I chose the right one!

The Decision
I am documenting the restoration of our house. We have done some major renovation with dramatic results, and wanted those awful "before" pictures for bragging rights. Well, when I finally got around to having the film developed, guess what? Most of the shots didn't come out. What a disappointment. I was so upset by the whole incident I decided on the spot that it was time to move into the digital age.

Why Sony?
I was obliged to purchase a Sony camera due to the fact that I have a Sony Citibank Visa, which accumulates points towards the purchase of Sony products. Therefore, the camera would cost me nothing. And therefore, the Sony might not be the best choice in its price range. That being said, I narrowed my search down to the MVCD400 and the DSCF717, both upper-end products in Sony's extensive and somewhat confusing product line. My criteria for choosing a camera was based on megapixels, versatility, with price a minor, but still relevant, consideration. After all, just because this was going to be a freebie didn't mean I wasn't looking for value. I also wanted be sure that I was getting something that I'd still be happy with in ten years. In spite of rapidly changing technology there are just certain things that I don't believe in replacing every other year. A camera is one of them.

What ultimately swayed my decision was the limited storage capacity supplied with the DSCF717, the cost of the unit ($1000- since reduced), and the extra expense for additional memory sticks. It's also an awkward, unbalanced affair, with the lens being almost twice the size of the rest of the unit. Although the DSCF717 got excellent reviews for picture quality, one reviewer likened the included memory to a Cadillac with a five gallon gas tank. Additional memory isn't cheap. And yet I stressed for several weeks before making a decision. Having never owned a digital camera, I was worried that 4 megapixels might not be enough for superior picture quality (the DSCF717 has 5.2). I kept reading about grainy, "digital looking" pictures with "cartoonish" colors. For this amount of money I at least expected quality equal to my old 35mm. Was digital technology still in the infancy stage? I also wasn't sure if the MVCD400 had a full manual mode (it does), as there was conflicting information on the Web. I spent a considerable amount of time weighing my options before making a decision.

Well, my worries were unfounded. This camera takes beautiful pictures. Even when blown-up to 8" x 10" the detail is astounding. Colors are rendered accurately as well. I have experimented with this camera both indoors and out, and have been very pleased with the results. The video mode, however, produced somewhat grainy, jittery, images and is not this cameras strong point. The camera is very easy to use, and auto everything mode produced nice results, although you won't be maximizing the cameras potential.

The included re-writeable disk can be used just like a memory stick if you wish or choose to burn to write-only CD's and forget about uploading to your computer altogether. I didn't fully appreciate the convenience of this format is until we went on a two week vacation. No worries about running out of memory, just pop in another disk and go. Your pictures are archived and ready for access when you are. I found the mini CD's available at Best Buy for $19.95 for a pack of 50. In fine mode you get about 65 pics on a disk so that's 40 cents for 65 pictures! In standard mode you get double the amount but at these prices why bother!

Features & Settings
Full automatic, aperture priority, shutter priority, full manual (including focus), "scene" modes; portrait, landscape, twilight, etc., macro mode (for close-ups), night mode, white balance control (6 settings), video mode, variable intensity flash, built-in battery charger, several quality and compression combinations, red-eye reduction, timer feature, "film" speed selector; 100, 200, 400, auto, time/date stamp, auto shut-off, black and white, sepia, solarize, invert (these effects are probably as easily done with photo software). In summary; plenty of options and flexibility.

The Good Stuff
The option to preview a picture before you write it to the disk or automatically write to the disk as you shoot.
Instant preview of the picture as you adjust shutter speed, white balance, etc.
Settings are stored with each picture, so, for instance, if you take the same picture twice but use a different f-stop or exposure setting, you can then compare the pics and know which settings were used.
You can review up to nine pictures at the same time.
A very handy feature is the provided cable, which allows you to view your pictures on your television. You could also connect the cable to your VCR, select "Slide Show", hit record and make a tape of your masterpieces.
The above mentioned cable allows you to use your television as a giant viewfinder, which might be useful in composing a family portrait, etc.
There is a cable for interfacing with your computer but it's really not necessary, as you can simply put the CD in the computer and access pics and video directly. I found, at least with my computer, that I didn't need the disk adapter (it makes the 3" mini-disk the same size as a regular CD).
Pictures are already archived on the discs, so there is no need to upload to your computer.
You can record sound with your pictures if you like.
Comes with 6 CD-R and 1 CD-RW disks
Battery life remaining indicator- purportedly very accurate (I've never run mine down)
Boots up and focuses quickly
A very comprehensive owner's manual. There's a lot to learn if you want to take advantage of all the features.
Easy to navigate menu's

The Not So Good
Bulkier than most, necessitated by CD format
Lacks an optical viewfinder and, although the LCD screen is a generous 2.5", it is not always easy to tell when things are in focus. It's also nearly useless in bright sunlight but… Sony offers an optional cover to remedy this problem, for a mere $80 (!)
Accessories are expensive! Battery $60 (and only Sony makes it), outboard battery charger $60-$150, lenses range from $95 - $190 (including required adapter). The viewfinder cover should be standard.
In "Burst" mode, you can take three pictures in quick succession, but then you must wait while they are burned to the CD, so I wouldn't recommend this camera for action photography
I have read only negative comments about the supplied photo imaging software. I never installed it as I already had MGI Photo Suite on my computer
The plug-in port for the battery charger seems a little on the delicate side.
No manual zoom- not critical but the motorized zoom is a little fast in my opinion.
When you delete a picture/movie from a re-writeable CD, you don't free-up any additional disk space. You must erase and re-format the entire disk to regain capacity.
Optical zoom is only 3x, then zoom becomes digital. Digital zoom can cause grainy pics as it effectively just crops the image and then expands it.
Battery life is approximately 2-2.5hrs. Some cameras do much better that that. But at least you know how much power you have left.

Will I be happy with this camera in ten years? Probably. The MVCD400 has all (if not more) the features and flexibility I need, dirt-cheap storage media, and outstanding image quality and color rendition. If you simply want to take snapshots, then this is much more camera than you'll need, but if you can appreciate the subtle effects a change in f-stop and other variables can make, then you are sure to enjoy this camera. Paired with decent imaging software, you can enhance and fix all but the worst pictures- digital photography is, as the kiddies say, totally awesome. And yes, I would buy it again.

Perhaps this camera's greatest asset is also its worst liability. For my needs, the CD format is great- no monkeying around uploading pictures and then having to burn them back down to a CD to archive them. No expensive memory to buy. But, for those who want to take action shots in quick succession, this is not the camera for you.