posted on December 1, 2000 10:02:34 PM
I'm thinking of buying a Sony Mavica FD 73 digital camera because I read that it is easy to use and takes great pictures. Right now, I'm taking pictures and scanning them and it is very time-consuming. What are the pros and cons of a digital camera? Is it worth spending $499 plus tax for a camera?
posted on December 1, 2000 10:11:26 PM
I have one and their great. They use a floppy disk plus you can print the pictures out yourself if you buy the printer. Best camera I have ever owned.
posted on December 1, 2000 10:15:03 PM
I absolutely love my Mavica. I first bought a cheaper one and my family has been passing it around - no one can figure it out!
It might seem like alot of money now but consider it a business expense - one you will LOVE!
Oh, and the program that comes with it is really easy to use - add Auction Watch and you will have great auctions in no time!
posted on December 2, 2000 04:08:19 AM
peacebear -
Do the math: Let's say the cost of film and developing is $10 for a roll of 25 pictures (low end of the scale) ... that's $.40 a picture. Somewhere around 1250 pictures the savings in processing costs alone will pay for the camera.
There are other savings too: TIME ... assuming your time is worth $10/hour to you, and assuming it takes you 30 seconds to scan a photo, that's $.08 worth of time per picture you save. So your picture "cost" is up to $0.48 and the camera pays for itself with 1000 pictures.
And the REAL savings ... "film" is essentially free, and you don't wait for developing, so you can take multiple shots of an item and pick the best one, or link to several in your auction. If the picture is no good, you know immediately and can reshoot immediately. This means you can experiment with lighting and actually LEARN how to take better pictures instead of rationing your film because you need to minimize expenses.
posted on December 2, 2000 05:19:35 AM
macandjan -
"I wish it had a little keypad you could work with a stylus to name files"
I downloaded a FREE image manager program called "Image Navigator" from the Graphics Tools section of nonags.com and love it. YOU see an entire directory as thumbnails, can click to enlarge the thumbnail, rename or delete thumbnails, and then cut or copy and paste into another directory.
I have used it at work to sort through directories with several hundred images, and use it at home to rename JPGs after I copy them to the hard drive from the floppy.
posted on December 2, 2000 05:26:29 AM
I've been impressed with my Mavica. I have my own darkroom and develop and print black and white film. I thought I would be really disappointed with the resolution of digital cameras, but I've found the Mavica to be fine for my eBay pictures. I just wish you didn't have to recharge the battery so often.
posted on December 2, 2000 05:57:02 AM
As far as I am concerned, there are "NO CONS."As far as auction pictures go, the Mavica is the easiest digital camera out there with excellent results. You can view the picture immediately, and if you're not satisfied, delete and take another, or save it and pick the best one. You can start AW, take the picture and have it uploaded within a minute or two, and have your auction going within a few minutes. It is also fast to e-mail a picture within a few seconds after taking the picture, no cables, BS or nuthin. If you have space on a floppy, you're in business.
If Fed Ex and UPS were to merge, would they call it FedUP?
posted on December 2, 2000 07:37:37 AM
i have 2 mavicas, an fd73 and an fd95, and really like them both. theyre easy to use, understand, and are very convienient. i can get up to 50 pics per disk, so its inexpensive in the long run. dont pay $499 though... you can find them (brand new) much cheaper on ebay.
if you ever want to print out a digital pic and you dont have a good printer, you can go to zing.com, upload your pics and for as little as (i think) 49 cents, you can have them do it for you. the pics look just as good as if done with a "regular" 35mm camera.
posted on December 2, 2000 10:48:37 AM
Rivercity: Can you tell me more? You said you can start AW, take picture, have it uploaded quickly. I have taken pictures of the first four items I want to sell on eBay, and they are in my computer. I edited them with my software. Now I'm stymied! Exactly how do I get them from my computer to eBay? Do I have to have AW or such helping me? I have Windows 98, Prodigy, and Netscape. This is making me nuts--have tried eBay's technical issues, have looked at eBay's instructions, just can't seem to get it right. And a couple of my items are Christmas-related!
posted on December 2, 2000 11:00:36 AM
I bought for my wife from a great eBay seller. I don't do much selling so I don't really have a need to take 'snapshots' to enhance listings, but she absolutely loves the camera. I was a little leery at first. Thought it was neat like the Polaroids when they first came out, but some of the outdoor photography she is doing with this camera is incredible. I highly recommend the Mavica product ...
posted on December 2, 2000 11:55:44 AM
I bought one of the first Sony Mavicas out. They had it on ebay before they had it in our local stores.
I was totally happy with it until about 6 months ago when I started getting little bubbles in the pictures(tiny wavy white lines). Sometimes my edit program will take them out but sometimes not without changing the color of the pic.
I don't think it's the camera, I think it's my lack of photography expertise. Maybe someone can tell me if I'm letting too much light in or not enough? Or maybe I just need a newer model?
posted on December 2, 2000 01:36:48 PM
Roadsmith: It is fairly easy and probably more than one way to accomplish the same result. I use AuctionWatch and have had excellent results. After you have logged in with your password, go to Auction Manager, one of the buttons on the top, and then go to "Create a new Auction," upload photos and follow the instructions. You can e-mail me if you like at: [email protected] or phone at 309-786-7247, ask for Jack.
