"Picky Details" for the Kyocera SL300R digital camera
(Timing, Power, and Storage Info)
Timing
I measure both cycle times and shutter delay times, using a test system I designed
and built for the purpose. (Crystal-controlled, with a resolution of 0.001 second.)
Here are the numbers I collected for the Kyocera SL300R:
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(secs) |
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| Power On -> First shot |
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Pretty fast, thanks to no need to extend lens first.
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| Shutdown |
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First time is for shutdown with no shots in buffer memory. Second time is time required to clear memory buffer after a VGA-resolution series in continuous mode. First time is pretty fast, second is average.
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| Play to Record, first shot |
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Time until first shot is captured. About average.
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| Record to play |
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First time is that required to display a large/fine file immediately after capture, second time is that required to show a previously captured image. Both times are a little on the slow side.
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| Shutter lag, full autofocus, "Frames" mode |
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First time is at full wide-angle, second is full telephoto. These times are for the cmaera operating in its "framing" mode, in which the VF display remains "live" during the autofocus operation. Quite slow. (Average is 0.8-1.0 seconds, still too slow IMHO.) |
| Shutter lag, full autofocus, "Speed" mode | 1.01/0.96 | In "Speed" mode, the viewfinder freezes while the lens is focusing, but the shutter lag is less. While better than the times in "Frames" mode, these times are still on the slow side of average, and the VF freeze is rather annoying. |
| Shutter lag, prefocus |
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Time to capture, after half-pressing and holding shutter button. Reasonably fast.
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| Cycle Time, max/min resolution |
4.91 / |
First number is for large/fine files, second number is time for "TV" mode (640x480) images. Times are averages. Buffer clears after each shot. Both times are rather slow by current standards. |
| Cycle Time, continuous High mode, max/min resolution | 0.27 / 0.27 (3.75 fps) |
First number is for large/fine files, second number is time for "TV" size images. Times are averages. In LF mode, shoots this fast for four frames, then slows to about 2 seconds apart. In TV mode, continues at this speed for over 40 shots, and buffer can take 25 seconds to clear. Very fast, surprisingly so, given the rest of the camera's performance. |
Like many subcompact digicams, the SL300R is no speed demon, but it's slower than most, in most parameters. The shutter lag of 1.16 to 1.47 seconds in its "Frames" mode is very slow, and even with the AF system set to "Speed," the lag time only improves to 1.06-1.16 seconds. At 4.91 seconds in single-shot mode for large/fine images, cycle time is also rather slow by current standards. One bright note though: Continuous-mode cycle time is very fast, at 0.27 seconds (3.75 frames/second) for up to four large/fine images.
Power
The Kyocera SL300R uses a custom rechargeable LiIon battery for power. The combination of fairly high power consumption and a fairly low-capacity battery results in very short battery life:
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(@5 volts on the external power terminal) |
(3.7v, 780 mAh battery pack) |
| Capture Mode, w/LCD |
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| Capture Mode, LCD backlight off |
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| Half-pressed shutter w/LCD |
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| Image Playback |
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Storage Capacity
The Kyocera SL300R stores its photos on SD memory cards, and a 16 MB card is included with the camera. (I strongly recommend buying at least a 64 MB card, preferably a 128 MB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings.) The chart below shows how many images can be stored on the included 16 MB card at each size/quality setting.
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Resolution/Quality 16 MB Memory Card |
Fine | Normal | |
| 2,048 x 1,536 | Images (Avg size) |
9 1.6 MB |
19 810 KB |
| Approx. Compression |
6:1 | 11:1 | |
| 1,600 x 1,200 | Images (Avg size) |
16 992 KB |
32 496 KB |
| Approx. Compression |
6:1 | 11:1 | |
| 1,280 x 960 | Images (Avg size) |
25 631 KB |
49 322 KB |
| Approx. Compression |
6:1 | 11:1 | |
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Images (Avg size) |
96 166 KB |
180 89 KB |
| Approx. Compression |
6:1 | 10:1 | |
Download Speed
The Kyocera connects to a host computer via a USB interface. Downloading files to a Sony desktop running Windows XP. I clocked it at 524 KBytes/second. This is pretty fast for a camera with a USB v1.1 interface. (Cameras with slow USB interfaces run as low as 300 KB/s, cameras with fast v1.1 interfaces run as high as 600 KB/s. Cameras with USB v2.0 interfaces run as fast as several megabytes/second.)
SL300 Test Images
SL300 Specifications
SL300 "Picky Details"
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