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Review First Posted: 08/15/2003, Updated: 02/05/04
ImageStorage and Interface
The F828 uses either the proprietary Sony Memory Stick (compatible with MemoryStick PRO) or CompactFlash Type I or II cards for image storage. The camerais also compatible with the IBM MicroDrive. CompactFlash cards insert intoa compartment on the right side of the camera, while the Memory Stick slotis tucked away inside the battery compartment.
Sony's provision of a CF card slot is a real departure for them, but a verywelcome feature. Most prospective purchasers of this camera will alreadyown a digicam, and there's a good chance that that card will be in the CFformat. Sony's addition of a CF slot thus removes one purchase barrier formany users.
The camera does not ship with a memory card, as the large image size reallycalls for a large capacity memory card, and Sony evidently didn't want torun up the cost to the extent that would have resulted from including a largecard. (Most users of this class of camera purchase their own large memorycards in any case.)
Individual images can be write-protected from accidental erasure (except throughcard formatting) via the Protect option under the Playback settings menu.Individual write-protection also prevents the image from being rotated, butdoes permit resizing and trimming, since those operations don't disturb theoriginal image, but rather make a new copy. Entire Memory Sticks can be write-protectedby sliding the lock switch on the stick into the locked position, which alsoguards against the stick being reformatted.
Like the F717 before it, the F828 offers the ability to set up individualfolders on the memory card. You can thus manage images by folder and choosewhere images will be recorded. This could be handy if you wanted to organizeyour photos by events, date, etc. (This is a larger issue now that reallylarge memory sticks are available, not to mention gigabyte-plus CF cards.)
The F828's LCD monitor reports storage information in its detailed informationdisplay mode, including the current number of images captured and how manyadditional images can be stored at the current image resolution and qualitysettings, while a small graphic shows you approximately how much space isleft on the card. (In Movie mode, the camera reports the available recordingtime remaining.) Through the Playback settings menu, you can designate whetherthe camera numbers each image sequentially (from one card to the next), orrestarts file numbering with each new card inserted. The Playback menu alsooffers a Resize option, as well as a Rotate tool. The camera's Digital PrintOption Format (DPOF) compatibility allows you to mark specific images forprinting on a DPOF-compatible printer. Through the Setup menu, you can decidewhether or not to print the date and / or time on the image as well. A newfeature on the F828 is the USB Direct Print capability (labeled under theSetup menu as Pict Bridge USB option), which provides direct printing capabilitiesto any printer supporting the recently-defined Pict Bridge standard.
Image Size options include 3,264 x 2,448; 3,264 (3:2); 2,592 x 1,944; 2,048x 1,536; 1,280 x 960; 640 x 480; and 320 x 240 pixels (E-Mail recording option).Movie file sizes are 640 x 480, and 160 x 112 pixels. In addition to theuncompressed TIFF and Fine and Standard JPEG compression levels, the F828also offers a RAW data mode.
The table below shows the approximate still image capacities and compressionratios for a 256MB memory card (That card size being a good compromise betweensize and cost, and providing reasonable capacity at the 828's highest resolution/qualitysetting.) Note that in the following, 1 MB = 1,000,000 bytes, as is usedby memory card manufacturers in specifying the capacities of their cards.(Normally, in computer parlance, 1 MB = 1,048,576 bytes, 20 bits' worth ofmemory space.)
| Resolution/Quality | | | | | |
| HighestResolution 3,264 x 2,448 | Images (Size) | 64 3.9 MB | 2.2 MB | 17.4MB (Note, also saves JPEG) | 24.0MB (Note, also saves JPEG) |
| Approx. Compression | 6:1 | | | | |
| Higher Resolution 2,592 x 1,944 | Images (Size) | 2.5 MB | 1.3 KB | | |
| Approx. Compression | | | | | |
| High Resolution 2,048 x 1,536 | Images (Size) | 1.6 MB | 886 KB | | |
| Approx. Compression | | | | | |
| 1,280 x 960 S | Images (Size) | 591KB | 328KB | | |
| Approx. Compression | | | | | |
| Resolution 640 x 480 | Images (Size) | 164KB | 66KB | | |
| Approx. Compression | | | | | |
The F828 is also accompanied by a USB cable for quick connection to a PC orMacintosh computer, as well as a software CD containing interface softwareand USB drivers. The USB connection supports both USB 1.0 and 2.0.
I tested the F828's download speed on my Windows XP machine (Sony VAIO, 2.4GHz Pentium IV, 512 MB RAM, supports USB 2.0), and was astonished by theresults. I clocked it at 20.5 seconds to download 54.8 megabytes of filesfrom a Memory Stick PRO card, a transfer rate of 2.67 MBytes/second.(!) Itwas somewhat slower when copying from CF cards, with speeds ranging from1.98 to 2.00 MB/sec with fast CF cards, and 1.2 MB/sec for an old, very slowcard. Here (at last) is a camera that *really* supports the USB 2.0 standard!
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