(FORTUNE Magazine) – Megapixels aren't the only measure of a digital camera's quality. Case in point: Kyocera's snappy Finecam SL300R ($400) employs a technology that lets the user fire off three pictures per second, at maximum three-megapixel resolution, until the memory card is full. (The camera comes with a 16-megabyte SD card; to take full advantage of its speed, you'll want to spend an extra $90 or so for a 256MB high-speed SD card that can store as many as 200 shots at top resolution.) The SL300R is ideal for family photos when Dad sneezes or Junior mugs; the camera can outlast the grimaces. Other digital cameras can shoot bursts of pictures, but only for a few shots. Dubbed "Rapid Tuning" by Kyocera, the SL300R's underlying technology was developed by NuCORE and will soon appear in cameras from other companies.

Rapid Tuning isn't the only reason to admire the SL300R. It's about the size of a pack of playing cards, just w inch thick, and light enough to carry in a shirt pocket. The 3X zoom lens swivels out from the body, a trick borrowed from rival Nikon. The viewfinder is an exceptional 1.5-inch LCD. The downsides are typical for small cameras: Control buttons are dinky, and a steady hand is required. Overall, though, this is an innovative go-anywhere camera that produces images suitable for prints as large as eight by ten.