Home > Consumer Reviews > Konica KD-300Z 3MP Digital Camera w/ 2x Optical Zoom

The Konica Digital Revio KD-300Z is the same camera as the Kyocera/Yashica Finecam S3. It's a great little camera. You could, if you wanted, complain about some of its limitations -- 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. But so what?

The KD-300Z/S3 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. 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 remembers most settings when you turn it off, which some other cameras don't. 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. Newer versions of the Mac OS and Windows recognize the SD card reader without new drivers. Most important, you'll take the camera 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, since the design is now a year old, and it is an excellent deal. 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.

This is a fine camera if it were not for its hunger for batteries. One set of AA batteries lasted for about 10 pictures when flash is needed. With this consumption rate for batteries, it becomes impractical to use this camera.

It is a very noisy DC I have ever seen! It is making much more noise than every DC can do!

The pixel count for this camera is outstanding, since this is one of the smallest and lightest digital cameras on the market. It is rugged, esthetically pleasing and easy to learn to use. It is perfect for the student who wants to record their memories while away at college. The USB/Camera interface is so easy to use, even grandma will love it and insist on getting and sending pictures to the whole family.