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Sony MVC-CD400

Sony expands its CD-equipped camera line, adding a four megapixel CCD, a huge buffer memory, Hologram Autofocus, and a standard hot shoe!

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Page 11:Video, Power, Software

Review First Posted: 2/20/2002

Video Out
Both United States and Japanese models of the CD400 come equipped with an NTSC video cable for connection to a television set. (I assume that European models come with a PAL cable, since there is a PAL setting on the camera.) Once connected to the TV, you can review images and movies or record them to video tape.


Power
The CD400 is powered by an NP-FM50 InfoLITHIUM battery pack (M series) and comes with an AC adapter which doubles as an in-camera battery charger. The InfoLITHIUM battery packs exchange information with the camera, reporting approximately how many minutes of battery life are left. This information is displayed on the LCD monitor with a small battery graphic. The AC adapter plugs into a small socket on the camera's hand grip (just beside the neck strap eyelet). It can run the camera without a battery inserted, or charge the battery when the camera isn't in use.

The Li-Ion battery packs used in Sony cameras prevented me from making my usual power measurements, but the good news is that the InfoLITHIUM system reports projected camera runtime while the battery is being used in the camera. The following runtimes were reported by the CD400 with a freshly charged battery, in Capture and Playback modes. (Note that the runtime with the LCD backlight turned off will doubtless be longer than what is indicated on the LCD monitor, but since the time-remaining readout is only shown on the LCD screen, that information is unavailable.) While these are some of the best runtime numbers I've seen among digicams I've tested, I still always recommend users purchase and pack along a second battery. (Another advantage of the Li-Ion technology used in the InfoLITHIUM batteries is that they don't "self-discharge" like conventional NiMH rechargeable cells do, and so can hold their charge for months on the shelf or in your camera bag.)



Operating Mode
Battery Life
Capture Mode, w/LCD
153 minutes
Image Playback
257 minutes

 



Included Software
The Sony Mavica-CD400 comes with a software CD loaded with a package called Pixela ImageMixer, and PTP manager (Picture Transfer Protocol, a protocol used by Windows XP). I didn't examine Pixela ImageMixer, but was disappointed to see that it is a Windows-only application. While you don't need any application software to use the CD400's images on a Mac, it would be nice to see somewhat equal support for the Mac platform. (NOTE: In order to read the CD400's discs on the Mac, you do need a special software "init" in your system folder, available from Roxio (formerly Adaptec Corporation). Click here to get the "UDF" init.)



In the Box
Included in the box are the following items:

  • Sony MVC-CD400 digital camera
  • Neck strap
  • Lens cap (w/strap)
  • NP-FM50 rechargeable InfoLITHIUM battery pack
  • AC adapter / battery charger
  • NTSC video cable (PAL for European models)
  • USB cable for connection to PC and Mac computers
  • Software CD containing ImageMixer and PTP manager software.
  • One CD-RW disc, five CD-R discs, for a total of nearly 1 gigabyte(!) of image storage.
  • Instruction manual



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