Kyocera

Samurai 2100DG

Posted October 1999

The Kyocera (Yashica) Samurai 2100DG features a 2.14-Megapixel CCD that generates 1632 x 1232 (SuperFine or Fine mode) or 800 x 600 (Normal mode) pixel images, 1.8" color LCD and is the first 2Mpixel digicam with a 4x optical zoom lens.

As you can see, with its vertical profile it more resembles a camcorder than a still camera. Kyocera says this form factor makes for a more stable picture-taking platform necessary for a high-power zoom. It's about the same overall dimensions as the Nikon Coolpix 950.

Note only does it resemble a camcorder but it also has a camcorder-styled hand grip. It was obviously designed for small-handed Japanese folks as I had a difficult time being able to press the shutter button once my hand was in the grip strap.

Front and rear views of the very narrow 2100DG. The battery door is located below the Monitor and Menu buttons on the rear end. Note that the optical viewfinder has a diopter adjustment control wheel.

The heart of the user controls are located on the left side along with a monochrome LCD data display. The flash, macro and infinity focus modes are all on the same button which means that you cannot use the flash with the macro function. The "Drive" button can be customized via the Setup menu to toggle the image quality, picture mode, white balance or EV override. The Drive button also toggles the self timer and it *can* be used with the macro function. The slide switch toggles the camera between Record, Connect to PC or Playback modes.

On the right side is the shutter button and the zoom switch which also doubles as the menu selection device. You push the switch up or down to zoom in and out or you can press it in to access menu features and then go up or down and select items by pressing it inward again. (If you look closely at the shiny shutter button you can see Yours Truly shooting the pic - extra brownie points if you can identify the camera I am using.)

The single CompactFlash card slot is on the left side behind a flip-open door. The CF card is ejected using the same type of fold-away push button like the one on the Nikon 950.

Behind the CF slot is the Video Out and Digital I/O (serial) ports.

Kyocera has included a 3.6v (1600mAh) lithium rechargeable battery pack with the 2100DG. The battery is charged in-camera using the AC power adapter, I don't know if they have an optional external rapid charger or not.

This is a typical Record mode menu screen showing (clockwise from top left) the EV override, picture quality (SuperFine/Fine/Normal), auto white balance, battery condition and shooting mode (filled rectangle means single shot).

This is the main Setup menu scren. Everything should be obvious other than the Custom entry, see the next menu screen below.

These are the options for the Custom menu selection. You can set the "Drive" button to toggle the shooting mode, picture quality, EV override or the white balance.

The usual 9-thumbnail playback screen to let you quickly jump to and display any image in memory. It has a slideshow function in playback mode as well as an erase and format option.

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Main Specifications of the Samurai 2100DG

Type	Digital camera with integrated storage, display, and delete functions
Recording medium/recording method	CompactFlash memory card/JPEG format (Exif Ver. 2.1), DCF compatible*
Image quality modes and approximate number of exposures	Image quality mode	Number of image pixels	Approximate number of exposures
	Super fine [S] Fine [F] Normal [N]	1,632 x 1,232 1,632 x 1,232 800 x 600	Approximately 6 Approximately 20 Approximately 84
Image capture element	1/2-inch square pixel, interlaced readout CCD (total number of pixels: 2.14 million, effective number of pixels: 2.01 million)
Lens * Focal length/brightness	Kyocera zoom lens (10 groups, 12 lenses)
	6.6 to 26.4 mm (converts to 35 mm to 140 mm for a 35 mm camera), F2.8 to 4.5
Focus adjustment	Infrared active auto-focus (except for macro mode) and video feedback auto-focus
Camera-to-subject distance range (measured from lens surface)	Approx. 0.6 m to infinity, 10 cm to 25 cm when using macro mode (allowing full-screen capture of objects the size of a business card)
Exposure control * Control system * Exposure-linked range	Programmed AE, feedback system combining external light meter and CCD divided multiple light measurement EV6 to EV16 (ISO100 conversion)
White balance modes Color modes	Auto, daylight, tungsten lamp Color, sepia, black and white
Shutter	CCD electronic shutter and programmable electronic shutter, 1/2 to 1/500 second
Viewfinders	Real-image optical zoom viewfinder and LCD monitor viewfinder
Flash * Camera-to-subject range * Charging time	Built-in flash, tandem control auto-flash using light adjustment sensor Approx. 0.6 to 3 m at 6.6 mm focal length/approx. 0.6 to 2.5 m at 26.4 mm focal length Approx. 6 seconds (battery fully charged, measured under Kyocera testing standards)
Photography modes	(1) Automatic flash, (2) automatic red-eye reduction flash, (3) fill-flash, (4) flash-off, (5) macro, (6) landscape
Drive modes	(1) Single-frame photography mode, (2) self-timer photography mode, (3) consecutive photography mode (S/F: 3 frames maximum, N: 12 frames maximum)
Other functions	Exposure compensation (} EV, 1/3 EV steps), electronic noise (at shutter release)
LCD monitor	1.8-inch, 110,000-pixel, low-temperature polysilicon TFT color LCD monitor (521 x 218 dots)
Display panel	Image number, photography mode, drive mode, image quality, exposure compensation, color/white balance mode, electronic noise mark, battery-low warning, custom settings on/off
Display	1-screen advance/return, specification of first screen to be displayed, continuous automatic display, simplified thumbnail display, multi-screen display (9 images), rotate, zoom display
Delete	Single-image delete, delete all images, format CompactFlash memory card
Output	Video output (NTSC), digital output
Input and output jacks	Video output jack, digital output jack, external power supply input jack
PC interface	Serial interface
Power supply * Number of exposures * Continuous display time	3.7 V cylindrical lithium-ion battery, custom AC adapter Approx. 200 frames (flash used 50% of time, LCD monitor not used, fine mode) Approx. 60 minutes (using LCD monitor)
Dimensions	57 (W) x 92 (H) x 123 (D) mm
Weight	400 grams (battery and CompactFlash memory card not included)
Operating temperature range	0 to 45 C

