Yashica Fine Cam

As of the time of this review, the Yashica Finecam S3 is the world's smallest 3-megapixel digital camera. With the 38-76mm zoom lens retracted, it fits easily into a T-shirt pocket, though its 7 oz. weight (160 g) is noticeable.

You're not going to outdo Cartier-Bresson in capturing the decisive moment with this camera. It takes 7 seconds to turn on and snap a photo. If the camera is on but has gone to sleep, it takes 4 seconds to wake up and capture one image. If you've just taken a portrait and your subject's expression changes to perfection, you'll have to wait at least 4 seconds before taking the next picture: the Finecam S3 is busy writing the last image out to the memory card. Even when the camera is fully warmed up and unoccupied, shutter lag is substantial. If you've read other photo.net reviews of digital cameras you'll know that this kind of speed of operation is what makes or breaks a camera as a general-purpose photographic tool.

As of January 2002, the Finecam S3 is retailing for around $500.

Basics

The Finecam S3 offers a 7.8-15.6/2.8 lens, equivalent in perspective to a 38-76mm zoom on a 35mm camera. The ISO 100 CCD sensor creates 1536x2048 pixel images and can be electronically boosted to ISO 200 or ISO 400.

The built-in flash has a meager 7-foot range at standard sensitivity and the camera includes no provisions for triggering or controlling external flashes.

There is an inaccurate zooming optical viewfinder and an accurate rear LCD display that is reasonably easy to use in sunlight.

With the camera set to macro, you can make a full-frame image of items as small as 2 inches.

The camera lacks a sensor to determine whether or not it is being held vertically. Thus all of your vertically exposed images will be incorrectedly oriented and you'll need to use an image editing program of some sort to rotate the JPEGs 90 degrees.

Image above right: outdoors in the afternoon shade the camera thought it was too dark for handholding without flash. But the camera isn't smart enough to know that the flash won't reach more than 7 feet. So the set-for-flash shutter speed proves woefully inadequate and underexposure is the result.

User Interface

The overall user interface is tri-modal: setup, playback, or camera. If you're in playback mode looking at recent photos and an interesting subject presents itself, pressing the shutter release doesn't do anything. The rear LCD does not display any warning such as "Hey, you're in playback mode; flip the rotary switch to the little camera icon and then you can take pictures again." This is sad because it is unnecessary. There are digital cameras that work just fine with a playback button. This would bring up the most recent image on the screen and then you can scroll back to earlier images if you wish. With such cameras if you need to take a picture you simply press the shutter release. You never need to think about explicitly switching modes.

Speaking of playback mode, you'll be using it a lot with this camera. The image captured is displayed only very briefly on the rear LCD. With the Canon digital cameras, holding down the shutter release after exposure holds the image in the LCD for inspection. With this Yashica, however, if a split second proves insufficient you'll have to switch to playback mode. Getting back out of playback mode and capturing a photo takes 4 seconds, by which time your subject may well have moved on up the street.

Considering how insensitive the sensor is by default, it would be nice to have a faster way of cycling among the three ISO settings and a warning/confirmation on the LCD screen when sensitivity is bumped up. It requires roughly 12 keystrokes to change from ISO 100 to ISO 400. Want to check what the current sensitivity setting is? That's 10 keystrokes. On the other hand, Yashica makes it fairly easy to change the JPEG quality, something that most people seldom adjust.

One nice extra: the camera can be set either to remember or forget all adjustments after being powered off and on.

Image Quality

Image quality is not as high as produced by other full-size 3-megapixel cameras. Pixels are nice but so are sharpness and color accuracy. If you've been using a Nikon 995, the Finecam S3 image quality won't satisfy.

Typical digital camera results when faced with a contrasty scene, i.e., crummy.

Flash-on (fill flash). Rather overexposed background. (Our hero is a ham radio operator communicating at 47 GHz with a friend about 50 miles away. Skyline Drive/Shenandoah National Park.)

Flash-on again. More reasonable exposure.

Sunny day. Not too much contrast. Reasonably nice picture.

Power

The Yashica Finecam S3 is small and light and includes a very small and very light lith-ion rechargeable battery. This is good for at most a half-day of photography or 30 pictures. When you're traveling you'll appreciate the fact that the charger cable plugs right into the camera; there is no need to pack a separate charger. Do plan to purchase an extra battery or two, however, if you're going to rely on this camera.

