Sony · Mavica
Digital Mavica MVC-FD51
Sony’s second fixed-lens digital Mavica adds a faster floppy drive, picture effects and a metered flash while retaining VGA JPEG photographs.
Model history · 2 models, 1997–1998
- 1997Digital Mavica MVC-FD5Compare
- 1998Digital Mavica MVC-FD51
- Type
- Compact
- Sensor
- Other
- Megapixels
- 0.38
- Lens
- 47 mm equivalent
- Video
- –
- Body weight
- 470 g
Specifications
Report a wrong or missing specImage and sensor
- Camera type
- Compact
- Sensor format
- Other
- Sensor type
- Interlaced CCD
- Effective resolution
- 0.38 MP
- Largest image
- 640 × 480
- RAW recording
- No
- Sensor detail
- 1/4-inch interlaced CCD; Sony’s launch table specifies 410,000 total and 380,000 effective sensor pixels. Output JPEG photographs remain 640 × 480 pixels.
- Image formats
- JPEG (.JPG) with camera-only .411 index files; Standard and Fine compression settings
Lens and shooting
- Built-in lens
- 47 mm equivalent
- Maximum aperture
- f/2
- Lens detail
- Built-in fixed lens; actual focal length 4.8 mm, equivalent to 47 mm on a 35 mm still camera; f/2 maximum aperture
- Autofocus
- Fixed focus, not autofocus; normal subjects from 0.7 m to infinity, with a manual macro switch for approximately 8–25 cm
- Stabilisation detail
- Field mode reduces camera-shake blur; Frame mode captures more detail but can blur moving subjects. This capture-mode behaviour is not a claim of optical or sensor-shift stabilisation.
- Flash
- Metered built-in flash, manually enabled or disabled; Sony specifies 0.5–3 m subject distance. Flash recording switches Frame mode to Field.
- Exposure controls
- Automatic exposure and white balance; ±1.5 EV compensation; approximately 10-second self-timer. Picture effects include Pastel, Negative Art, Sepia and Black & White.
Screen and viewfinder
- Viewfinder
- None
- Screen size
- 2.5″
- Screen dots
- 61,380
- Display detail
- 2.5-inch TFT LCD with 61,380 dots, brightness controls and six-image index playback; framing uses the LCD
Connections and design
- Battery life (maker's claim)
- 620 photographs
- Body weight
- 470 g
- Release detail
- Japan on-sale date 1 July 1998, announced 3 June 1998 in Sony’s press release
- Recording media
- 3.5-inch 2HD floppy disk, MS-DOS formatted, 1.44 MB. Approximately 30–40 images per disk in Standard or 15–20 in Fine, depending on subject. Two-speed drive; Sony claims approximately six-second JPEG recording.
- Battery life detail
- NP-F330 InfoLITHIUM battery supplied in the English manual; compatible NP-F530 and NP-F550 batteries and AC-V700 adaptor. Approximately 620 shots / 85 minutes without flash on a fully charged NP-F330 at 25°C with 10-second intervals; not CIPA. NP-F550 gives approximately 1,100 shots / 150 minutes under the same manual conditions.
- Charging
- BC-V615 external charger; NP-F330 approximately 150 minutes normal charge or 210 minutes full charge, starting empty
- Dimensions
- Approximately 126.5 × 110.5 × 62.5 mm (width × height × depth)
- Weight detail
- Approximately 470 g excluding battery and floppy disk
- In the box
- English manual lists NP-F330 battery, battery charger, mains cable and shoulder strap. Japanese launch lists the NP-F550 battery/charger kit separately; regional contents differ.
Video
- Video detail
- Still photographs only; no movie recording described in the manual
Pros and cons
Pros
- Two-speed floppy drive reduces saving time
- Metered flash works with subjects from 0.5 to 3 m
- JPEG files transfer using a compatible computer floppy drive
Cons
- Photographs are limited to 640 × 480 pixels
- Fixed lens has no optical zoom or autofocus
- Saving a photograph still takes approximately six seconds
Closest rivals
Model | Type | Sensor | Megapixels | Lens | Video | Body weight | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compact | Other | – | 47 mm equivalent | – | 470 g | Jul 1997 | |
| Compact | Other | 5.1 | 38–114 mm equivalent | 640 × 480 at 30 fps | 155 g | Nov 2003 | |
| Compact | 1/1.8-type | 3.24 | 39–117 mm equivalent | 320 × 240 | 208 g | Oct 2000 |
Previous model: Digital Mavica MVC-FD5.