Kyocera Finecam SL300R: A Few Refinements Needed

Did you get the digital camera you hoped to get over the holidays? If not, there is an excellent option available from Kyocera that could meet all your needs. The key thing to think about before purchasing a digital camera is what are you looking for? You purchase something for as little as $15 (Disposable digital camera) to as much as $1000.00. The difference is obviously the performance of the camera and bells and whistles that come with that performance.

So, how about the Kyocera SL300R? Does it have what you are looking for? Does it have the bells and whistles? Does the price make it worth your while?

THE SPECIFICS:

* Dimensions of 2.5" x 3.9" x .6" when closed
* Weight of five ounces
* 3.19 megapixels
* Zoom of 2x for digital and 6x normal
* Auto flash and red eye reduction
* JPEG for still images and AVI for video
* Shutter speed of 1 - 1/2000 seconds
* 3.7 volt or lithium ion battery
* USB hook up
* 16MB memory card- expand to 256MB
* 1.5 inch LCD screen

WHAT I LIKE:

1. This is a cool camera that is also quite small in size. Yes, the cool factor is still a part of the digital camera buying process. The Size allows you to carry it in a jacket pocket and not even really notice it. To me, this is a must when looking for something like a digital camera. The old necklace style hook up that used to be ok for carrying a camera just does not cut it anymore when everything is being made small enough that you can carry it in your pocket.

2. The quick power up. Admit it, one of things that annoys and has seemingly escaped the electronics manufacturers is the ability to get their products to power up quickly. In other words, there is a delay when you push power and the equipment is ready to be used. The SL300R removes that delay. From the time you push power there is about a one second lag and then you can begin shooting pictures. This is great for those times when you happen upon something and need to get powered up quickly. Hopefully, other electronics will follow Kyocera's lead.

3. The shutter delay is barely noticeable. Again, this is a big improvement from other digital cameras. The delay is so minimal that you do even notice it and that is very important as we move to the next thing that I like about this camera.

4. The ability to shoot almost continuously. Keep in mind that this is not a recording device, but a camera. However, this is a really cool option. If you hold the shoot button down continuously while shooting, you can capture up to three photos per second. Pretty cool. And, unlike some cool functions, it is difficult to mess this up. Simply hold the shoot button and that activates the function. Let go and the function stops. This is a really cool feature if you are trying to get an image that may change quickly (Think the one your dogs trying to do something.) or one where you do not quite know when it will happen.

5. The ability to shoot movies. Ok, this is not something new in the digital world, but it is something cool. You can shoot a movie as long as your media card will allow. The picture flows smoothly and looks quite good and the sound is excellent. Again, the process involves nothing more than a push of a button.

6. Well thought out controls. First of all, the controls are minimal and often have double uses (Holding the button down when continuous shooting, for instance.). But the controls that do exist, are well positioned and pretty straightforward when it comes to using them. This is a plus because you need the controls to be easy to use when shooting quickly and continuously.

7. The photo quality is quite good. While not on a par with a professional camera, it is not too far behind. The resulting photos are crisp, the colors brilliant, and the final picture is excellent. Read below for a few helpful hints.

8. Connects to your computer without any problems. Ok, this is not so much a positive as something that is expected. But the SL300R has a USB hook up that is very easy to use.

WHAT I DO NOT LIKE:

1. The camera is well built, but I have to wonder how long it will last before needing maintenance. The reason why is the swiveling portion. The camera is basically wallet sized when closed. However, when you go to shoot something, a portion of the camera swings perpendicular. I have always been a believer that the fewer moving parts, the fewer trips to the maintenance guy.

2. Fingerprints, fingerprints. Ok, this is a problem because there is no cap for the lense. While usually not a huge problem, for some reason the SL300R has a problem with fingerprints and quality of the photo. If there are fingerprints, the quality goes way down. I mean way down. After a while you will get used to the flip apart design of the camera and be less likely to have this problem- you would hope.

3. The flash creates a lot of red eye. I have been told this is because the flash is too close to the lense. Regardless, when using the flash you will notice there is a great deal of red eye present. In this day and age, this is unacceptable.

4. The continuous shooting is great, but be aware that you need to upgrade the media card. Yes, instead of a 16MB card you will need a 256 MB card for this feature to work. Not a big negative, but it would be nice to just go ahead and provide the 256MB card as standard- especially when this feature is something that is so attractive.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

I want to give this camera an above average or highly rated grade, but I am hesitant to do because of the four negatives I mentioned. Without these problems, the SL300R is an easy top grade digital camera. Yet there are just too many different brands and cameras that are on the market right now that do not have these problems. Of course, a great number of these cameras do not have some of the features that the SL300R has.

So, in balancing out the good and the bad, I am going to have to give the SL300R an average weighting. I love some of the things about this camera (Performance, ease of use, continuous shooting), but what good does continuous shooting do if the object is smudged because of fingerprints or red eye? Hence, my logic behind downgrading a camera that I really want to like.

Will you be disappointed with the SL300R? That is up to you, but you will expect better if you have owned another digital camera. If this is your first digital camera, you might wonder what the hype is all about. A great start, but in the end this is just an average digital camera.