Digital Cameras

back plane of a Sony Mavica

Using Sony's Mavica (MVC-FD7)

This camera is available for faculty and student projects through the College of Education and Allied Professions' Director of Instructional Technology, Mr. Ben Coulter, Killian Bldg. room 270, phone 227-3229.

The Mavica uses a diskette for its memory storage. Click the image below for a larger version of this picture of the back of the camera.

On a side of the camera are Manual or Automatic controls and a Focus wheel if using Manual.
On the bottom of the camera is a release to take out or insert the battery.

Startup Steps

  1. Make sure you have a Windows formatted disk with plenty of disk space for your images.
  2. Put the camera strap around your neck so that if it accidentally leaves your hands it will not hit the floor.
  3. Use the Power On switch to check battery levels. Once the view window on the back of the camera lights up, press the Display button. After a second or two a number will reveal the remaining minutes of battery time. If battery power is not sufficient, turn off the camera and remove the battery and place it in the recharger that comes in the camera case. The camera only runs off its battery, not from regular 110 electrical power. Always remember to recharge the battery before putting the camera away in its case. The next shooter is depending on you!
  4. Press the release lever on the back of the camera to remove and/or insert a diskette.
  5. Once the camera is turned on and holds a disk, aim the camera at practice targets experimenting with different controls on its back and side.
  6. If shooting inside or in darker conditons outside, press the Flash button. It will not come on automatically.
  7. Use your thumb on the Zoom lever near the top right of the camera.
  8. Set the Play-Camera button to camera for shooting and Play for review of images on the disk.
  9. The shutter release (the fire button) is on the front of the camera near your right index finger.


a numbered backplane of a Sony Mavica

    By the numbers above:
    1. Power On/Off switch
    2. Display button providing remaining battery time and other features
    3. Play (review) or Camera (shoot) switch
    4. Zoom from Wide to Tight
    5. Display controller when reviewing    		 6. Brightness
    7. Battery release
    8. Flash
    9. Picture effect
    10. Program

    Once useful images are captured, they can be opened in many applications that can read .BMP format, including Powerpoint, Word, Access, PhotoDraw, PhotoEditor and many others. Many of these other programs can save the files in the formats needed by the Web: JPG, GIF and BNP.

    Page author: Houghton