for this camera at an additional cost.

Oh, ya, this camera makes MPEG movies, up to 60 sec of audio/video per 1.44 diskette in the low-res mode!

We researched several cameras, and I am very pleased with this purchase. I think the Mavica FD90 has the best mix/compromise of digital camera features. For me the FD90 has set the standard for all others to compare. Sony has done it right.

I hemmed and hawed for quite a while before making the plunge to buy a digital camera. I wanted something to use for online auctions, and take pix to use on my web site. I had been taking analog pix, getting them developed, scanning them, and tossing them in a box. I was going to get the FD-73, but decided I might want higher resolution, so I stepped up to the FD-90. Wow! The #1 selling point for me was the floppy disk storage; friends of mine have cameras with cables and whatnot, and it seems like a big pain. I like not being tied to a proprietary hardware and software interface. I can take pix in the car, and unload them at home, work, or at a friend's house. If I need more "film" I can stop at any supermarket or office supply store and pick up a box of floppies. Just this weekend, I took some pix of a car that a friend was selling, then just handed him the floppy to take home and upload to his own computer. Now the kicker: this camera has MPEG movie capability, which I wrote off as a "well, that's cool, but I probably won't use it" feature. I couldn't have been more wrong that's the coolest thing about this camera! In addition to the pix I took of the car, I also created a "walk-around" video as well! Downsides? The zoom control is kinda awkward being on the front; they should have left it on the back, so you could work it with your thumb while working the shutter. It takes a great deal of dexterity to work the zoom while shooting a movie. The camera should also ship with the longer-life battery that's available as an option. And they should ship some sort of protective case with it.

Buy Sony MVC-FD90 Mavica 1.2MP Digital Camera with 8x Optical Zoom Now

I own the MVC FD-88, which was the camera model just before the FD-90. I have to say I prefer the FD-88, which is unfortunate as Sony seems to have just stopped making it.

My major beefs with the FD-90 are first that you can only recharge the battery in the camera. This really stinks. I hate having to place an expensive piece of equipment on a shelf while it acts as a $20 battery charger. What a waste. The FD-88 came with a nice seperate charger, which actually took up LESS room than the equipment included with the FD-90, and you could go out and take pictures with a second battery while the first charged. Can't do that any more.

Secondly, the FD-90 pauses and freezes the image while you're focusing to shoot, which is really disorienting to me. Not to mention it doesn't get the fine-tuning in auto-focus on close-up subjects, even using the Macro option. I was really disapponted in that.

I've used the FD-88 a lot, and the FD-90 was a new toy to try out (my company bought it). I would have to say that I would wait on buying this camera until the "nest best thing" came out.

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I own the model that the FD 90 replaced, the FD88 and I have been using it for about a year. I feel I can review the FD90 because it is so similar to the FD88, and is an improvement over mine in a few important respects. The cameras are identical otherwise, except that Sony has made the FD90 into 1.6 megapixel instead of 1.3. This increases the resolution for larger prints and when you compress them (say to e-mail), they won't be grainy. Sony has also added their memory stick capability a great feature. Let me tell you about my FD88 and since the FD90 is even better, you can judge for yourself. The Sony Mavica FD88 is a terrific digital camera, especially for someone new to the genre and not necessarily extremely Computer literate. It takes great shots and the floppy disk storage medium is very easy to use and download to your PC. While its rated 1.3 million pixels is not as high as some other high level models from other manufacturers, in reality not too many people are going to appreciate much of a difference; the pictures look great, crystal clear, and very professional. Since the FD90 is improved in several respects over an already terrific camera, including somewhat higher resolution (1.6 million pixels), the FD90 has to be a real winner. The memory stick capability is an added bonus especially if you buy the memory stick-floppy disk converter. Then you can store literally dozens of shots. Well worth the price.

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I was enjoying my FD-90 and the combined convenience and hassle of having it record images onto a floppy disk (convenient in that you can easily transfer images to the computer--hassle in that you are constantly changing floppies), but now I love it. I purchased a Memory Stick and adaptor. Now, I can shoot away and not worry about having to change the diskette after every fifth shot. I also purchased a Sony photo printer for the computer. I am even more pleased with the camera now that I can get almost "lab-quality" photos from my home computer.