wsmunch's Full Review: Casio Exilim EX-V7 Digital Camera
::: Form & Handling :::
The Casio Exilim EX-V7 is a sleek & slim, compact camera. The large LCD screen doesn't leave much room for the rest of the controls on the back. The design is pretty basic, in the sense that there are no curves intended for finger placements to make single-handed photo-taking easier or more comfortable. I can have the bottom right corner of the camera resting on the meaty part of my palm, underneath my thumb. This tends to be uncomfortable, since it requires my wrist to be bent to hold it and take pictures. If I choose to zoom with my thumb, the camera moves a bit and it's harder to do a quick zoom then shoot, without having a semi-blurry picture (even with the image stabilization). Two-handed operation definitely eliminates the shake.. but sometimes you might have something in your left hand. So I found out that resting the camera on my right ring finger lets me hold the camera steady, even while zooming. My middle finger holds the lens cover on the front, and my index finger manages the shutter on the top. It might sound like it looks slightly awkward (ok maybe it does look it too), but I don't have to bend my wrist to hold it and I can access all the buttons with ease, with my thumb. The lens cover has a smooth slide and tension enough that time hasn't diminished it's ability to stay put.
The unit is both thin and lightweight. It can be slipped into a front pocket without being terribly noticeable for either size or weight. The recessed lens, though small, is a major reason why this camera is able to be so comfortably thin. The LCD screen is fantastic and displays bright, even in broad daylight (compared to many LCD screens one might use outdoors). You can view the LCD screen from most angles and still be able to see clearly, though the range is a bit more narrow than LCD monitors/TVs or laptop screens. The screen has a clear, hard plastic overlay on top which gives it added protection. The camera would have to take a hard hit to damage the LCD screen, or any part of it at all. There is nothing protrusive on the Casio EX-V7, so any damage to the unit would be caused from impact shock (like being dropped).
The menu system is pretty straightforward and is mostly self-explanatory if you're familiar with digital camera menus. Casio hasn't strayed much, so if you've handled a Casio camera before you'll be perfectly comfortable. Otherwise, users will have an easy-to-navigate camera menu which lets them change virtually any setting of choice. Regardless of setting, one can view a live RGB histogram of the pictures they're about to take, from the LCD screen display. This option is easy to toggle, so those who know how to best make use of it should delight in it's function. The EX-V7 also offers multiple shooting modes to accommodate most all levels of photographers. The Aperture, Shutter Speed, and Manual Exposure settings allow greater manual control to those who understand and like tweaking their pictures for perfect shots. Those of us who want the plain point and shoot can set the camera to Easy Mode or Best Shot. The Best Shot mode offers 33 different scene selections, which lets the user quickly pick the one that best suits their situation. These scenes have pre-set settings that are intended to create the best results for it's type of picture. One can even save user-defined picture settings from images stored within the camera, which is handy for those who play with manual controls and want to quickly duplicate a fantastic shot like one previously taken. This can almost be necessary if you take a variety of pictures, since the camera doesn't save settings once it's turned off and it would require a bit more menu-play. The dial to switch between the modes moves easily so it's prone to changing around as the camera goes in and out of pockets/cases. The buttons on the Casio Exilim EX-V7 are small so those with larger hands might have a slightly difficult time with navigation.
::: Quality & Performance :::
When I went shopping for digital cameras, my search was narrowed to models with an above-average optical zoom. I was tired of not being able to get close-in enough on distance shots. The EX-V7's two-speed 7x optical zoom is quick and continuous. I have the digital zoom function inactive because it is completely unnecessary, since I can duplicate the same effect with an image-editing program. The zooming doesn't provide any step-increments so you need to be light with the button if you're trying to zoom to precision.
