Rating: 
Summary: Does'nt work with Windows XP
Review: Beware...this camera does not work with Windows XP...the drivers for using the USB cable to transfer files won't install correctly.
Rating: 
Summary: Best Camera ever
Review: Easy to use. Pictures are wonderful. Love the fact that I don't have to waste space on my hard drive. I have made each disk like a 400 photo album. Great. The Mpeg movies are great too. I have been without a video camera for over a year. This is all I use. Proud ownder
Rating:
Summary: it's the little things that set this apart
Review: First i want to dispell any misconceptions: just because this is a CD-based digicam does not mean it's big, slow, loud, and a battery hog. It's not exactly tiny, but it's not huge either. It's about the same size as a 35mm SLR with a small normal lens. It's as fast, if not faster, than digicams without moving parts. You can't hear the disc spinning unless you're in a quiet room and you actually put your ear up to the camera and listen carefully. The rechargeable battery that comes with it lasts over 2 hours easy (or well over 200 shots). Not bad for a cam with a CD burner and a huge LCD.The pros:
Carl Zeiss lens. Name brand lens known among professionals for its high quality. Big fat beautiful LCD. Its impressive. Several people can gather around and watch movies or images taken with the camera. It can record movies. I know a lot of digicams can do this as a bonus feature, but lets face it no one uses this feature because most digicams [are bad] at taking movies. NOT THIS ONE. it takes very good movies. so you'll actually use the movie feature. about 6 min of video (640x480) with audio on a 156MB CD. There is a good mic and good speaker (for playback). The MENUS ARE GREAT. A lot of people overlook this detail. What do i mean? well, digicams use menus for changing settings. with most of them, the menus are confusing and stupid. like you have to dig through 2 submenus and hit ok 5 times before you can change the image size/resolution. not this camera! the menus are clear and simple and there are no submenus! even a novice can pick this up and figure it out without studying an instruction manual. for example: to change image size/resolution you simply hit the image size button push up or down (theres 5 different sizes) then thats it. also there buttons for commonly used things like changing flash mode and switching to macro (close up) mode. i also love the jog dial. this is for manual focus as well as for changing the shutter speed and aperture on the fly WITHOUT ANY... MENUS! you have to actually use the camera to appreciate how important this is. the infolithium battery that comes with it is nice. it tells you EXACTLY how much time you have left (like 113min instead of a stupid little meaningless battery icon). if you want another battery, (strongly recommended) its expensive though. it's nice to be able to use the camera without constantly worrying about how much battery life is remaining. CD-RW discs cost next to nothing. its very cool to be able to take a disc out and pop it into any computer to view images. it comes with usb cable and a/v cable for tv viewing. no remote control though :-( the built-in flash is very good. range is little over 16feet. not bad at all for built-in. there's a hot shoe if youre hardcore and want to get a bigger flash. The cons:
expensive proprietary rechargeable batteries and no streaming USB. whats streaming USB? with it you can hook up a digicam to your computer and use it as a webcam on steroids. not many digicams have this feature though. WHY????????? you will not be disappointed with this camera. now click yes this review was helpful! >:O
Rating: 
Summary: Good but slow
Review: I agree with all the positive statements from other reviewers. Sony CD cameras are really good. Only downside you should be aware of is the relatively long write time to transfer image to cd at high resolution. During this time the camera isn't usable. I found myself frustrated at times wanting to take the next picture and waiting for the write to finish, which is frustrating when you really want the next shot. If you can afford it, step up the the entry SLR's (such as the new Canon EOS Rebel) and you get all the benefits of this sony, plus more, and very fast picture taking -- closer to film cameras.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Currently Available
Review: I am a professional radiographer and photographer (25 years now) and I used both the Sony CD500, CD400, CD350, CD300, as well as a Nikon Coolpix for field research x-raying mummies in Peru. This means the cameras were pushed hard.....blowing sand, huge contrast ranges, high resolution radiographs needed, fast manual control of radical light conditions, etc.....essentially most of the tough conditions and imaging requirements you can imagine. Here's what I found:
The Sony Mavica CD500 & 300 beat them all. It's not the most expensive or the best resolution but we all thought it did the best job.
Mavica CD500: best of all....resolution, reasonable recording time, great image control for exposure, close-ups, better controls, pretty much everything
Mavica CD400: best resolution but extremely slow recording time made it impossible to work with most of the time....the CD300 often got 3-4 shots while the 400 was recording one.
Mavica CD350: not enough manual control for us, but usually got great images on automatic....some problems with exposure range for close-ups though
Mavica CD300: not the best resolution, but now that I've done some prints for publication from it's highest res setting I will not be buying any more 400s....just not a significant enough difference,
plus it's not as heavy or bulky.
