Contax U4R digital camera

Hits the spot like a good Martini

What's tiny, flexible and comes in camel? If you're expecting an off-colour joke about an Egyptian dwarf, you're reading the wrong magazine. The answer, of course, is the Contax U4R, the first digital camera to be available in that peculiar shade of yellowy turd designers have named after the ship of the desert. You might have trouble tracking down this particular vessel, mind, as the sample we saw was in black, and even the "indigo" (that's blue to you) version is in limited supply.

If the colour of this camera is unfamiliar, the design isn't - it's almost a carbon copy of the Kyocera Yashica SL300R (T3 94, 3/5), combining a slim 19mm width with a neat rotating lens. With the onward march of technology, the U4R is now home to a four-megapixel CCD and a stunning two-inch screen. The sharp 3x zoom Carl Zeiss lens wasn't broke and Contax hasn't fixed it, although it would have been nice if it could have got rid of some of the whiny noise that spoils the otherwise excellent TV-sized 30-frames-per-second movie clips.

The U4R is largely controlled via a tiny metal joystick that you'll either love or hate. We hate it, but it does at least keep the interface simple. A real plus point for this model is its speed - it starts up quickly, focuses quickly (except in dim light) and the 3.3-shots-per-second burst mode is simply amazing. Image quality is fine for such a small snapper, and the smooth skin tones and sharp detail in close-ups are especially good. In short, a fun, responsive camera that shouldn't give you the hump.