Customer Reviews

Ben Fin, from , CA, US, Nov 20, 2001

Hello!
I have been thinking about getting a digital camera for some time now. I have been reluctant because of the constant surge of ‘new and improved’. It is hard to take the plunge when one knows that a better item is just around the corner. 
What I wanted was the smallest camera available with the largest amount of pixels possible. Criteria included smallest possible size, large pixel number and flexibility of use.
I was that close to getting the Canon S300 that was pocket size. I also thought about the Nikon Coolpix 775. Both were very small and both had 2.something megapixels. The Canon was small and was my first choice. The Nikon 775 was my second choice but did fit into my pocket comfortably. The Canon fit into my pocket BUT it was a little big and I wanted something over 3 megapixels.
I was on my way to return the Nikon 775 and get the Canon S300 when I saw a newspaper advertisement for the Kyocera Finecam S3. Then I went out and researched it out. The results were that it was small and took great pictures.
I researched it on numerous digital camera review forums. It got thumbs up with of course some downsides. Then I researched the price and found a place that sold it for $100 less and service was great but a little on the slow side.
The Pro’s:
1) The size – it is small, very small. It is the smallest 3.2 megapixel digital camera around. It is the size of a credit card. I was in disbelief, so when I got it, I held it against a credit card and yep, it is the same size. 
2) Use – it is very easy to use. One simple read of the instructions and voila. Pictures! In fact, most features were common sense. The ones I read were about how to set the different resolution modes. I always keep mine on the lowest resolution because even at that level, the sharpness was great. 
3) Fun factor – it is so fun to walk around a dinner party, take pictures of people, show them, get their email and send it to them. The small size is not obtrusive like a SLR camera and the geek factor is somewhat diminished. 
4) LCD viewer – the viewer allows instant viewing of the just taken image. If you don’t like it, take another. 
The Con’s:
1) Battery life – basically, it really sucks. It does not last at all! One has to be conscious of the battery level constantly. I have taken about 60 or so pictures with full flash and the LCD screen on. After that, the ‘low battery’ sets in and it shuts down.
2) Battery recharging – I can not charge the battery outside of the camera. If I buy another $50 battery, I have to charge the 1st one inside the camera, then take it out and out the 2nd one in to charge. Somewhat annoying. 
3) Blurred pictures – because of the small size, when you click the shutter to take the picture, any slight movement may blur the picture. It does not have an anti-vibration feature like Nikon SLR’s do. Good thing is that you can see the photo you just took and take another if you don’t like it.
The main reason I purchased it was for one reason: size. I really wanted the smallest camera with excellent resolution. I travel a lot and enjoy taking pictures of the things we have done. When sight seeing, I like to travel as light as possible. I never did understand why people lug around huge SLR’s around. My sister did this and took nice quality pictures. But these pictures always ended up in her drawers or in a family photo album. 
Print quality on the N (normal mode) is more than adequate for 4x6’s that will go into the photo album. The best thing about a digital camera is that you can take the picture and erase it if you don’t like it or edit it (like taking red-eye out).
The MMC (multi-media card) that came with it was 16 meg. It holds 63 N (normal) images. I think it holds like 9 or 16 F (fine) photos and 1 TIFF (forgot what abbreviation means). Loading the pictures into the computer is easy, you just take the card out and load it into the card reader that is hooked into your computer via a USB port. 
If you do not like the quality of the N mode, you can always go for the higher resolutions. I have not tried them on a printer yet but I am sure that the quality would be outstanding.
Overall, I am very satisfied with the camera. It does everything that I want it to do. It is small and takes outstanding pictures. It is easy and fun to use. The only annoying feature is the battery life and charging procedures. I would definitely recommend this camera for those who want the smallest camera on the market with excellent picture resolution. Hope this helps! Take care!