Nikon Coolpix: not in the running by comparison with the Sonys....although it is more lightweight....we are buying mini CDs for 33 cents each in bulk... and getting 140-180 high res
images per CD.....they are so easy to format, initialize, and copy on any CD burner that I can't believe we even considered using memory stiks, or USB downloads.
The best features are common to both the Sony Mavica CD300 and 400 series though.....manual control of the images, excellent close up abilities, decent wide angle (which can be enhanced with add-on lenses if necessary), and both rapid video and automatic functions with night focusing for flash, etc., etc.
Finally! There is a great digital camera!
Rating:
Summary: CD 500 PRETTY GOOD!
Review: i got this camera 2 months ago, i used to have a dsc s 85 by sony, and the cd 500 its not as fast as the dsc85, logically because of the cd r media, but its just matter of time to get used to it, its just an advise u can get pretty good images with this camera
nice videos at vga mode, i got some maxell mini cds at office deppot pretty cheap which are 210 mbs u can get about 8 minutes on vga mode video when u use cd r media its better if u dont delete any image cuz althougt u delete it u will still have the same space as if u havent delete an image, thats why those mini cds are pretty cheap, u can us 1 cd each session and still pretty cheap u most get the 3 cd rw sony package which is about $18 i got a 50 pack memorex mini cd-r at amazon at about $20 very good deal i guess u have to get used to the finileze thing if u want to read media on any cd rom i had have only one problem with it: when i try to get images from the camera via usb cable the pc doesnt recognize the camera, i dont kwnow but maybe i m doin something wrong, i m just so new at the cd 500 i m trying to find a wide angle lens, i think i have to buy the vda 70 adapter or something like that and then buy the lens sometimes its a little bit difficult to use because i m not too much into manual cameraing, but have to learn, i m thinkin about takin a photography training or something go ahead and buy this one!
Rating:
Summary: Great Camera, how do I take Black and White pictures though?
Review: I got this camera a few days ago. I love it. One problem though. It advertises that it can take black and white pictures. And I have been looking online for some technical help to find out how to do this and I can't seem to find any. One of the main reasons I bought this camera was for the black and white pictures. If anyone can help me with this please e-mail me at mommapunkin@msn.com. Otherwise its awesome!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Great , But .....
Review: I have been using this camera for about a few months now and I love it. The picture quality, with 5 mega pixels is amazing. The detail and colors that come through are great, much more than what I would expect for a digital camera. There is so much you can do with the camera and still have not learned everything. I was concerned when I purchased this camera that it would take long before you could take one picture to the next- due to the CD burner. I read in someone's review that this was a problem with them. I have not have had any such problem and I am able to take a picture right after another. It appears it stores the photo within an internal memory if it is still recoding the prior on the CD. I also love the fact you can store so many photos on single CD which I can buy for less than 50 cents a cd. I also enjoy using the movie mode to capture videos. Although it is not the quality of a camcorder, the quality is pretty decent and you can record about 6 minutes on a 210mb 3 inch cd-r. I would be careful not to have the lens zoomed when recording because it seems to lessen the video quality. You also can not zoom in or out while in the video mode. I would also be careful when buying accessories for this camera. I bought two filter and the adapter that attaches to the camera and I think they are great because I can protect the lens. I also bought the starter accesory kit which includes the carrying bag, an extra battery and 3 CD-RW. I believe I purchased this for 60 dollars. If you factor in the price for the battery and the CDs, it is a little over 60 dollars so I thought this was a deal because I was getting a camera case as well. Unfotunately the case just fits the camera (and it is a VERY SOFT case- so do not expect it to protect it if you tend to be rough) but now it no longers fits in with the adapter/filter attchment. That is something to be careful about. One other point is the LCD screen. It is very large and I think it goes great with the camera. There is no viewfinder though and it can be a little difficult to see if there is bright sunshine on the screen, although it does work well outside. There is also an atchment sold for this where you can use a view finder. I plan on purchasing that as well in the future. The zoom on the lens is only 3x. Although I would prefer more it still is great. As my last note, between the camera itself and the attachments I have, it is large. Some people have complained about the size of the camera. It is about the size of a small SLR camera. If you are looking for something small, don't purchase this one, go with a simple point and shoot. Yet, if size is not an issue and you want a great camera than this is the way to go. I bought this camera for 450- on sale. I would definitely wait and look around before shelling out 600 which most places have this priced for. Overall though- it is worth it.
