8 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
Kyocera Finecam is an Excellent Digital Camera with Large View Screen
Date of Review: Feb 8, 2004
The Bottom Line: This digital camera is great because of the large 2.5" LCD screen and it's ease of use. Great 3.2 mega pixel picture quality. I recommend it highly.
Looking forward to a new baby really got us in the camera buying mood. We wanted a better quality digital camera than the one we already had, so we would have great snapshots of all our baby's "firsts" when he or she arrives in a few months. This is a major, life changing event for us, and we wanted to capture the memories with this new camera.
Deciding on a digital camera was a tough thing for us. There are so many options at every price range. But, after learning more about what could meet our needs (family pics and snapshots that wouldn't be blown up more than 8x10) this was the overall winner for us.
The Kyocera Mita Finecam L3v has so many features that we were looking for.
It is a 3.2 Mega Pixel camera, which will provide excellent quality prints up to about 8x10 size...maybe even a little larger depending on the photo. We decided it would be perfect for our desire to take snapshots of our family and friends.
The Finecam measures 4-1/4"x1-1/4", which easily fits in a small purse or in your pocket, making it nice to go to amusement parks, etc. without hassle.
The 2.5-inch LCD monitor (which is the dual-backlight type) makes it much easier to see the shot you are taking or to view the photos that are already stored on the camera. It is especially good for those with less than perfect eyesight...no glasses needed! In fact, when we took our camera to a party the other day, everyone gathered around our camera to look at the photos we had taken because they were so much easier to view than any other camera there.
Other great features of the Kyocera Mita Finecam include the 3.0x Optical Zoom and 2.0x Digital Zoom, Movie Recording (including audio) of up to 120 seconds, Voice Recording to easily label or add captions to pictures, and a six language menu.
Included with the camera are:
USB Cable
CD-ROM
Lithium battery pack
16MB SD Memory Card
small strap (hand strap)
instruction manuals
The lithium battery and 16MB Memory Card will have to be upgraded. The batteries die pretty quickly, and we were advised to get some re-chargable AA lithium batteries. They have held up pretty well. The 16MB card is extremely small (about 10-15 photos) and we bought an additional 64MB card to give us more use out of the camera.
The camera itself is extremely easy to use. The camera modes are labeled with pictures, and after turning the camera on, it's basically as easy as point-and-shoot. The menu bar is also easy to use. It will walk you through the things you will do frequently, such as deleting pictures that you do not want.
Because of the USB cable that will hook directly from the camera to your computer, it's not necessary to have a card reader. However, without a card reader, it will use up some of the battery life of your camera (which is okay if you have gotten re-chargable batteries). Hooking it up to my computer (I use Windows XP) was a breeze. As soon as I plugged it into by USB port, my computer automatically recognized and installed the camera. I didn't have to do anything to upload pictures except to pick the ones I wanted.
I have been extremely happy with the purchase of this digital camera.
Overall Feelings:
Ease of use: Very Good. This camera's functions are easy for anyone to learn. Picture icons will even help those of us who are not computer geniuses.
Price: Good. We felt this camera was competitively priced (We paid $249 in January 2004), and the expense of purchasing additional memory cards was less than a higher mega pixel camera without losing quality for prints less than 8x10.
Durability: Good. This camera cover is made of metal, so it will hold up to the beatings of hanging it on your arm or putting it into your pocket.
Zoom Ability: Okay. This camera only has a 3x optical zoom and a 2x digital zoom.
Photo Quality: Very Good. This camera easily produce excellent quality prints (in any light) up to 8x10 -- and in some cases, even larger prints.
Battery Life: Average. The batteries had to be replaced after 100-150 shots. We began using re-chargable batteries to cut the expense of continually purchasing new AA size batteries.
Shutter Speed: Okay. Expect lag-time for taking pictures with this camera. It's roughly 1 second or so.
***Updates***
Our daughter is now three months old, and I have gotten TONS of use out of the camera. I still really like it, but have noticed a few things that bother me.
The slow shutter speed is a killer. I guess when you are trying to catch a baby smile, one second can really make a big difference. So, that being said, when we look for another new camera, it will be one with a faster shutter speed.
Also, I would like a larger zoom capacity. I just think it would make taking pictures a little easier.
Would I still recommend this camera? Absolutely. For the price, it has been wonderful. And that large LCD screen is absolutely the best!
