Fast and Pocketable
Written: Apr 26 '05 (Updated Apr 27 '05)
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Pros: Small size, fast operation, large LCD, user friendly menu
Cons: Accidentally pressed button, optics not sharp enough for 4 mp, noise in low light
The Bottom Line: Good image quality coupled with excellent features and user interface. A joy to use!
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| imreasztar's Full Review: Casio Exilim EX-Z40 Digital Camera |
At the beginning I was very afraid to purchase a Casio digital camera, it sounded so odd to go for a Casio instead of the big names like Nikon, Canon, Fuji, Olympus or Sony. However, during the last 8 months of use, the Casio win over me and I am very happy with my purchase – see how it performs in detail.
Most Important Specs
- 4 MP CCD
- 3x optical zoom (35-105 mm)
- Large 2” LCD screen
- SD card
- Long battery life
- Optical viewfinder
- Light weight, small size
In the Box
- Installation CD with software and PDF manual
- Quick start guide
- Sync Station (Cradle)
- USB cable
- Power Adapter
- NO SD card
I have purchased a Casio leather bag especially made for this camera (works excellent).
Picture Quality
Picture quality is OK, but not outstanding. Basically, the camera works as I expected, OK for the compact size. It has some problems with noise in low light and at ISO settings of 200 and 400, some purple fringing in high contrast situations, some vignetting in wide, but all these were expected and other cameras of this size perform the same.
I print most of my pictures on the Canon CP-330 photo printer, which uses thermo-sublimation technology on 10x15 size photo paper (4x6 in) and photos look excellent. Sometime I order prints of the same size in the local photo shop, those pictures also look very good.
So, you should be content with image quality, too. If you want to make larger shots or to shoot at night, a camera of this small size is not for you, so don’t expect such things from the Casio Exilim EX-Z40.
Optics vs. CCD resolution
To include a 4 mp CCD in this camera is just a waist of megapixels. The small Pentax optics in this camera just can't deliver enough sharpness to make use of these. I think their optical performance goes up to 2.5-3 megapixels, which is still way much more that the average user needs. To print 10x15 cm photos (4x6 in), 2 mp is quite enough, so 4 mp is overkill - 100 % my images were printed in 10x15 (4x6 in).
Where would I make use of the 4 mp? Well, for cutting-out smaller parts of the picture and print them at 10x15 (4x6), sort of 'digital zoom' afterwards. However, I guess almost all cameras of the same size have kind of similar optical performance.
Flash
The flash in the camera is small and not powerful, like on all compact cameras. The main use of it is to light up subjects in strong sun. In low light, it can light up subject not further than 3 m and only in the center of the image area.
Speed
Without doubt, the main advantage of this camera (and almost of all Casio cameras) is the very fast operation. It turns on in 1.7 seconds, and then responds to buttons presses and menu changes instantly, zero delay. It is such a joy to use the camera this way. You don’t hesitate to alter settings, to switch from record to play and back to check your images, you don’t miss shots because of the slow warm up phase, etc. What is more, with a quick SD card (I have a Panasonic 256 MB, 10 MB/s SD card), you can browse between images blazingly fast; I have never seen this on another digicam. You just press-press-press and images go by that fast. Kodak, do you listen, I want this on all digicams!
Buttons and Menu
Buttons are well placed and easy to use. I especially like the big green and red button to switch to play and record. These buttons can also be set to act like power-on/off at the same time.
The 5 way menu button is smaller than my liking, my big thumb often has problems to press it the correct way direction.
The menu is also well designed, everything at the place where I expect them, there is no problem to make changes. Almost all things can be altered according to user preference, which I really like. I looked up the different options in the manual, and then set up the camera the way I like and left it like that.
A nice feature I haven’t seen on other cameras is the ability to change the function on the Left/Right menu button. It can operate as scene selector when in Scenery mode, change white balance settings, change EV up and down, etc. However, on the long term I discovered that I don’t use any of these features anyway, so I left this for blank (without function).
Other than that, there are a huge number of features on the camera that are nice, but completely useless. I consider them as a game from the designers. These include the Alarm, the Voice Recorder, the Calendar image browser, image cropping, grid on the LCD and some very fancy image modes. I liked these to have in the beginning, but now, I think the camera would be better without, just less complicated.
