These are my two Mavica cameras, an FD7 (left) and an FD95 (right).

The Digital Mavica line of cameras ran from 1997-2003 and are notable for their unusual storage method of floppy disks, which made them an attractive option in a time where flash media was expensive. They're not popular, so they're easily obtainable on auction sites or secondhand stores at a cheap price (usually under $30).

Both of the cameras I have use 3.5" floppy diskettes to store photos and can manage about 30-40 per disk on the lowest quality. The FD-95 can also use Memory Stick for storage via an odd adapter that simulates a floppy disk and transfers the data magnetically.

Later models have a dedicated slot for Memory Sticks, and some of the latest ones even ditch the floppies and use 8" mini CD-RWs for storage.

FD7

The FD7 was released in 1997 and is good for taking grainy, low-quality images like the above. It's my recommendation for those who want a "nostalgic" look. It's similar in quality and features to the first model released (the FD5) but has a convenient 10x zoom which makes it much more practical. I recommend turning the exposure waaaaay up when shooting indoors, as photos tend to come out dark, but it's wonderful for taking pictures of nature on sunny days.

There's two quality settings, "Standard" and "Fine", but both are the same 640x480 resolution and I can't really tell the difference at all, so I just use "Standard" to save a little bit more space.

FD95

"Standard" quality

"Fine" quality. I love how the greens pop on 2000s digicams.

The FD-95 was released in 2000 and can take photos in 640x480 (Standard) or 1200x1600 (Fine) quality. The higher quality photos make it a bit less of a novelty, but the 20x zoom lens and the electronic viewfinder makes it fun to play around with. Most importantly, it takes video!

As you can imagine, it fills up a standard floppy disk within seconds even with the lowest resolution possible (the above video is me recording for as long as the camera would allow with an empty disk inserted) so this feature isn't very useful if you don't have the aforementioned Memory Stick adapter.

If you're interested in learning more or purchasing one of these cameras for yourself, the Mavica subreddit is a great resource for information as well as a place to share your photos.

It makes cute beeps when you press the buttons and the floppy disk seek sounds are soothing. It also attracts a lot of attention when I use it in public, which can be a plus and a minus, but I'm often approached by people who want to ask me questions about it, so maybe it's a good way to make new friends?

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