Evaluation: 
Conclusion: Fantastic image quality for such a small digicam
Review: It's too bad that Kyocera is no longer supporting (or making?) its digital camera products, as this tiny Contax version of the Kyocera SL400 is truly a winner.
I purchased it because it's one of the few digicams that is highly suitable for "digiscoping," i.e., attachment to the eyepiece of a spotting telescope for taking ultratelephoto photographs (in my case, I use it for bird photography).
However, as a standalone unit, this tiny jewel of a camera is fun to use and is clearly a quality product. It has no optical viewfinder, but its 2-inch LCD screen is bright and sharp. Better yet, the swivel design of the camera makes it easy to use the screen to compose photos of subjects at a variety of height levels.
The fit and finish are exemplary, and the camera comes with a handsome leather case. Since it is, frankly, kind of a "boutique" camera, it does not have the extensive menu of functions and manual setting that some serious photographers might demand. However, one can tweak color saturation, adjust exposures, and adapt to varying lighting conditions by setting the exposure compensation and ISO levels. Moreover, the camera features a whole list of special photo modes ranging from portraiture to sports, and also includes black and white and sepia options.
One of the U4R's most appealing features is its extremely low lag time between shutter release and actual exposure. With most digicams this delay is significant (interminable?) but with the U4R camera response is impressively rapid. In the "continuous" mode one can fire off three shots in succession in less than one second!
Another fun aspect of this little camera is that you can use it take take mini-videos on the fly. Don't think that the small-scale movies produced by the U4R will match the quality of a full-scale camcorder, but for capturing brief episodes of action for viewing on one's computer screen, this feature is surely welcome and easy to use.
The bottom line with regard to any digital camera, of course, is the quality of the still photos. Despite being a "mere" 4.0 megapixel instrument, the Zeiss lens of the U4R allows it to produce extremely sharp, clear photos that can be enlarged up to 8 x 10 inches. For photos larger than this one needs to consider a model with more pixels, but for most people's day-to-day needs the results from the U4R will be quite satisfactory.
Like all digicams with small sensors, the U4R produces significant image noise once the ISO level is set at 200 or above. At 400 the noise is quite noticeable.
As others have noted, other drawbacks include a lack of a tripod socket (although it's easy to set the camera upright on any flat surface) and a sometimes finicky joystick control used to navigate menus.
Overall, however, I have found the U4R to be a joy to own and use. I carry mine with me everywhere, and because of its pocket-sized portability, it's allowed me to snap some fabulous photos that I otherwise would have missed.
Evaluation:
Conclusion: Fast, briliant colours, and small
Review: Associated memory card used in the camera: Sandisk Ultra 2
Pro:
- This camera is as fast as a significantly more expensive SLR in startup and shot-taking.
- Brilliant colours, as expected from a T* lens.
- Very compact size (will need some getting used to for those who are used to big & heavy cameras). And the buttons are well laid out and easy to understand. The menu system is self-explanatory.
- Swivel lens design allows for waist level shooting without sacrificing operating speed. A very valuable feature that is difficult to find.
Con:
- The menu is not customizable. There are some feature that is in the setup menu (as opposed to in the shooting menu) that I prefer otherwise.
- No tripod mount. What they should have done is design both the hand-strap holder and (protruding) tripod mount as one.
Evaluation: 
Conclusion: Best Tiny Digicam?
Review: I purchased this camera because I wanted a true shirt-pocket camera -- something I'd always carry with me. Having tried other small cameras (Minolta X series) I was very disappointed with the optical quality of the lenses, the poor focusing systems, and the overall slowness and poor respondiveness of these cameras.
Kyocera/Contax seemed to solve a number of these issues with the previous generation of this camera. Once they announced the U4R -- with the quality of the Contax optics, beautiful body design, and 4-megapixel resolution -- I decided to take the plunge.
The camera's design is very well conceived and executed. Genuine leather adorns the front of the camera, and the entire body (except for the battery door) is made of magnesium. The swivel feature is tremendously useful, both in actual use and for the fact that it allowed the designers to fit a quality lens, without resorting to quality-reducing "tricks" (prismatic lenses -- think periscope here) that allow other slim cameras to have a lens that doesn't extend from the body.
The camera is quite fast. It "boots up" at power on quite quickly, but what really separates the U4R from the competition is how rapidly it responds when shooting. Focusing is commendably quick, but you can shoot at 3.3 frames per second if you use a high-speed (60X) memory card.
The 2" LCD has extremely good resolution, contrast, and brightness. It seems to work well in all but the brightest sunlight. Most of the time you don't miss the absence of an optical viewfinder.
Focusing and exposure have, so far, been faultless. The images from this camera are quite sharp -- not tack-sharp as you'd expect from a Nikon D70, but admirably crisp for this category of camera.
The battery for this model is a higher-capacity model than the one used on previous models. I think the battery life is good compared to other models of this size, but if you are used to a larger Sony or Nikon model you might be a bit disappointed -- by all means order a spare battery and keep it ready to go.
The only downsides for me are dictated by the camera's small size. Namely, the buttons for zoom, menus, and other functions are quite small and a bit fiddly in operation. This is a minor quibble, however; I'm not certain you could do any better given the limited real estate available after deducting the area for the 2" LCD. It would also be nice to have an optical viewfinder, but this is (again) dicatated by the camera's size ( or lack thereof). Also, it would be nice to have a good wrist strap; the camera ships with a long "necklace" style strap which seems useless to me. Also, the built-in flash units on any of these tiny cameras are only good for use at close range. If you'll be doing a lot of flash photography I would recommend buying something different (read: larger), or limiting your use of the U4R to daylight and limited flash photography.
All in all I highly recommend this lovely little camera. Great build quality, top materials, and wonderful design all contribute to a tiny gem of a camera that makes few compromises or concessions dicatated by it's small size.
|
