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Look At What I Found

By Bob "RealMan" Timm

Services for Real Estate Pros with Ward County Notary Services 607851

July 27, 2026 11:58 AM

We (my wife, son and I) hit the thrift stores every Friday after work. I was pleasantly surprised when I found an old camera bag with the camera and accessories in it. Do you remember this old soldier? It once was THEE Realtors camera in it's day.

WOW! One of the first serious digital cameras. This model is a FD83. FD stands for floppy disk. Later Sony Mavica cameras used a "Memory Stick", similar to SD cards but Sony's exclusive memory media.

$3.99

Much to my surprise the bag held not only the camera, lens, strap, and a floppy disk, it also had a battery and a battery charger. Everything works. How cool is that?

Two visitors to the art gallery let me test it on them. There is a story about these girls that I will tell you about tomorrow. Until then, let me ask you if you owned a Mavica?

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Nina Hollander, Broker

Coldwell Banker Realty - Charlotte, NC

Your Greater Charlotte Real Estate Broker

Hi Bob... as a real estate agent I have never owned a camera... now, of course, I have a camera in my phone and even that is rarely used. So to answer your question... I have no memory of this particular camera (or any other, for that matter).

Jul 27, 2026 12:03 PM

Bob "RealMan" Timm

Minot, ND

Bob "RealMan" Timm

Hi Nina Hollander, Broker . I have never used my phone for real estate pictures and these days I still prefer using a real camera for all photographs.

Question: In your earliest RE days who took your MLS pictures?

Jul 27, 2026 12:31 PM

Bob "RealMan" Timm I don't use my phone for real estate photos either. All my real estate photos are done by professionals. In my earliest days in real estate in NYC we had no MLS and no photos posted. I used professional photography from day one in Charlotte starting in 1999.

Jul 27, 2026 01:53 PM

Lise Howe

RLAH RE LLC - Washington, DC

Assoc. Broker in DC, MD, VA and attorney in DC

I remember when the Mavica was a game changer. Saving photos to a floppy disk seemed so futuristic back then! 😄

Jul 27, 2026 01:47 PM

It was indeed a game changer Lise Howe . I looked up the history and it was the first digital camera. It was also the first digital video camera.

Jul 27, 2026 05:46 PM

George Souto

George Souto NMLS #65149 - Middletown, CT

Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert

Bob "RealMan" Timm if you were looking for old vintage cameras, I could have supplied you with a couple.

Jul 27, 2026 02:10 PM

George Souto I had a really cool collection of medium format film cameras but when we had our big flood in 2011 it was all lost including some 100 year old Kodaks.

Jul 27, 2026 05:48 PM

Carol Williams

Although I'm retired, I enjoy sharing my knowledge and learning from other real estate industry professionals. - Wenatchee, WA

Author, Golfer, Traveler, Retired, Wenatchee, WA

Hi Bob,

I never owned a Mavica, but I did borrow one from another agent for a while. My first digital camera was a Canon Rebel. It cost over $1,000

Jul 28, 2026 02:10 AM

I remember salivating over the Rebel Carol Williams but I couldn't afford it.

Jul 28, 2026 06:30 AM

Hi Bob "RealMan" Timm
I salivated over the Rebel for a while too. When I inherited a small amount of money, I ran to Costco to buy it. 😊

Jul 28, 2026 07:20 AM

Buzz Mackintosh

Mackintosh REALTORS - Frederick, MD

“Experience, reliable, leadership”

I remember having a Fuji digital, and my Wife had a very nice Canon that had the digital cards. The only thing I have left from those days is my Prodigy email address.

Jul 28, 2026 03:33 AM

LOL. I still have an AOL address that I give out to people I never want to hear from again Buzz Mackintosh 😊

Jul 28, 2026 06:32 AM

Bob "RealMan" Timm
That made me laugh. I still maintain a free AOL account that I use for junk mail... like when I have to give out your email address for free information.

Jul 28, 2026 07:22 AM

Kat Palmiotti

eXp Commercial, Referral Divison - Kalispell, MT

Helping your Montana dreams take root

I never even heard of a Mavica! I don't remember what my first digital camera was.

Jul 28, 2026 05:17 AM

The Sony Mavica started it all when it comes to digital photography Kat Palmiotti . It was an amazing camera as documented on Wikipedia.

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the Kodak line. They were simple to use and with their docking station that let you print your pictures out was great.

Jul 28, 2026 06:38 AM

Brian England

Ambrose Realty Management LLC - Gilbert, AZ

MBA, GRI, REALTOR® Real Estate in East Valley AZ

Wow, for $3.99 that is quite a buy! I wonder if it takes pictures better than the camera on your phone, though.

Jul 28, 2026 06:04 AM

My answer is yes and no Brian England . I just took the picture in Kat's comment with it and you can see that it could be sharper BUT it's in the correct format for pictures. I do not like the tall skinny pictures I get from my phone but it's ok for horizontal pictures.

Jul 28, 2026 06:44 AM

Look At What I Found

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Bob "RealMan" Timm

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