Sony Mavica MVC- CD400. What an awesome camera!! Professional photos without the professional hassle.

If you want a digital camera that has a wide range of features, takes awesome pictures and has lengthy video options then the Sony Mavica MVC- CD400 is the camera for you. Aside from the price and size of this camera I have yet to find a draw back.

My wife and I wanted a digital camera and a digital cam corder. But we didn't want to lug two pieces of equipment every where went. The twins were growing fast and would soon be walking. After researching and debating on the price we decided to go with this camera. The price of the camera was a small deterrent when compared to the 4 mega-pixels and dual function still shot\video capabilities.

The Sony Mavica MVC- CD400 offers a great many options and provides quality (4 mega-pixels) pictures. It is an easy to camera to use even for a novice. It has advanced features for the enthusiast and produces quality pictures that will astound you.

The functions of the camera are easy to access from a dial on the top right of the camera or you can even review\delete your last picture taken by simply pressing the left side of the directional pad located on back.

To get started you need to insert an 8 cm CD in the typical CD bay storage (It also fits in and will read from your computer). You will need to initialize the disk which takes a few minutes and may not work if the camera is jiggled or moved. JUST LEAVE IT ALONE!!! When it is done you are ready. If you keep several pre-initialized disks ready you won't need to worry about this if you get in a crunch. The CDs hold up to 1291 images on the 640x480 setting. It can takes as many as 119 high quality photos (2272x1704). THIS IS PER EACH CD. There are several modes (1600x1200 and 1280x960) and the amount of storage decreases with the higher the quality. These mini CD's are usually cheap as well and you can pick up 50 of them for about $25. OR you can just get a couple CD-RW and keep saving them on you computer and re-using them. Any way you do it is cheaper than memory sticks.

Once ready to shoot all you have to do is hold the button partially down and wait for the beep (which can turn off). You will then hear the "shutter" flick. Although this is not needed I think it adds to the total package as a nice extra. (This can also be turned off) Quick photos are a little difficult, but if you are ready you can really get some nice shots. If you know you want several shots in quick succession, it has a multi-burst mode, clip motion, or a quick three shot mode.

Other functions include, black and white, sepia, negative, and solarized. It also has function for night time shooting. Close up mode is just a push of the button and I have taken some really nice wildlife photos. (Please contact me if you would like to see them or any other samples from this camera). You can also manually adjust the exposure, focus, aperture, and "shutter" speed. The timer is also easy to set and gives you about 10 seconds before it snaps the shot.

Once your pictures are taken, you can then review then one by one, a slide show, or a group of nine. You can zoom in any picture up to 5x. (Can you say "retinal patterning"?) You can crop and rotate your pictures to suit your needs as well as add effects after the shot is taken. The LCD screen can be dimmed or even turned off to conserve battery power. (In enough light you can still see some images). These images can be deleted to avoid any repeats or unwanted pictures.

I have found the video abilities of this camera to outshine other digital cameras. Again the length of video differs with quality you want (5 min 53 sec @ 320 HQ, 23 min 38 sec @ 320x420 or 89 min 36 sec @ 160x112). Lets see a memory stick do that!!!

This camera also has sound recording (Mpeg1) to mark pictures with and audio file. This enables you to give a brief narrative of about where you were, who was with you, your feelings at the time or anything else you want.

The setup mode allows you to finalize\format\initialize discs, turn on\off redeye and sounds. It also allows you to choose if and how the time and date appear on your photos.

Overall this camera is versatile and comes with a lens cap, auto flash (which can easily be turned off), battery, AC adaptor\recharger, one CD- RW, a six pack of CD-R, Carl Zeis 3x zoom lens, shoulder strap, USB connector and the all question answering owner's manual. You can buy extras such as a tripod and extra lighting equipment.

The ability of this camera to take quality pictures and give you the option of selecting\modifying your pictures makes it a great buy for the price. The video features are remarkable for a digital camera. Printing your own pictures has never been this fun. As I am sure you can tell, I can not rave enough of this camera. I would buy this camera again.