Sony MVC-CD300

Click on the CD300 to take a QuickTime VR tour

Just when it seemed like we had seen all the new cameras Sony had to offer, they go and announce two more Mavicas. The MVC-CD300 and MVC-CD200 are the latest Sony cameras to employ the spacious and economical CompactDisc storage technology. Last year's MVC-CD1000 was the first digital camera to use a miniature CD- Recorder instead of a floppy disk or a flash memory card. This year's Mavica CD300 and CD200 take that a step further, they're equipped with newly designed CD-Rewritable drives that can take both CD-R and CD-RW discs.

The CD300 and CD200 are very similar on the outside and differ by the resolution of their CCD imager (CD300 uses a 3.3-megapixel and the CD200 uses a 2.1-megapixel sensor), the lens (CD300 employs a Carl Zeiss 3x Vario Sonnar zoom and the CD200 has a Sony 3x aspherical zoom), and the CD300's rapid 3-shot burst mode and AE Bracketing feature.

Both cameras use a 14-bit A/D converter allowing for more accurate capture of detail. The focusing system is equipped with an AF illuminator to adjust focus in poor lighting situations. They feature expanded manual controls - Aperture priority lets the photographer decide depth of field, or how much of the scene is in focus. Shutter priority lets the photographer choose shutter speed to freeze action appropriately and, with full-manual control, both aperture and shutter speeds can be adjusted to best fit picture needs. The InfoLithium® "M" series battery allows for up to 3,000 shots on a single charge.

Sony MVC-CD300 Features:

• 1/1.8" 3.34 Megapixel Super HAD CCD image sensor
• 2048x1536, 1600x1200, 1280x960, 640x480 resolution images in JPEG Normal or Fine and uncompressed TIFF formats
• 14-bit DXP A/D converter for improved image detail
• Records images to a 8cm Mavica CD-R or RW Disc (156MB capacity)
• Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar 3x optical, 6x digital zoom
• High-speed scan AF with AF illuminator light and manual focus modes
• 2½" 123K pixel precision LCD viewfinder with solar assist window
• 13-step Aperture priority (F2.1 to F8), 39-step shutter priority (8 to 1/1000 sec), manual exposure modes
• ISO 100, 200, 400 and Auto
• Center-weighted averaging and Spot metering
• Adjustable white balance with four modes, including one-push manual.
• 3-mode auto pop-up flash w/selectable red-eye reduction, compatible w/HVL-F1000 flash
• 3-shot burst, AE bracketing, MPEG/MPEG HQ, Voice memo, text modes
• JPEG, GIF, uncompressed TIFF or MPEG file formats
• UXGA/XGA/VGA, 3:2 UXGA image resolution
• USB transfer allows use as an external CD-R/RW drive
• InfoLithium® rechargeable battery, AC adapter/charger supplied

Physical Views

The 3-megapixel Sony MVC-CD300 and the 2-megapixel MVC-CD200.