The first thing you notice about the Kyocera Samurai 2100DG is the shape of the camera. It looks and feels like a video camcorder and without even picking it up the feeling is that this is a nice camera to hold and shoot with the strap in place. Its not the smallest camera going round - the Canon Digital IXUS comes to mind - but it certainly offers a lot of convenience for the photographer.

Left-handed users might find some difficulty as the zoom and shutter buttons are placed for the right index finger, but in any case most left handers would probably be used to neglect and make allowances. There is no difference with the Kodak DC4800 (reviewed above) in this regard as the grip and shutter release on this camera is also on the right. The left side features most of the operating controls including on/off button, operating mode (shoot, playback or connect to PC) and flash settings, a small LCD panel for feedback and interfaces for external power, the connectors for TV out or camera to host PC, and CF card slot. On the back panel is the optical viewfinder, a 1.8in LCD and button controls for the LCD and internal function menus.

Setting the camera up is no mean feat. Most controls perform multiple functions depending on what mode you are operating in. It was a source of major frustration trying to get the Samurai to do what I wanted it to do, as pressing the wrong button invariably set the camera back to the main menu. There was also the added confusion of either reading the LCD on the back or the left side panel.

Thankfully, shooting with the Samurai is a simpler matter than setting it up. In the case of the Samurai there was little to persuade me using anything other than the super-fine setting. White balance, flash, exposure and aperture are best left to the automatic settings unless you have a need to adjust. Landscape shooting, where panorama and not detail is emphasised, would be the only occasion when the super-fine setting is bypassed, or if you need to take a number of snaps and cant afford to evacuate the CF card. Only an 8Mb CF card is bundled with the Samurai instead of the 16Mb card that comes with the DC4800.
Kyocera maintains a battery life of 200 shots using the flash 50 per cent of the time but I find this hard to believe. Thankfully the battery is a Lithium-Ion cell that can be recharged while in the camera. Adobe PhotoDeluxe for MacOS and Windows is bundled with Kyoceras TWAIN driver which is a source of added frustration as a slow serial interface is used. Functions are limited to opening and saving the image files. There is no way you can adjust any of the camera settings from the PC.

The Samurais asking price for a two megapixel camera is a reasonable one, but there are too many points where the three megapixel DC4800 wins out, not least being the superior image quality and ease of use for only a hundred dollars more.

David Lin