Yashica's first digital camera....
Jul 13, 2021 15:02:16 GMT
on Jul 13, 2021 15:02:16 GMT
Last Edit: Jul 24, 2021 17:32:27 GMT by biggles3
This is the Yashica KC 600 - the marque's first digital camera. It was also sold as a Kyocera DR-350 and was their second camera, following hot on the heels of their hybrid DA-1.
Yashica KC 600
Produced in 1997, the KC 600 (a name that doesn't appear to relate to any characteristic of the camera) had a sensor that was a 0.35Mp 1/3" CCD providing a maximum resolution of 640x480. It could offer a 4-frame burst rate.
Its lens is a fixed focus 47mm f4 (35mm equivalent) with a macro capability, comprising 5 elements in 5 groups. The monitor is a 1.8" DSTN colour LCD of 110,000 pixels.
It recorded images onto a Compact Flash card and is powered by 4 AA batteries.
I hope to see it's image quality shortly as I await the arrival of a 8Mb card (not having any cards of such a low capacity); that will equate to recording up to 32 photos at Fine resolution. The maximum card size the KC 600 can write to is only 15Mb. I'm not aware if there were any firmware updates produced for this model, unlike those available for many of the later Finecam series.
Edit::: Now that the card has been installed, I can confirm that all the camera's functions are working. Unfortunately, the small sensor has trouble resolving much detail and with the tiny picture size, it is only suitable for recording the most basic of pictures - even on its Fine setting, resolution is very poor. That may have more to do with the primitive processor than the sensor but the camera still caused a bit of a stir when released. The 1998 Samurai model 1300DG was not that much better in IQ - a little improvement could be seen - and in the following year, the Samurai DG 2100 showed further progress. It was only really when Kyocera launched the Finecam series in 2001 that we started to see IQ that was truly acceptable.
Yashica KC 600
Produced in 1997, the KC 600 (a name that doesn't appear to relate to any characteristic of the camera) had a sensor that was a 0.35Mp 1/3" CCD providing a maximum resolution of 640x480. It could offer a 4-frame burst rate.
Its lens is a fixed focus 47mm f4 (35mm equivalent) with a macro capability, comprising 5 elements in 5 groups. The monitor is a 1.8" DSTN colour LCD of 110,000 pixels.
It recorded images onto a Compact Flash card and is powered by 4 AA batteries.
I hope to see it's image quality shortly as I await the arrival of a 8Mb card (not having any cards of such a low capacity); that will equate to recording up to 32 photos at Fine resolution. The maximum card size the KC 600 can write to is only 15Mb. I'm not aware if there were any firmware updates produced for this model, unlike those available for many of the later Finecam series.
Edit::: Now that the card has been installed, I can confirm that all the camera's functions are working. Unfortunately, the small sensor has trouble resolving much detail and with the tiny picture size, it is only suitable for recording the most basic of pictures - even on its Fine setting, resolution is very poor. That may have more to do with the primitive processor than the sensor but the camera still caused a bit of a stir when released. The 1998 Samurai model 1300DG was not that much better in IQ - a little improvement could be seen - and in the following year, the Samurai DG 2100 showed further progress. It was only really when Kyocera launched the Finecam series in 2001 that we started to see IQ that was truly acceptable.