Rating:
Summary: An Amazing Camera
Review: I have been using this camera for about a few months now and I love it. The picture quality, with 5 mega pixels is amazing. The detail and colors that come through are great, much more than what I would expect for a digital camera. There is so much you can do with the camera and still have not learned everything. I was concerned when I purchased this camera that it would take long before you could take one picture to the next- due to the CD burner. I read in someone's review that this was a problem with them. I have not have had any such problem and I am able to take a picture right after another. It appears it stores the photo within an internal memory if it is still recoding the prior on the CD. I also love the fact you can store so many photos on single CD which I can buy for less than 50 cents a cd. I also enjoy using the movie mode to capture videos. Although it is not the quality of a camcorder, the quality is pretty decent and you can record about 6 minutes on a 210mb 3 inch cd-r. I would be careful not to have the lens zoomed when recording because it seems to lessen the video quality. You also can not zoom in or out while in the video mode. I would also be careful when buying accessories for this camera. I bought two filter and the adapter that attaches to the camera and I think they are great because I can protect the lens. I also bought the starter accesory kit which includes the carrying bag, an extra battery and 3 CD-RW. I believe I purchased this for 60 dollars. If you factor in the price for the battery and the CDs, it is a little over 60 dollars so I thought this was a deal because I was getting a camera case as well. Unfotunately the case just fits the camera (and it is a VERY SOFT case- so do not expect it to protect it if you tend to be rough) but now it no longers fits in with the adapter/filter attchment. That is something to be careful about. One other point is the LCD screen. It is very large and I think it goes great with the camera. There is no viewfinder though and it can be a little difficult to see if there is bright sunshine on the screen, although it does work well outside. There is also an atchment sold for this where you can use a view finder. I plan on purchasing that as well in the future. The zoom on the lens is only 3x. Although I would prefer more it still is great. As my last note, between the camera itself and the attachments I have, it is large. Some people have complained about the size of the camera. It is about the size of a small SLR camera. If you are looking for something small, don't purchase this one, go with a simple point and shoot. Yet, if size is not an issue and you want a great camera than this is the way to go. I bought this camera for 450- on sale. I would definitely wait and look around before shelling out 600 which most places have this priced for. Overall though- it is worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent picture quality, easy menu options
Review: I have owned this camera for about 6 months now and I am glad I bought it.
Pros: 1) Brand name Carl Zeiss lens, known for its excellent quality. The colors are true and sharp in pictures from broad daylight through flash and still captures very good details under low light conditions without flash. Closeup photography is outstanding and I have taken some excellent pictures from a distance of about 10 cms.
2) Very easy menu selections - One other reviewer also mentioned this as a point that many users tend to overlook and I second his opinion. You don't have to dig 2-3 levels deep to change camera setting, especially if you are using manual setup.
3) Big fat LCD screen allows easy viewing.
4) Though its not meant to operate as a camcorder, it does make an excellent movie. The sound capture is very sensitive and the in-built speaker is very good.
5) Easy transfer to you computer thought USB cable (provided). I use Win XP and it is a breeze for me to transfer the pictures from camera to the computer using XP's camera wizard. Can also be connected directly for viewing on a TV screen.
6) For permanent storage, you can also finalize the CD and just pop it in the computer whenever you want to view. Mini CDs are dirt cheap (compare them to flash media of equivalent capacity). SONY recommends using MAVICA CDs (of course), which are a little costly. I have been using Maxell mini CDRs without hitch (available at Wal-Mart for about $6.00 for a 10 pk). Camera keeps giving annoying reminder to use mavica CDs, just ignore it.
7) Hot shoe pod to attach external flash for enthusiasts, though the built-in flash has a very good range (about 14 feet under auto exposure conditions).
8) Like the weight and feel of it.
9) Very Good battery life between charges.
Cons:
1) 3x zoom is a minor disappointment especially as the digital zoom is worthless.
2) There is no temporary storage for picture, where one can review a picture before deciding to burn it on the CD. The camera does have option to "delete" which is a misnomer. All the camera does is not show the file if you choose delete, even though the picture will be on your CD. If its a CDR, you are stuck with it as soon as you have clicked the picture, at least you can reformat if using a CDRW.
3) The bundled software from SONY is C-R-A-P. As I mentioned before, I use WinXP (home and professional) camera wizard to transfer the pictures by USB. (Cons # 1-3 are my primary reasons for giving this camera 4 stars).
4) The lag time between two pictures can be as great as 6-10 seconds, especially as the CD gets full, so it may not be the best for taking a series of single pictures rapidly. You can however take upto 16 exposures at a time in multiburst mode (and I am guessing here, the lag time might be greater before you can take another multiple series with a single click).
5) The laser lens for burning the CDs might be sensitive if the camera experiences more than the usual rough and tumble. I have taken this camera on many vacations, through all sorts of weather without any trouble, still I take care not to bang it against something hard. (Rock climbers, members of the press - this may not be the camera for you to take along on one of your excursions).
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