Kyocera FineCam S3 ZoomKyocera packs 3 megapixels into the smallest zoom-equipped digicam yet. Too cool!<<Video, Power, Software :(Previous) | (Next): Reference: Datasheet>> Page 12:Test Results & ConclusionReview First Posted: 7/1/2001 |
Test Results
In keeping with our standard policy, our comments here are rather condensed, summarizing our key findings. For a full commentary on each of the test images, see the Finecam S3's "pictures" page.
As with all Imaging Resource camera tests, we encourage you to let your own eyes be the judge of how well the devices performed. Explore the images on the pictures page, to see how well the S3 performed, and how its images compare to other cameras you may be considering buying.
Overall, the S3 produced good-quality shots, with a fairly accurate color balance the majority of the time. The camera's White Balance system handled a variety of light sources well throughout our testing. We noticed that the Manual setting often resulted in a greenish image, and as a result most frequently chose the Auto white balance. That said, the Manual setting produced very accurate results in our Indoor Portrait (without flash), without producing any strong color cast in response to the (very yellow) incandescent lighting. Color balance looked pretty good on our Davebox target, though the S3 overexposed the shot slightly, which washed out color. The S3 also produced purplish blues in the flowers of our Outdoor and Indoor portraits, and produced slightly magenta skin tones in both Outdoor shots. Despite these minor concerns, the S3 did pretty well in the color department.
The S3 performed fairly well on our "laboratory" resolution test chart, though a notch below other three megapixel digicams we've tested. It started showing artifacts in the test patterns at resolutions as low as 600 lines per picture height, in both horizontal and vertical directions. However, we found "strong detail" out to at least 1,000 lines, a very good number. "Extinction" of the target patterns didn't occur until about 1,150 - 1,200 lines. The S3's images were marked with a slight softness across the board, but this appeared to be more an issue of the in-camera sharpening rather than a fundamental optical shortcoming.
Optical distortion on the S3 was about average at the wide angle end, where we measured an approximate 0.76 percent barrel distortion. The telephoto end fared a little better, as we measured a 0.47 percent pincushion distortion, although this is more pincushion than we're accustomed to seeing in digicam lenses. Chromatic aberration was low, showing about two or three pixels of coloration in the far corners.
The Finecam S3 did surprisingly well in our low-light tests, producing usable images all the way down to the limit of our test of 1/16 foot-candle, or 0.63 lux, although there was a fair bit of noise in the photos shot that dark. In the past, we've generally prefocused the cameras for this test, to produce the sharpest possible images. We're contemplating a change in procedure though, which we began with the S3, where we simply let the camera do the best it could as a way of determining how sensitive the camera's autofocus system is. In the case of the S3, we found that it focused reliably at light levels of 1 foot-candle (11 lux) and above. For darker conditions, you'd need to use the manual focus option. (A nice feature, unusual to find manual focus in such a compact digicam!) For comparison, 1 foot-candle is roughly the light level on an average urban street at night, under streetlighting. - Darker than that and you'll need to use manual focus. A good performance.
The S3's optical viewfinder is a little tight, showing approximately 86 percent frame accuracy at wide angle, and about 90 percent at telephoto (though at the telephoto setting, our top measurement line is cut off). The LCD monitor fares slightly better, showing approximately 89 percent of the image area at wide angle setting, and approximately 92 percent at telephoto. We generally like to see LCD monitors closer to 100 percent frame accuracy though, so we felt the S3's optical viewfinder came up a little bit short.
Macro performance was very nice, with the S3 capturing a minimum area of just 2.24 x 1.68 inches (57.01 x 42.76 millimeters). Resolution, detail, and color all looked good, although we picked up some corner softness from the lens when shooting that close. At closest approach, the flash only partially illuminated the macro area, resulting in a heavy shadow at the bottom right corner, and a slight overexposure in the top left corner. The flash did much better in macro mode than those on many digicams we've tested though.
Despite some color limitations, the S3 performs very well for its tiny size. Though resolution isn't the best we've seen in a three megapixel digicam, it still managed to capture a nice level of detail in most of our test shots. Partial manual exposure control provides some flexibility in exposure, making the S3 well-suited to most average shooting situations.
Conclusion
Though its Lilliputian dimensions are the tiniest we've seen, the Finecam S3 packs a lot of power into its small size. Pocket and handbag friendly, with a rugged, all-metal case, the S3 offers a whopping 3.3-megapixel CCD, for a maximum resolution size of 2,048 x 1,536 pixels. Partial manual exposure control provides a good deal of flexibility (with the Aperture Priority and Long Exposure modes), though a fully automatic Program AE mode keeps picture-taking hassle-free when that's what you want. The additional color and exposure adjustments are a nice bonus, making the S3 more than just a cute and compact digicam option. We'd seriously like to see better battery life, but the battery itself is tiny enough that packing along an extra won't be much of a burden. If you're shopping in the "digicam as fashion accessory" or "too cool for words" digicam categories, the S3 is a sure bet, besting even Canon in the ultra-compact design game. Kudos to Kyocera, the S3 is a huge step forward in capability, style, and features from anything that's gone before. Good job, guys!
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