If Fed Ex and UPS were to merge, would they call it FedUP?
posted on December 2, 2000 03:57:46 PM
The Mavica is a great camera for auction photos. However, a floppy disk holds a little over a meg and a high resolution photo (like a family shot) is almost a meg all by itself. It becomes pretty obvious that the Sony must be using heavy compression to put photos on a floppy disk. So if your goal is a camera for auction photos, go for the Mavica. If you plan on taking family vacation shots, expect a noticeable drop in quality when compared to cameras that use compact flash or smartmedia.
You are also paying a premium for the floppy convenience. There are several 2+ megapixel cameras available for $100 less. Since these have USB capablity, if you have a USB port, all you have to do is plug the camera into the cable and download in seconds. Not a whole lot harder than inserting a floppy and the results are a whole lot better. I traded in my Mavica for a Toshiba PDR-M5.
posted on December 3, 2000 07:06:44 AM
I am mainly a seller and have seldom purchased anything on line.
"IF" one purchased a new camera on eBay, lets say, what about the Warranty, etc?
After problems with my first digital camera, I purchased my second from Office Depot, KNOWING I was paying more, but I wanted an extended warranty and a physical site to return the camera to if I had problems - this is a major concern to me in purchase an item like this on line.
posted on December 3, 2000 07:37:42 AM
there have been some excellent threads previously on this topic, i don't know how to do the search for old threads, but someone else will know how and can probably steer you in the right direction. i bought my sony fd73 at the sony outlet nearest me for 299.00. peacebear, i suggest you do a web search for sony outlet and see if there's one near you, i drove an hour to the location where i bought mine, but it was well worth the savings.
posted on December 3, 2000 10:27:36 AM
I have 2 Sony Mavica FD73s. Actually, my husband has the other one. We bought them both on eBay at great below retail prices, with warranties, etc. Mine even came with an extra battery. I absolutley love mine for its simplicity, floppy disc, no cable hassle and "no-brainer" usage. We originally bought them for our "real world" business which requires digital photos as file attachements to electronic data transfer of files. When we both started selling on eBay over a year ago, it was a natural to use the Mavicas. We have never had a problem with them and they take wonderful photos; clear and precise both distant and up-close. I even use my Sony for family pictures, printing out the ones I want on photo quality paper on my HP laserjets. I think it's the best thing going since chopped liver and well worth the time and initial expense. I keep a supply of labeled floppy discs around and when I'm thru printing or downloading the pix I need, why I just erase the disc and am ready to start again. Yes, battery life is not real long, about 2 hours of use, but I always keep a spare battery in the charger and I'm always ready to "point and shoot". Believe me, after years of 35mm use, running to the developer, buying film, etc.....this has made life simple and easy and perfect for uploading photos to eBay and Auction Watch listings.
posted on December 3, 2000 03:35:25 PM
I use a Mavica FD83, and although there is much I don't "know" about using it yet, the results so far are more than satisfactory. One of the things I like the best about it is that my "mistakes" are easily deleted from the diskette, but before they are, I have a great example of what I didn't do right, so the learning curve is a high upward slope.
I do have a quick question for other Mavica users who do auctions...do you use any of the available auxiliary lenses/filters, etc.? If so, what are the reasons that you do?
posted on December 3, 2000 04:00:55 PM
I am going to make everyone feel good tonight!!! I bought my Sony Mavica over a year ago and including a carrying case, it was over $900.00. Good thing I love it or I'd be really bummed after reading this thread on the great prices!!! BTW, purchased it at Best Buys.
posted on December 3, 2000 05:09:23 PM
I was impressed with the Sony's myself.I have several freinds thathave one and let me try theirs out. The only drawback is being limited to the 1.4 megs of the floppy disk. After some research I found out about the Panasonic PV-SD4090. Its a 1.3 mega pixel resolution(1280x960) and uses floppies or 120meg super disks. That makes it great for Ebay or family use. Superdisks are only about $10 compared to the high costs compact flash disks. I found them onsale at Sears for $499. Plus Panasonic has a mail in rebate of $100 plus a free superdisk(mail in also)until Dec.31. Several people on Ebay are selling them also. I'm totaly happy & impressed with the camera so far.Here is a link to info on this camera if anybody is interested.
http://www.prodcat.panasonic.com/shop/product.asp?sku=PV-SD4090&CategoryID=293
I bought a LCD cover for a Sony mavica off Ebay for it that worked great also. Keeps fngerprnts & scratchs away!
posted on December 3, 2000 07:11:03 PM
I just purchased a FD73 2 weeks ago and love it. Pictures come out great.
The only thing to note is that when you take pictures for auction, do not use the "email" size pictues, they are always blurry.
Use regular size format and cut/crop your picture on your graphic application for auction pictures, they are clear and crisp.
I also highly recommend getting the model that uses 3.5 floppies. They are cheap and you can store a lot of jpg pics on them. No software to install, no usb cables or other crap.
