Kyocera Finecam SL300R

Opinion: I was looking for an ultracompact that let me tweak things at the same time and had reasonable quality. The SL300R looked like the best deal around, and so far is living up to the expectations. First of all the form factor is the best of this camera. Its complitely square when closed, so it doesnt have any weird edges or bumps. Its the best thing I've seen around to slip it into your pocket and forget about it.
This little baby is blazingly fast too. Startup time is like a second or two, and you can take pictures right away. The burst mode does indeed take 3fps at the full resolution, good. You can also record movies till you feel the media which most cameras dont.

Opinion: Swivel lens is very effective, and seems to be solidly built.

Using a Panasonic 256 mb SD, which supports Sandisk Ultra II speeds (but without the price tag).

The video comes out to 2 megabytes a second at 640x480 30 fps, using 64-kbps 8-bit audio (it sounds mediocre, no better than my old Sony DSC-S75).

Contrary to what dpreview has on its specs page, the video mode is really unlimited until memory card full, and there is NO tripod mount on the camera.

The LCD works like a PDA's, with or without backlight (cannot fully turn off). Dayfine technology works very well, and the LCD is totally visible under direct sunlight.

Nice to have the manual controls available (limited manual focus - but its there, white balance, long shutter speeds of 2/4/8 seconds)

Action shots really do go at 3 frames a second, but is heavily dependent on ambient light. In a room with marginally enough light, you can barely go 1 frame every 2 seconds.

Comes with a camera bag that has extra SD pouches! Nice touch.

Opinion: I love it and I hate it. The slim design and many special features are fantastic and very well thought out. The ability to take a series of pictures using fast SD memory seems to be unique (3 pictures/sec with no time limit). Also the Video mode is amazing. The display can be used even under bright light, I need no viewer.

However, some negative details are really unfortunate.

Because the small size is so admirable, I tolerate the short battery life and the fact that the flash is by far too weak. I can also live with the fact that there is no real macro function. But the inaccurate color finally led me to buy a second camera, a Pentax Optio 450. It is an ideal complement, being strong where the Kyocera is weak and vice versa.

Opinion: I bought this camera 4 months ago, knowing it's limitations. This is a small compact camera. I think it is Great! People seem to castigate it's smallness and say it doesn't have this or that? Tell me where can you put a screw for a tripod on a camera that is 4" x 2.5" x 3/4" and what can you expect from a battery that is 2" x 1 1/4" x 1/4"???
Actually you get a lot for your money !
There is so much control on such a small instrument!
OK it gets scratched if you carelessly put it down and the flash will only be effective up to 3 or 4 feet...so what? Look at the results if you use it correctly. (and stop comparing it to a Nikon 5?!)
I am thrilled with my SL 300R and OK I used to put my fingers on the lens at times, but have stopped that now.
For all it's faults, this is a beautiful and versatile camera that slips in the pocket and can be ready for action in a jot. Lastly, the more you use and recharge the battery, the longer it will last. Thank You!