It’s been way too long since I’ve posted on here. Unfortunately, just about all my time has been dedicated to grad school. Now that I’m generating next-generation sequencing data, I have been determining how to analyze the data with R, Matlab, and a Circos software package. Anyhow, I will write about that later. Instead, I will focus on an item that has kept me a little bit sane: My Sony Mavica MVC-FD88 from 1999! Originally retailing for $750, it boasted an 8x zoom, a max resolution of 1.3 megapixels, and a max aperture of F2.8. Its most unique feature: It stores the photographs on a floppy disk (unusually, it is a 4x drive, but don’t kid yourself—this camera is slow). All of this in a 1.3 pound package.
It comes as know surprise that I enjoy vintage technology. I like understanding how we progressed from the inchoate years of digital photography to the mature cameras we have today; I was already a teenager when this camera was released, but it was well outside my price range (and I did not yet even have a PC! I was still using an electric typewriter). I do not, however, simply put my old technology on a shelf—I go out and use it. So what do I think of this camera? Well, the resolution is obviously limited, but it is essentially high definition, so it is fine for Facebook and the like (I remember when this camera was released, many of us were still using monitors displaying 800 x 600, so this resolution wasn’t so bad. In fact, my IBM ThinkPad 560 from 1998 cannot display beyond that resolution). The colors are accurate, at least in bright light; in dim lighting, the image quickly becomes grainy and the flash inevitably overexposes the pictures. The camera, with its macro feature, can take better close-ups than my cell phone…focusing, however, is not so easy. With a shabby 2.5”, 84,000 LCD screen, it is often difficult to determine if a picture is in focus until it is displayed on a PC.
It comes as know surprise that I enjoy vintage technology. I like understanding how we progressed from the inchoate years of digital photography to the mature cameras we have today; I was already a teenager when this camera was released, but it was well outside my price range (and I did not yet even have a PC! I was still using an electric typewriter). I do not, however, simply put my old technology on a shelf—I go out and use it. So what do I think of this camera? Well, the resolution is obviously limited, but it is essentially high definition, so it is fine for Facebook and the like (I remember when this camera was released, many of us were still using monitors displaying 800 x 600, so this resolution wasn’t so bad. In fact, my IBM ThinkPad 560 from 1998 cannot display beyond that resolution). The colors are accurate, at least in bright light; in dim lighting, the image quickly becomes grainy and the flash inevitably overexposes the pictures. The camera, with its macro feature, can take better close-ups than my cell phone…focusing, however, is not so easy. With a shabby 2.5”, 84,000 LCD screen, it is often difficult to determine if a picture is in focus until it is displayed on a PC.
Okay, so in an era where we can fit hundreds of images on an SD card, how many high-res images can fit on the 1.44 MB floppy? Only four images. But ejecting the floppy and quickly inserting a new one is so much fun that I don’t mind carrying a stack of them.
Here are some photos I took with the camera in Providence. Hopefully you’re inspired to save some of these devices from becoming electronic waste.
Here are some photos I took with the camera in Providence. Hopefully you’re inspired to save some of these devices from becoming electronic waste.
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