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Sony MVC-FD95 Sony takes the Mavica line to 2.1 megapixels, and 12-bit digitization! Select a topic Reference: Datasheet MVC-FD95 Sample Images --------------------------------- 1. Intro and Highlights 2. Executive Overview 3. Design 4. Viewfinder 5. Optics 6. Exposure & Flash 7. Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests 8. Operation & User Interface 9. Camera Modes & Menus 10. Image Storage & Interface 11. Video, Power, Software 12. Test Results & Conclusion --------------------------------- Print-Friendly Review Version Additional Resources and Other Links Reader Comments --------------------------------- Digital Camera Comparometer (TM) --------------------------------- <-- Digital Cameras (Home) <-- Digital Camera Reviews Index <<Video, Power, Software :(Previous) | (Next): Reference: Datasheet>> Page 12:Test Results & Conclusion Review First Posted: 7/13/2000

Test Results
In keeping with our standard policy, our comments here are rather condensed, summarizing our key findings. For a full commentary on each of the test images, see the MVC-FD95's "pictures" page.

As with all Imaging Resource camera tests, we encourage you to let your own eyes be the judge of how well the devices performed. Explore the images on the pictures page, to see how well the FD95 performed, and how its images compare to other cameras you may be considering buying.

Overall, the FD95 produced very good images, with excellent color and good detail. Color accuracy was very nice throughout our testing, although the large cyan and yellow blocks on our Davebox target appeared slightly weak in their saturation level. The camera's white balance system seemed to handle most lighting situations well, with the manual (One-Push) adjustment option providing the most accurate results the majority of the time. Still, we were very impressed with the color results.

In the resolution department, the FD95 performed about in the middle of the pack among 2 megapixel cameras we've tested. We "called" the visual resolution at about 800 lines horizontally, 650 vertically. We saw more color moire patterns and artifacts in the vertical axis, but they weren't too severe in either direction. Sharpness is just a bit off the top of the current 2 megapixel pack of cameras though, due largely to the higher levels of JPEG compression the FD95 has to use to fit even four high-resolution images onto a floppy disk. Overall, a good performance though, likely a very welcome upgrade to fans of the earlier 800K pixel FD91. (If you liked the Mavica line before, you should really love the FD95, as it provides a pretty dramatic increase in resolution and picture-taking flexibility.)

Optical distortion on the MVC-FD95 is a little high at the wide angle end, showing approximately 0.9 percent barrel distortion. However, we found virtually no pincushion distortion at the telephoto end (at least none that we could effectively measure). Chromatic aberration was moderate, showing about two pixels of coloration on each side of the black resolution target corner elements. (This distortion is visible as a very slight colored fringe around the objects at the edges of the field of view on the resolution target). There is also some lens flare in the corners of the image in telephoto mode. Taken as a whole though, lens performance is very good, particularly in light of the exceptional 10x zoom range. (Long-ratio zooms are very tough to design so as to avoid distortion. Sony's optical engineers seem to have done a fine job.)

The FD95 offers good exposure control, with a variety of Program AE modes that include Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Twilight, Twilight Plus, Landscape, Panfocus and Automatic exposure modes (although there's no full manual mode, which is something we like to see on a higher end camera like this one). There's also a choice between spot and matrix metering. We found excellent highlight detail in many of our tests, particularly noticeable in the white cheesecloth section of the Davebox target and the strong highlights of the model's shirt in our outdoor portrait test.

One of the most obvious limitations of the original Mavicas was their low-light performance: You just couldn't take pictures in very dark surroundings. We were therefore surprised to see the excellent results we obtained with the FD95 even in very dark conditions: The FD95 is comfortably in the current (June, 2000) first rank in the low-light arena! In straight Automatic Exposure mode, the MVC-FD95's low light capabilities weren't too impressive (only going down as far as 1 foot-candle, or 11 lux), but in Shutter Priority exposure mode exposure times as long as 8 seconds produced a surprisingly good (although noisy) image at 1/16 of a foot-candle (0.7 lux). (!) We'd rate the FD95 as producing very good images down to light levels of 0.5 foot-candles (5.5 lux), and usable ones to levels of 1/4 of a foot-candle (2.6 lux) and below. (For reference, a city night scene under typical street lighting corresponds to an illumination level of 1 foot-candle.)

We found the MVC-FD95's LCD monitor to be just a little tight, showing about 92 percent of the final image area at both wide angle and telephoto settings. We assume that the optical viewfinder has the same accuracy level, since it's basically a smaller version of the rear LCD panel. Although we generally like to see LCD monitors as close to 100 percent accuracy as possible, the MVC-FD95 is more accurate than most. We generally like to see LCD monitors as close to 100 percent accuracy as possible, so the FD95 falls just a little short in that category. (Although 92% is more accurate than most cameras we've tested.)

The MVC-FD95 performs superbly in the macro category, capturing a minimum area of 2.12 x 1.59 inches (53.95 x 40.46 mm) at the furthest wide angle setting. The lens does seem to have a bit of a "sweet spot" in macro mode, allowing you to partially zoom in and capture an even smaller minimum area of only 1.42 x 1.06 inches (35.96 x 26.97mm). Macro lighting with it is a little tricky though, because the large lens and close working distance blocks some of the light and forces a very shallow lighting angle. Ultra-macro optics usually show some optical imperfections this close, and the FD-95's lens is no exception. Still, the level of distortion seems to be less than we've come to expect, with some barrel distortion, curvature of field and lens flare in the corners all present, but not as severe as we've seen in some other ultra-macro lenses.

Overall, the MVC-FD95 performed very well in our testing, with very good color accuracy, low light and macro results. It's clearly a substantial step forward for the Mavica line in terms of image quality and shooting flexibility.


Conclusion
Despite its somewhat bulky dimensions, we really liked what the MVC-FD95 had to offer, and found it an enjoyable camera to work with. Besides the floppy-disk image storage (somewhat of a mixed blessing, in our judgment, due to the image compression levels it demands), the MVC-FD95's standout feature is clearly its 10x optical zoom lens. Our earlier review of the 14x-equipped 0.8 megapixel FD91 Mavica was subtitled "resolution isn't everything," pointing out how many more pixels that camera could deliver on-subject than even 2 megapixel competitors with typical 3x optical zooms. With its 10x zoom, the 2.1 megapixel FD95 clearly takes the cake for the ultimate telephoto workhorse, at least at the current time in the digicam marketplace (June, 2000). The lens' optical stabilization system is also remarkably effective for hand-holding those super-telephoto shots, producing crisp images at shutter speeds way slower than you'd expect to be usable. With upgraded 12-bit digitization, great tonal range and color reproduction, and excellent low-light performance, the FD95 is a flexible photographic tool that's also easy for novices to master in full-auto mode. We expect large numbers of prior Mavica owners will find the FD95 an excellent upgrade to bring them into the 2.1 megapixel arena, and many more will be sold to new owners as well.