Storage

In keeping with its diminutive size, this camera uses SD memory cards. These are substantially smaller than the Compact Flash cards used by most other digital cameras. Each SD card has a mechanical write-protect switch. Overall it is a nice idea but (1) Yashica provides a card with only 16 MB of capacity, enough for 8 high-quality JPEGs, (2) even if you're a digital camera nerd, you probably don't already own a high-capacity SD card, (3) if you were to spend the big bucks on a high-capacity SD card you wouldn't be able to use it in a camera taking Compact Flash cards, and (4) an IBM Microdrive is out of the question!

Yashica thoughtfully provides a USB reader for the SD cards. Without any extra software being installed, a Windows 2000 laptop recognized the device and was able to pull photographs out onto the hard disk.

Included Software

Yashica provides no explanation of why or what software they are bundling with the Finecam S3. A CD-ROM is included in the package and it seems to contain only a basic image editing program called ArcSoft PhotoImpression. In other words, Yashica does not seem to be offering any suggestions or assistance for managing an image library.

Where to Buy

The Finecam S3 is stocked by Adorama, a retailer that pays photo.net a referral fee for each customer, which helps keep this site in operation. For additional retailer information, see our recommended retailers page and the user recommendations section.

Alternatives

The main competition for this camera is Canon's Digital ELPH. In favor of the Canon:

• 3X zoom instead of 2X
• Compact Flash memory system (though Microdrives won't fit)
• bundled ZoomBrowser software makes rotating images and managing an image library relatively painless

In favor of the Yashica:

• 3 megapixels instead of 2
• lighter: 160 g instead of 225 g (inc. batt and media)
• smaller: 87x55x30 mm instead of 87x57x26.9 mm

Neither camera operates quickly. Neither camera provides acceptable image quality in lower light. Neither camera has a useful built-in flash.

Where to Buy

The Yashica S3 is stocked by Adorama, a retailer that pays photo.net a referral fee for each customer, which helps keep this site in operation. For additional retailer information, see our recommended retailers page and the user recommendations section.

More

• yashica.com page on the S3
• Phil Askey's review of the S3
• Imaging Resource review of the S3
• Steve's Digicams review of the S3

Readers' Comments

Add a comment

Hubert Figuiere , January 07, 2002; 05:48 A.M.

In Europe, this camera is sold under the "Kyocera" brand name. This camera also has a clone named "Konica Revio KD300Z" that does cost the exact same price and looks almost the same.

Linux users will be happy as this camera is seen as a USB Mass Storage (think disk).

Terry Manning , January 07, 2002; 11:52 P.M.

I'm a little concerned with the comment about the dark photo of the rock formation. Instead of criticizing the camera for trying to use its flash in this situation, isn't it more fair to say that this is a time when the photographer should know not to use the flash? Surely a photographer with experience would disable the onboard flash and try to stabilize the camera for a suitably slower exposure. I can't see blaming the camera for not "outthinking" a photographer with poor judgment.

Patrick Hudepohl , January 13, 2002; 11:46 A.M.

I'm a little concerned with the comment about the dark photo of the rock formation. Instead of criticizing the camera for trying to use its flash in this situation, isn't it more fair to say that this is a time when the photographer should know not to use the flash?
-- Terry Manning, January 7, 2002

But I would expect this type of camera to be targeted at inexperienced point-and-shoot users. They don't know or care about photographic technique, they just want the shot. And if the camera suggests flash, then surely flash will be required and they will use it. Hence, the camera's flash (exposure) system had better be good. We are not talking Nikon D1X users here, were talking Olympus Stylus users going digital (or any other P&S, of course).

Charles Zwicky , February 15, 2002; 09:16 A.M.

I have owned and used the Kyocera Finecam S3. I have discovered a number of things which I consider to be significant advantages over other digital cameras:

1) The much criticized 'softness'you will read about is really a function of the lack of in-camera processing. When I compared two identical shots from the S3 and a Sony cam after sharpening both images in Photoshop, the S3 looked great, and the sony had tremendous artifacts, due to it's agressive in-camera sharpening.

Sony is the #1 camera seller in the world, but don't be fooled by their DSP tricks.

2) This camera allows uncompressed Tiff images to be saved, surprisingly rare in sub-compact cameras.

