Perhaps the most exciting feature of digital cameras is their ability to be miniaturized as the technology progresses. Toward that end, the Kyocera Finecam S3 can now claim (as of June 2001) to be the smallest 3-megapixel zoom camera. About the same size as Canon's immensely popular 2-megapixel digital Elph S100 and S110, the S3 likewise also sports a metallic body yet actually weighs less than the Elph cameras. In addition, it has more manual controls than the Canons (like manual white balance), plus it packs a higher pixel count to go with its 2x optical zoom. The extra megapixel of resolution means the camera churns out images at a whopping resolution of 2,048 x 1,536. Also included is the ability to capture 320 x 240 movies up to 15 seconds long.
The S3 comes complete with everything you'll need including a rechargeable lithium-ion battery and international AC adapter/charger. The high-resolution stills and short movies are stored on either SD or MMC cards, and a 16 MB card is supplied. To transfer images, Kyocera provides a USB card reader, eliminating the hassles associated with built-in USB ports. Also included is the ArcSoft PhotoImpression 3.0 software.