The moment the camera is turned on (by sliding the lens cover open), is becomes apparent the Casio EX-V7 is fast. The LCD screen lights up immediately and a picture can be snapped off within a second after the camera has powered up. There aren't many other digital cameras in it's class that can claim the same, especially at the camera's maximum megapixel (7M) and quality settings (which is my base setting for using this digital camera). Pictures can be taken in near rapid-succession, being that the the only real delay is the time it takes for the image to save itself on a memory card or the unit's internal memory. I don't mean using burst-mode either; just shooting one normal picture after another. I use a high-speed memory card so I can take a picture almost once every second. Using the camera's internal memory, the delay is a little bit longer; slightly more than once every other second. Part of the reason why the Casio EX-V7 takes quick pictures is because it's fast and accurate auto-focus doesn't need any manual priming like on cameras past. Other digital cameras I've used require one to hold the shutter button down halfway to prime the focus to be able to achieve a faster shot (because the camera itself isn't necessarily quick). This way, when the button is pressed down fully the picture will take instantly. With the EX-V7, all one needs to do is aim the camera and press the button. This is an absolute godsend for those camera users who don't want any "tricks" to be able to take pictures normally and not miss the action. The camera has a focus-tracking that works well as long as your hand is steady and the subject isn't moving too fast.
Despite how naturally fast the Casio EX-V7 is, the use of flash nearly eliminates the speed advantage, even though the flash recharge time is pretty quick itself. This doesn't become much of a problem until one wants to shoot fast pictures in lower-light situations (like kids running around indoors). With the full flash, the camera will adds an second and a half delay before each photo (approximately, this is an unscientific estimation). It's harder to catch action shots in rapid-succession like this, so you'll need to have people stop and pose or just deal with semi-missed or blurry shots. One can take quick pictures in low-light or indoor situations without the flash, but the results will be prone to blurring, dulled color, and/or lots of grain. Casio did provide a decent in-between though. One of the flash options is a "soft flash", where you can trade less flash power for more photo-taking speed. The delay while using this flash option drops down to about a second (instead of almost two seconds with the full flash), but you can take pictures faster without sacrificing any photo-quality. Most of the time, I've found myself defaulting to the soft flash for indoor use and I've been pleased with the results. The soft flash (with a toned-down intensity, changed from the menu) lets me take pictures at ISO 200 without adding too much light (usually) or losing color to too much grain. Despite the small size, the EX-V7's flash is surprisingly powerful. It can almost light up an entire room. There is a noticeable difference in lighting between the full and soft flash if you're comparing pictures side by side. This is not to say that one looks better than the other in print; the pictures will just look slightly different due to the intensity of the flash. The use of flash tends to add a bluish-white coloring to the pictures, making subjects appear to be more cool than their natural tone. I had to reduce the flash intensity (done in the camera menu settings) to keep my image colors mostly intact while being able to maintain sharp photos, when the flash was needed.
Excluding the cool overlay added by the use of flash, the colors of photos taken by the Casio EX-V7 are true to real life and very natural, both indoors and out. While some camera models will "warm" up the overall photo with a bit of blush, the EX-V7 keeps pretty accurate, especially with the skin and flesh tones. Most average digital camera users take pictures of friends and family, so color accuracy ends up being a very strong feature for the Casio. The image stabilization does quite well to help offset hand shake and subject movement while maintaining picture sharpness. Some complain about the slight buzzing noise while it's active, but it only activates as needed and it's not really that loud. The stabilization is pretty important for indoor pictures taken without any flash to reduce the amount of blurring, since it can only do so much without one resorting to adjusting the shutter speeds. The noise-reduction is pretty effective; I have this used in conjunction with the stabilization. Granted that I can always sharpen images with an image editing program, I find it best to get a sharp shot from the start. Adjusting shutter speeds ends up being more effective than adjusting the ISO speeds, in terms of maintaining photo quality. I've found that while ISO 100/200 make fantastic pictures all around, the faster ISO 400/800 cause the image quality to take a noticeable dip. The colors start to wash out as grain invades and permeates. Considering it's an ultra-compact camera, it doesn't do too bad of a job. Outdoor and well-lit photos, on the other hand, are crisp, vibrant, and gorgeous. The Casio EX-V7 loves outdoor photo-taking.