Steve's Conclusion

The Kyocera (Yashica) folks called me the other day and asked if I wanted to look at their latest 2.1 megapixel Samurai camera and I told them to send it on down. When I first took it out of the box I thought maybe they had sent me a digital camcorder instead of a digital still camera as that is what it resembles.

I'm pleased to report that it is very much a digital still camera, and one that produces good to very good images. It uses CompactFlash cards so you don't have to worry about running out of memory when storing the ~900Kb Super Fine mode images - but of course you need to own or buy a larger CF card, it only comes with an 8Mb card.

The Samurai 2100DG comes in silver body in the U.S. but is also available in black in the Japanese market.

The 2100DG is the only 2.1 megapixel camera with a 4x optical zoom lens. It covers a range of 35-140mm (35mm equivalent) and is an all-glass lens with a center resolution of over 200 lines/mm. Couple that with a high-definition 2.14 million pixel CCD and the result is an extremely sharp image rivaling that of a film-based camera.

In addition to a conventional feedback auto-focus that relies on the CCD, the Samurai 2100DG is also equipped with a focusing system employing an infrared active auto-focus function. Combined, they result in focusing performance that is both quick and accurate. My testing has shown the autofocus system to be very reliable and accurate.

The macro mode allows close-ups of objects as close as 10 cm from the lens. It has four flash modes (automatic flash, automatic red-eye reduction flash, fill-flash, and flash-off), a landscape mode, two monochrome photography modes (sepia and black-and-white), and three white balance settings (auto, daylight, and tungsten lamp). Exposure compensation is also supported.

The Samurai 2100DG has a large RAM buffer and its image processing speed has been increased substantially over the earlier model 1300. Storing and displaying images are much faster now. The waiting time after pressing the shutter button to when the next picture can be taken has been reduced to about one second in the fastest mode. The maximum number of shots that can be taken consecutively is now three in the super fine and fine modes, and 12 in the normal mode. (Setup time: approximately 2 seconds, image playback stand by time: 0.5sec. to 4.5sec., required time for shooting: 1sec. fastest)

Battery life is not what I expected. Shooting today I used the camera as much like an "ordinary" person as possible. The LCD was on for about half of the shots and when I needed to change the image quality and every now and then to review a picture. I averaged about 42 pictures, all shot in SuperFine mode, outdoors, no flash, before the low battery warning came on.

My biggest complaint is with the ergonomics of this camera. I have big hands and when I stick my hand into the Samurai's hand grip my fingers are well beyond the zoom lever and the shutter release. After using it for a couple of days I did manage to slip my hand halfway into the grip and this allowed me to press the shutter button a little better but I still had a hard time manipulating the zoom switch.

The LCD screen is made for reviewing stored pictures and for properly framing macro shots. The refresh rate is rather slow, somewhere between 5 to 7 frames per second. When switching the camera to Playback mode the images are displayed very quickly, even the highest resolution images were brought up within two to three seconds.

Color balance and saturation are good on outdoor pictures but most of my indoor/flash pictures had a lot more green tint then should have been recorded. I have been shooting with everything on automatic including the white balance settings as this is the way the majority of the users will operate the camera.

Steve's Samurai 2100DG Sample Pics

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