crazy_chris's Full Review: Casio Exilim EX-S10 Digital Camera
Rewind to 2006, when I was going to Asia for a three weeks trip spanning eight countries and fifteen cities. Having more than twenty flights to take, buses, trains, and being constantly on the move, I had carry-on and not much else. As for picture taking, I needed something compact, easy to carry and effective on the go. I opted for the Casio EX-Z600 point & shot. After three weeks of use. I had taken thousands of pictures, had easily slipped it in and out of my pocket to capture asian life and sights, and had had to buy numerous new SD memory cards. I had taken a few videos as well. The camera had been very good for the purpose of the trip, yet it looked more like 3 years old rather than 3 weeks old. I managed to keep it alive for a whole year of normal use, even though the quality of picture and physical mechanism drastically decreased over time (and abuse.) I finally all but killed it with an Europe and Africa trip where I managed to click more than 5000 pictures. I am rough with my camera (and with my cell phone as well.)
With this in mind, when I went to buy a new point & shot camera a year and a half later (March 2008), I surprinsingly went for Casio again. The Casio EX-S10 is more compact (more fragile?), more powerful (10.1 Megapixel, better video, etc.) and one of the best choice for this price range. I just made sure to take an extra 2 years replacement warranty! I also took a photography course to maximize my pleasure and picture-taking experience.
After a few (9) months and three (3) trips experimenting with it, here is my review:
Buttons are well places and well thought out including a one touch camera on/off red button that is ideal to capture a quick video of something spontaneously occuring or for easily switching between picture and video modes. Interestingly, you can even take a picture while you take a video, although the video will pause and restart and a second or so will be missed while you can take a higher quality still picture. Having big fingers, I did however encounter some occasional problems starting or ending a video while in a hurry and pulling out the camera quick or trying to time an event too quickly.
At 94.2 x 54.6 x 15 mm and weighting a mere 113g, the casing is very compact, and easily fits in a hand, a pants or jacket pocket. It is so small that I definitely recommend an outer casing/pouch to protect it, make it a bit more voluminous and put extra battery and memory cards. At the bottom, it has a small orifice to attach a stand or self-portrait device. The batteries and SD or SDHC cards slots are also located there and can be removed and put in fairly easily with one hand with a little practice.
The screen is rather big at 2.7-inch wide LCD viewer and offers sharp and vivid images of good size and wide viewing angle. Casio’s Super Clear LCD technology boasts high contrast ratio and resolution making it easy and fun to view/share picture and videos even before downloading them. The viewing mode is easily accessible, scrolls fast amd continuously and allows for various neat functions like zooming and technical aspects display of file. The slideshow mode takes it to another level when you want to pass the camera around to your friends for a few minutes. This drains quite a bit of energy however.
Important note (for digital camera novices): If you are low on battery or will not be able to change or recharge soon, do not waste battery life viewing your photos/videos.
With the outer soft pouch I use, the casing is in very good condition after nine months, although I must warn potential buyers that it seems to have very limited water resistance. After about six months of use, I lost proper sound in my video after taking a small one minute video in the rain on a beach in Cape Town even if I was attempting to more or less cover it. I will have to sent it back for warranty repair after Christmas and my January Texas trip.
For esthetics and style, the camera comes in a wide choice of colors including silver, black, blue, etc.
b) Lens & Zoom
There are 6 lenses in 5 groups, including aspherical lens.The camera has an average zoom at 3.0x optical ¯like my old Exlim 6.0 and most camera on market. The exact specifications are f= 6.3-18.9mm (EX-Z600 was f=6.2-18.6mm)
The zoom works well for now (although the mechanism of the EX-Z600 started to block regularly at the end) and reacts well to command. It is recommended to put the digital zoom OFF if you do not want to lose picture quality. Far away details are hard to catch and if you often need a good zoom to get closer to your subject, this will likely not be enough. However, for normal use, the zoom does work relatively well.
Note: You cannot zoom during a video.
c) Flash
The camera has a decent incorporated flash with Auto, Flash Off, Flash On, Soft Flash, Red Eye Reduction modes. The range is Approx. 0.2 to 2.8m (W) or 0.4 to 1.5m (T) at Normal speed and about 40% less when set at Continuous Shooting. You can always use an external flash if needed.
d) Responsiveness
Casio is known in the industry for quick response time. May it be to power up, to take a photo/video or to be ready for the next one, this camera will make your friends trying to take pictures next to you look slow and retarded. I may be exaggerating a little, but with the Casio EX-S10, you are always set!
2. Functions
A) Picture Mode
With 10.1 Megapixel, you have enough pixel resolution to print a nice “true photo quality” 9x12 inches @ 300ppi. If you do not think you need that fine of a picture you can choose different quality or sizes including widescreen (16:9) especially relevant for a widescreen (HD) TV or computer.
The resolution can be • 3648 x 2736 - 10 Megapixels • 3648 x 2432 (3:2) • 3648 x 2048 (16:9) • 3072 x 2304 - 7 Megapixels • 2304 x 1728 - 4 Megapixels • 1600 x 1200 - 2 Megapixels • 640 x 480 (VGA)
and the quality fine, normal or economy.
