Reviews for Sony Mavica MVC-CD500 Compact Camera

Sony MVC-CD500 Digital Camera

Strengths: Great picture quality! Better picts than from my 35mm cameras! High resolution! Great battery life!

Weakness: Slow to change to manual focus. Auto focus doesn't work well shooting through windows well. Often focuses on window instead. Some menus on camera a little confusing. Mini CD's do not open on a Mac.

I have enjoyed this camera immensely! The resolution doesn't degrade on my 2-page display monitor until way beyond full screen size. Full page 8.5" x 11" prints from my Konica-Minolta color laser printer are great! Only natural light night scenes back lit by city lights across a river or other body of water seem to be lacking. This a a printer issue, not a camera issue, since they come out fine from any common commercial printing place such as WalMart. I am also surprised that camera movement doesn't seem to affect picture quality as much as with a 35mm camera. Downloading pictures to my Mac using the USB cable is a snap. The Mac automatically opens the proper program for this and to manipulate or print pictures. Instructions needed for connecting to my Mac were about 1/4 of a page.
I have never used Sony CD's with my camera. I did experience a couple of disk error problems, but they seemed to be related to large temperature changes. After allowing the temperature of my camera to stabilize inside my home, the problems disappeared.
Even pictures with snow came out great.

I am very satisfied with this camera.

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there is a problem

Strengths: many

Weakness: disc errors

I love the images I get from this camera--but there is a problem. I am getting rid of the camera immediately because I can't use a non-Sony cdr. The sony cd's are hard to find, and expensive. The camera is a bit unstable when you use non-sony cd's, and I have had crashes and lost photos. Probably has happened in 1/20 discs. But it happened today and that's it for me--I'm going to something that writes to a 2g card, and never going back to cd. Did Sony build the camera to cause an occasional crash on non-sony disks, so you are forced to help Sony's bottom line by buying sony discs ??? Sony can eat me before I pay $5 for one of their 15 cent disks. I'm done.

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Sony Mavica MVC-CD500 Compact Camera

Strengths: very easy to use camera, takes fantastic pictures, great macro shots I love the mini cd-rw storage capability.

Weakness: Zoom could be a little more powerful.

So far I love my Mavica CD-500. It takes great photos and is easy to use. I began shooting with it right out of the box (after charging the battery) with ease. Macro shots look great as well. I love the mini CD storage media which is much cheaper than buying memory sticks. It holds a large number of pics which can be downloaded to your computer by putting the mini cd with adapter into your CD-ROM or download directly from the camera via its usb cable (I prefer this method, it bypasses the step of finalizing the CD in the camera).

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Sony Mavica MVC-CD500 Compact Camera

Strengths: Excellent Quality Photos, Great Battery Life, Commendable Storage Method.

Weakness: Size, Cannot Take Through Airport Security

I've owned this product for a little over 2 months. This product is extremely well built. The quality of the photo's are unbelievable. The battery life for a camera of this size and power is great. There is only one questionable issue, do not take this camera on vacation with you. Sony admits that the camera will get damaged going through Security Scans. Although, the repair is covered under warranty, you can't use the camera until it gets repaired. This is a great unit, however, I would stick with a product that is Memory Stick based. You risk much less.

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Sony Mavica MVC-CD500 Compact Camera

Strengths: Cost-effective mini-CD archive format rules. Fantastic image quality. Manual creative control capability (or complete auto settings.) Impressive, easily interchangeable MPEG-VX video a real jewel.

Weakness: Need SONY eye-level viewfinder attachment (+ flash, tripod, 2nd battery, bigcase & filters/adapter ring) sold separately. Consider purchase of multi-year warranty - as you would on a lap-top computer.

I am former 35mm SLR buff who usually carried 3 separate and heavy lenses. This SONY Mavica 5.0 MP, properly accessorized, makes my leap into digital photography a real joy. Substantial and sleek in character, but not too heavy or bulky, it's all I could need with a cutting-edge family/business/enthusiast camera. Phenomenal pictures. The people at SONY have anticipated almost every need for completing the system (except for a 52mm lens cap that could be included with the filter set.) The low cost and archival ability of the mini-CD media (either R or R/W) creates the impression of virtually free film & developing. This encourages experimentation with the advanced features and the impressive video format. There is a learning curve on this camera, especially if you choose to not stay exclusively in the fully-automatic mode. But those accustomed to 35mm SLR systems will not be able to put down the camera manual as they experience both familiar and new creative capabilities. It's one of those rare products where the value may actually exceed your expectations.

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Sony Mavica MVC-CD500 Compact Camera

Strengths: Ease of use,little too many options, but in Auto mode thats about all anyone really needs uless one is a Profesisonal

Weakness: none that I have come across

I have read many reviews on this camera and most are very high rated, the downside seems to be vibrqation when formatting and finalizing etc. However there is no excuse for this as the instructions are very clear on this point... Place on a flat surface and avoid vibrations. This wouls also apply to a PC, but then they are on a flat surface and short of an earthquake (calif) there not likely to be any. People should read and heed the instructions, Its a GREAT CAMERA..........

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Sony Mavica MVC-CD500 Compact Camera

Strengths: Very convenient - can transfer to PC by disc or by USB. Great pictures, excellent resolution. No shutter lag, and little wait for next picture. Lots of options with easy to navigate onscreen menus.