3)It will remember all your preferences after powering down.

4) It will automatically compensate for filters, unlike many.

5) If you use this camera in manual focus mode and also use the optical viewfinder, the shutter lag is less than 100ms, good for capturing indecisive moments.....

(as a reference, the Konica Hexar RF is 90ms and the Leica M6 is 12ms)

Charles Zwicky , February 15, 2002; 09:26 A.M.

S3 and home-made IR filter © 2002 Chuck Zwicky

I have owned and used the Kyocera Finecam S3. I have discovered a number of things which I consider to be significant advantages over other digital cameras:

1) The much criticized 'softness'you will read about is really a function of the lack of in-camera processing. When I compared two identical shots from the S3 and a Sony cam after sharpening both images in Photoshop, the S3 looked great, and the sony had tremendous artifacts, due to it's agressive in-camera sharpening.

Sony is the #1 camera seller in the world, but don't be fooled by their DSP tricks.

This camera allows uncompressed Tiff images to be saved, surprisingly rare in sub-compact cameras.

It will remember all your preferences after powering down.

It will automatically compensate for filters, unlike many.

If you use this camera in manual focus mode and also use the optical viewfinder, the shutter lag is less than 100ms, good for capturing indecisive moments.....

(as a reference, the Konica Hexar RF is 90ms and the Leica M6 is 12ms)

Disadvantages? Yes:

I have noticed noise in images taken after the camera has been on for a while and gotten warm.

Images are oddly large, even after jpeg compression or resizing, compared to other dig cams. In Photoshop, even 72 pixel thumbnails are 60k... Anyone????

Derek K. Miller , July 14, 2002; 04:25 A.M.

Dr. Greenspun is too hard on this cool and useful little camera. Yes, it's slow, the zoom is only 2x, focus is a bit soft, the range of resolutions is more limited than it should be, battery life is terrible, the camera body gets hot, the lens motor is a tad noisy, movies have no sound, the LCD always comes on after power-up (even if you turned it off previously), and the flash is weak. So what?

I have a slightly restyled Finecam S3, sold in Canada as the Konica Digital Revio KD-300Z. It is the only 3 megapixel camera I know that's small enough and solid enough for me to carry all the time. It's smaller than my cellular phone and fits in the tiny breast pocket of my microfibre cycling vest. It offers a remarkable range of manual controls -- from aperture to ISO sensitivity to white balance to focus. For such a small and inexpensive camera, it takes decent night shots (here's one, an 8-second 1024x768 shot blurred by hand-held shakes, which turned out okay anyway), which is something of a surprise. Moving from photo to photo in View mode is faster than on any other camera I've ever used. The build quality is outstanding. It's usable by a rank amateur, but if you know what you're doing you can take very good pictures using the manual settings.

It has a raw TIFF mode, a decent optical viewfinder, very close macro focusing (6 cm), an all-metal body, and an above-average package bundle that includes a 16 MB MMC storage chip, a USB card reader and extension cable, a soft leatherette pouch, a video-out cable, and power cords for both 120 V and 240 V standard outlets. The controls are logical and surprisingly usable (despite their tinyness) after a quick read through the thorough manual. Most important, you'll take it with you when you'd leave even a Nikon CoolPix 775 behind.

Its only competitors are the Canon Digital ELPH/IXUS models, but they are 2 megapixel cameras without as much manual control, and maybe the larger and more expensive Fuji FinePix F601. The price has come down too -- I bought my Konica in July 2002 for $530 Canadian ($350 U.S.). Grab a spare battery and a 128 MB SD card, and you're set.

Or buy a 3 megapixel camera that's faster and takes better pictures -- then leave it behind for that perfect shot because it's too lumpy to carry. Your choice. If you want a tiny camera that's still capable, the Finecam is a good bet.

Here are some samples, taken in the last day:

• Two daughters (natural light, slow exposure)
• Grouse Mountain (silhouetting, exposure lock)
• My eye (macro, flash)
• Cherry leaves (auto-exposure in contrasty lighting)

I don't yet have a memory card bigger than 16 MB, so all the samples are at the lowest quality 3-megapixel (2048x1536) setting, called "F" for Fine. I took the first and last while perched 15 feet above the ground in a cherry tree in our yard, something I'd be reluctant to try with my SLR.