You can have auto, manual or predetemined settings for most options. Focus has Auto, Contrast Detection Auto, Macro, Pan, Infinity or Manual modes, while ISO can be set to Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400, 800 or 1600. Same concept for White Balance: Auto, Daylight, Overcast, Shade, Day white FL, Daylight FL, Tungsten, Manual.
Standard feature include self-timer (10 sec, 2 sec, or x3). You can also have continous shots at normal or high speed (lesser quality) and even continous with flash (uses a lot of battery), as well as quick or auto-shutter to detect blur, panning or smile.
As for the technological advances, the new stabilization feature (antishake) option will give you less motion blur, although please note that it may take more time to take the picture as the camera will wait for the camera to stabilize before capture.
All in all, the functions are well-designed and easily-accessible including a pannel display at the right of the viewer that can be turned on for more avid photographers.
B) Video Mode
Specification and fonctionality-wise, this camera has the best video features and quality you will find in a picture camera. It has the possibilty of widescreen recording at 848x480 at 30 frames per second, or regular 640×480 (UHQ/HQ/Normal, 30 fps) or 320×240 (LP, 15 fps) and even has an option of recording with silent black & white mode to bring it back to the old school . If you want better, you’ll need a bulkier camcorder. This is the best in class for quick, high-quality video. Just watch out for the pitfalls of jerky hand-held shaking that may drive your viewers nuts!
C) Viewing / Editing Mode
The viewing mode is complete with anything from zooming (up to x8), date/time and technical info to slideshow option as mentioned. You can even edit your long videos directly on the camers if needed to save memory space. You can erase a single file or all files. You will be prompted to be sure that you really want to erase all files, but be careful, especially if you lend your camera to someone to view pictures.
D) Other Mode & Function
Sound only mode is available if you want to record a concert or speech with video or want to use it as a personal recorder/logger to talk to yourself for future reference. Standard time stamp and camera parameters info will be stored in all files. As mentioned, you can choose a greeting photo to appear each time you power up the camera.
There are many other tools, modes and features like face recognition that recognizes and prioritize a face (even that of your recorded family member). The camera and the manual are user-friendly and allow for a good mix of efficient picture-taking and enjoyment. Take the time to read the manual to maximize the camera’s potential.
3. Battery
The camera only uses Casio proprietary Lithium Ion 3.7V 720mAh NP-60 battery. This means it is not compatible with anything else and when you run out, you cannot use any regualy store-bought batteries. However, this is a great advantage in terms of battery life. The Casio batteries last the longest by far and I could easily do hours of picture-taking with my old Casio EX-Z600.The battery does not last as long with the Casio EX-S10 (maybe half the time) so I strongly suggest you buy a second Casio NP-60 battery. It can also be useful at home when you want to downlaod your pictures from the camera and are charging your dead battery and crucial on a trip when you are often the whole day out and about and will likely need to change batteries.
Note: When travelling abroad, remember to bring a universal or country-specific electrical adapter. The charger can take 100-240V, 50/60Hz, 80mA, but you may not have the right electrical plug for the socket.
4. Connectivity & Compatibility
SD & SDHC (high capacity) cards can be used (it is also compatible with MultiMediaCard, MultiMediaCardplus) and you can download the pictures directly from the camera with a USB 2.0 High Speed adapter provided and that connects to the bottom of the camera or a AV out. The internal memory can store a few pictures, but do not count on it for more than your greeting picture you can set up for every time you open the camera.
Alternatively, you can take out the SD/SDHC card and plug it into a laptop that can read it directly (my Compac can read SD but not SDHC) or put it in a compatible TV, digital photo frame or other device. There also exist pocket card reader that can connect the SD/SDHC card directly through USB to a computer without the camera like the Verbatim CameraMate #96504.
As for the specific file formats:
File formats • Still Images: JPEG (Exif Version 2.2), DCF 1.0 standard, DPOF compliant • Movies: MOV format, H.264/AVC, AAC (monaural) • Audio: (Voice Recording) WAV format (monaural)
5. Summary
This camera is versatile and offers long (Casio rechargable) battery life--although you probably will require the purchase of two--, along with industry-leading video mode and overall responsiveness. It is compact, but somewhat delicate which means it can easily may be carried anywhere but may end up getting a beating. Buy a case and maybe an extra warranty and you will make great use of this next generation of Casio to capture some worthwhile moments.
From F1 racing clips in Montreal to stills of Scottish mountains to safari snap shots in Africa to widescreen pictures in Argentina’s nature, this camera has and will continue to be a reliable and practical companion. I have ease and fun using it and am pleased with the results when I later go through my thousands of pictures and hundreds of videos.
With the price somewhat lower now, it is a genuine good Christmas gift for the Holiday Season. Enjoy the experience and like me you’ll be coming back for more!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 250 This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Flexible Enough for Enthusiasts
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