Weakness: A little bulky. Lots of buttons, some placed where you could bump them. Have to install software on PC to read discs via USB if using Windows prior to XP ver. Lots of cords, should provide case.

Bought this camera for travel based on universality of mini-cdrom discs - even most older pc's have a cd drive, but may not have USB or card readers. It worked well - we were able to read discs and send email from older PC's. The pictures came out great - one mini-disc holds a bunch (70+) of full resolution (5 megapixel) shots. And CD-RW discs can be reused after downloading to a PC drive. Camera has more features than the average person would ever use, no shutter lag time, and is ready for the next shot quickly. This is a nice camera. Not a pocket camera, but a good one to take along when you know you want some nice pix.

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Sony Mavica MVC-CD500 Compact Camera

Strengths: Wonderful high res indoor low/no light & outside photos!

Weakness: Cheap plastic hub which holds the CD in camera & disk errors!

I have used the MVCCD500 for close to nine months & it takes wonderful photos inside & out but beware of the cheap plastic hub which holds the CD inside the camera! Mine became loose & started coming out with the CD’s when I changed them. I added a small bit of super glue to hold the plastic hub to the brass spindle which worked for awhile then the hub broke into four pieces rendering the camera useless! Warranty on labor for this camera is only three months & it cost me $176.00 to repair the cheap plastic hub because Sony has to replace the entire optical system which takes 6 to 8 weeks! Whether they have redesigned the cheap plastic hub or not I will find out when I get the camera back? A brass or aluminum hub would be much stronger! I could have taken the hub out of one of my kids WalMart $20.00 CD players & glued that hub with the same dia spindle hole in the camera for nothing! My kids cheap CD players have a much stronger plastic hub than that on the MVCCD500! Also, be very careful how you handle the CD500... I received a lot of “disk errors” which ruined the CD’s & lost a lot of photos because of vibrations or the slightest movement while initialization/finalization of the disks or while taking photos! A higher zoom would have been nice as well!

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Sony Mavica MVC-CD500 Compact Camera

Strengths: Easy to operate, takes great flash pictures at long distance, good to have 5 megapixels

Weakness: Cost a little higher than I would have liked (505.) but worth the money, a little heavy but not not as heavy as my 35 MM Nikon

Dear Sirs,
In October I ordered a Sony CD500 Mavica from a camera internet seller. I waited until January of 2004 but still no camera so I called the company and cancelled the order. The price was good but no camera. I went online to Price Grabber to look for a more reliable company that could send my camera I wanted. I found several good companys but choose New Egg because you had the best service and a good price. I ordered the camera on Friday late and received the Sony Mavica on Wednesday of the next week. No shipping, at a good price. Excellent service with no hassle, no phone calls, just quick e-mails about my order. Today (one week later) I ordered the camera starter package, case, extra battery, and 3 rewritable disks. This order was also at a good price and I am sure I will receive that order in a week. It is a pleasure doing business with this company - highly recommend it to anyone. M.B.

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Sony Mavica MVC-CD500 Compact Camera

Strengths: Clarity is outstanding. This camera is simple to use, even for a novice. Downloading pictures is effortless. Great view screen.

Weakness: Wish this baby had more "zoom" but I'll give that up for the other great features you get for the money.

I've owned a number of high-end 35mm cameras throughout the years and this baby puts them all to shame. Great quality for the money.

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Sony Mavica MVC-CD500 Compact Camera

Strengths: I love the cd media storage. It holds both mpeg movies and still shots with no problem.

Weakness: I haven't discovered any! This camera does it all.

I purchased this camera after becoming upset with 35mm. The camera has a large image screen which makes viewing your photos easy. The 5.0 megapixles gives great photo image quality for simple 4x6 or enlargements. I will not part with this camera as I can take beautiful still photos and with a simple mode switch I can also have great movies. The cd storage makes is so simple to take as many photos/movies as I want for those cherished moments.

I also have the new Canon Digital Rebel, but the Sony Mavica 500 will not be put away because of it's ease of use and quality.

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Sony Mavica MVC-CD500 Compact Camera

This is the third digital camera I've owned and is by far WAY above the rest. LOVE LOVE LOVE the fact that it uses the mini cds, makes loading images to your pc or laptop a BREEZE. Very easy to use, the 5.0MP makes it simple to get great clear shots. I am an artist and gallery owner and it is perfect for me...gets true colors where in the past I've never been able to.

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Sony Mavica MVC-CD500 Compact Camera

Strengths: 5 Megapixels, records to mini CD-R/RW discs, Carl Zeiss lens.

Weakness: Only 3x zoom, large size.

The Bottom Line:
This is a well designed general-purpose, consumer oriented camera. It’s numerous customizable functions and features, far outweigh the only two limiting factors, namely size and the 3x zoom.

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Sony Mavica MVC-CD500

Sony Mavica MVC-CD500 receives an overall TopTenREVIEWS score of 2.33 out of 4.00. It is ranked the #231 standard digital camera of all time. The overall rating represents an intelligent balance of features, value as a function of price to features, and a summary of reviews from a variety of sources. The TopTen REVIEWS' formula gives a picture of important consumer features, market value, and a...

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Sony Mavica MVC-CD500

Sony's new 5-megapixel CD-based MVC-CD500 offers a full range of "enthusiast" features along with essentially "inifinite" image storage on compact CD-R/RW discs. If you don't mind a slightly larger physical size, this makes a great all-around 5 megapixel digicam.

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