Sony Mavica CD400 - can any 8cm cd's be used?

[balacau]

I just wanted check this out before I began to buy up some cd's in preparation for a few months where my camera will be in constant use.

Do the mini cd's used by the Mavica-series need to be specifically made by Sony or will they burn to any 8cm 4x compatible ones? No point buying stuff it it can't be used!

I googled this and found at least one site which a review said "will use any corresponding 8cm mini cd" and another which says "you should use those made by Sony, use other makes at your own risk". Typical.... :mad2:

Thanks for any reply.

[KG Ide]

I don't know about the 400s, but my 300 would not work reliably with anything other than Sony brand CDRWs (I've never burned a write once CDR.., I cycle through a set of 8 CDRWs..)

[balacau]

Thank you for the reply. I have been told on another forum that it is possible to use more "reputable" branded 8cm cd's such as Memorex ones. But if your camera uses CD-R's (like mine does), then it most likely will not work with CD-RW's.

Another thing would be that mini cd's also have 156mb, 170mb and 210mb versions. There are some people who say that the 210mb cannot be read properly as the laser reader does not reach far enough to read the outer edge of those cd's.

Hmmm....typicl marketing ploy eh? Use that one companies stuff or your camera won't work. :mad2:

[KG Ide]

The 300 was the 2nd generation CDR /CDRW format Sony (1st Gen was CDR only) I tried 3" (8 CM) Memorex CDRWs and at one point actually got a message from the camera that advised me to use Sony media (can't remember the exact format of the message). Your 400 was the next issue and as far as I know had the same media requirements (friend of mine has one). It's been a good camera , we've used it since '01, but I'm ready to move up to an Alpha (wife had a Maxxum w/ some extra lenses..)

[balacau]

Hmm...this is all very interesting reading and it could end up saving me alot of ££ which I am very greatful for. Did your friend use CD-R or CD-RW format? My camera seems to be CD-R only, I bought 8 cd-r's with the camera, all were the Sony brand, 156mb capacity; but only have 2 left. I've never tried a CD-RW yet, but I think for safety sake there isnt much point in looking at them anyway. I was told on another forum that this message which comes up is just a marketing ploy and that you can still save images to the cd as normal without any problems.

The cd's on ebay end tonight, they ain't costing me that much even if they don't work - I can still use them on the PC anyway so I guess I won't be losing anything really.

Thanks again

[KG Ide]

If you have a Mavica CD-400, it should write CDRW's .. Check this
review. If you didn't get a manual with your camera, you can download them in PDF format from Sony support.