Kyocera Finecam S3 Review

Overall Rating

Really small, a 3-megapixel that fits comfortably into your pocket - great! Seems robust - I accidentally dropped it on a couple or three occasions with no apparent ill effects. Takes great pictures even in bad lighting (use "no-flash" option remembering to hold very still or use a tripod as it extends exposure time to compensate for bad light). Results are quite good even on "normal" setting. Tripod facility is a boon.

I find it is too easy to depress the on/off switch instead of the shutter release button. Compared with some very cheap digital cameras this camera has only 15 seconds of video per take and NO audio! A big disappointment. The battery does not hold charge for more than a few pictures and I find that a couple of movie takes will completely flatten it. There should be an in-car charger available. Writing on the front of the camera is wearing off even though I keep the camera in a case.

When I first saw the Kyocera Yashica Finecam S3 Digital camera I fell in love with the size of this 3-mega-pixel digi. I just had to have one. I got a good deal from a camera shop in Manchester city centre and have been very pleased with the quality of the photos. I was disappointed only in that it does not have audio facilities and the movie side can cope with only 15 seconds and no audio. Another bug was that it absolutely eats up the battery power and there is no in-car charger available (up to when I last checked). However, the battery charges fairly quickly on the mains.
The card is simple enough to load and unload and downloading images is as simple as copying files on the computer. The card reader is plug and play and can load simply on to any computer with a USB port.
Overall, I love this little baby. I bought it in December 2001 and the price then was in the £400-500 region (I got mine for £400). Seems very expensive now with the onslaught of the competition in this market. The 16mb card was standard but I also got myself a 32mb spare although I have rarely needed it. I also got myself a "belt case" as this allows you to have the camera on quick demand whilst keeping it safe - attached to your body. The first case I bought had a thin belt strap and this soon broke. I replaced it with a Vanguard one which has a much wider belt strap.
The credit card size (and it is actually credit card size - width and height) little digi continues to please and no doubt, will do for many years to come.