::: Movie Mode :::
Even though it's not that big of a deal to most people, I was pretty impressed with the movie-mode quality of the Casio EX-V7. Seriously impressed. I also own a JVC GRD-350 digital camcorder which is about to hit the retirement shelf now that I have the EX-V7. The indoor video quality of the two compared show an advantage to the digital camera. I really think that the camera's video recording does a better job maintaining colors and handling low-light grain. I compared some recently taken video from the camera against some previously taken video from the camcorder. The general consensus was that the camera video looked far superior. The outdoor video looks great. I can also zoom while recording with the Casio, and the image stabilization works for video! Given that I am MUCH more likely to have a digital camera on hand than I would a digital camcorder, the Casio EX-V7 has proven it's video utility by being able to capture moments that would otherwise have been missed had I made an attempt for the camcorder instead. The camcorder may have better zoom and a built-in microphone, but it does little good if it's never put to practical use. Here are my advantages with the Casio's movie mode:
- Stereo sound
- No wait time to start recording
- Comparable video quality to low/mid-range MiniDV camcorders
- Can record for the entire size of the memory card, versus a limit suffered by other digital cameras
- Zoom while recording
- Autofocus while recording
- Instantly finishes recording & saves as soon as you press stop
- The image stabilization applies to video recording as well
- Easy to transfer & share video, versus MiniDV
I've grown weary of using my digital MiniDV camcorder and having to transfer & convert all the video on my computer. At first it seemed pretty neat, but then it started to be a pain in the butt to have my PC tied up for hours to turn MiniDV video into an MPEG video file that I can store with all of my saved digital photos. Most people don't even have that much initiative, and they get stuck with piles of tapes. Do we seriously hook up a camcorder to a TV/DVD player to watch video still? After using the Casio EX-V7's video recording, I am completely done with digital camcorders. So what if it's Quicktime's MOV format? The quality is more than satisfactory for everyday use, and the convenience far surpasses that which a camcorder can offer. Memory cards are fast and inexpensive these days, so recording time isn't even an issue. The Casio camera doesn't really hold a candle to higher-end camcorders (especially for image stabilization and low-light shooting.. but then no camcorder can take still pics like this Casio), so while professional-level photographers may scoff at the video quality I feel that most regular users (like me) can and will take full advantage of what the current digital camera technology has to offer in terms of doubling as a camcorder.
::: Connectivity :::
The box includes everything you need to hook up and charge the EX-V7. The cradle, which is larger than the camera, has connections for power and USB. Cables are included. The image transfer speeds are what I would expect. The camera battery will last about a full days worth of pictures and video; well over 300 shots. The cradle recharges the battery pretty quickly. The charging indicator light will turn green when the battery is fully charged. I think it only took over an hour to completely recharge. The cradle and cords aren't really convenient to bring on trips, but if one is carrying along other electronic equipment it's reasonably compact to wrap up and tuck away for future use. There are two buttons on the cradle itself; the USB button initiates connection to a computer to transfer data and the Photo button will start a slideshow of the pictures in the camera (when it's docked, of course). A music track will start to play and loop as the camera cycles through the pictures one by one, using a fade technique. The music plays rather well from the camera's speakers.. and as far as I know I can't change it to something else. The battery doesn't appear to charge when the slideshow is going on.
* Verdict *
The bottom line is that the Casio Exilim EX-V7 is a fantastic buy for any owner who wants the best bang for the buck, especially for a combination camera/camcorder. The image quality is absolutely perfect up until the point of lower-light conditions, where one has to finesse settings and balance flash versus photo grain. The image stabilization works very well, especially in conjunction with the camera's sharpness and noise-reduction adjustments. I've found that by tweaking those settings, I can take acceptable pictures in lower-light conditions without having to use the flash, since even a less-intense soft-flash can add a cool tone to the photo being taken. Basically, you need flash to eliminate the grain, but you need a light flash if you want to retain more natural colors or take quicker pictures. To some, this flash management is a hassle, but having saved best-shot scenes helps skip past a lot of menu re-adjusting. Despite the weakness in low-light, the EX-V7 truly shines in well-lit or outdoor situations. The colors are true to life and incredibly accurate, and quick photo-taking succeeds from the fast auto-focusing. The video recording quality is just as good (if not better) than your average MiniDV camcorder. All cameras will suffer some form of weakness versus the competition. If you feel that the low-light noisiness and irregular flash performance aren't too much an inconvenience, the Casio EX-V7 will prove itself with it's strong video and photo capabilities that fits in a shirt pocket.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 229.99 This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Flexible Enough for Enthusiasts
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