Size and Ergonomics
Because of the small size, it is no problem to carry the camera on me, almost everywhere I go. I just flip it in my bag or coat pocket, and go. For a jeans pocket, it is too big and heavy, but OK for any kind of handbag. I have seen a huge increase in the number of shots taken compared to previous cameras I had.
The small size has it downsides, too. First, holding the camera in one hand is nearly impossible because there is not enough space for your thumb on the back. Then, it is very easy to press some of the buttons accidentally. Well, I have taught myself to pay attention for this latter, but when I hand out the camera for others to make a shot of me, or just to shoot freely, they often come back with an unwanted scene selection or whatever. For this reason, I disabled the extra functions on Left/Right menu buttons.
Big LCD Screen
The big LCD 2” is a real bonus that gives you 2-3 extra years for your eyes to work properly. To check the image and to change settings in the menu is way much better using this big screen, actually I see what is displayed instead of guessing it. To frame shots with the large screen is so much easier!
However, to check image sharpness, the pixel count of the LCD screen is too low, only 85.000 pixels, instead of 110.000 or 135.000 pixels.
Surprisingly, battery life is not influenced by the big screen; you have lots of power in the batteries.
Optical Viewfinder
The optical viewfinder is almost useless. It covers only 85% of the image, I was so many times angry because the final shot was different from what I have seen in the viewfinder. However, in low light situations, when the LCD only shows a brown-mass, or when I want to save power and turn the LCD off, or to hold the camera steady, the viewfinder should take over the job from the LCD screen. No luck.
Also, I have noticed, that 99% of my shots taken using the LCD screen needs rotation adjustment in Photoshop. This is because it is very hard to calibrate the image to be vertical when you hold the camera 20-30 cm in front of your eyes. However, when I use the optical viewfinder, and the camera is pressed against my face and hold by both hands (3 way fix), there is no such problem.
I really believe now that the LCD screen should be used only for reviewing images, not for framing shots.
So, now I hesitate to choose for a compact camera that comes without optical viewfinder. In one hand, it would be a necessity, on the other hand, it is of such low quality that it is nearly unusable, why not to remove it to save space and weight.
Battery Life
Battery life is excellent, the camera just works and works for days without problem. Also, it recharges relatively fast, so you can easily do cycles of 1-2-3 day shooting sessions coupled with an overnight charging session.
However, the camera has a proprietary battery, which can be charged in camera only, so I just decided not to buy an extra battery, but to carry the sync station + power adapter with me on trips.
Sync Station
In one hand, the cradle is very useful, you just drop in the camera and it is ready to transfer photos and to charge up. Fortunately, it has a standard USB cable, so you can use any USB cable you have (including the one supplied with the camera). This setup works very well when you have a desktop PC and therefore you always use the same computer to transfer the images from the SD card.
However, the camera has no connection without the cradle. You cannot get the images off the camera, you cannot charge it up, and you cannot connect it to a printer without the cradle. This makes things very cumbersome, especially on a trip; you need this big piece of plastic to be carried around just to be able to charge the camera up.
A nice feature of the camera is to display the images on the SD card while in the cradle; there is a dedicated button for this on the sync station. However, because the LCD screen is so small and I don’t want images displayed on my desk anyway, I have never used this feature.
What I liked:
- small, carry everywhere size
- fast operation (switch on and response to buttons)
- very user friendly interface (enough hardware buttons and logical menus)
- large LCD screen (2")
- very long battery life
- SD memory (instead of less preferable CF, xD or MS)
- sync station for charge and transfer of photos
- optical viewfinder
- excellent leather bag made by Casio
- live histogram
- tripod mount
- built in memory makes possible to copy images between SD cards ('steal' images from others)
These were neutral to me:
- image quality is average-good, but not outstanding
- image calendar is nice, but have never used it
- MF is nice, but have never used it (the LCD doesn't give enough resolution for this)
- alarm mode is nice, but my mobile phone does that job faster
- voice recording is nice, but never used
- no manual exposure control (shutter speed, aperture size), but I never wanted to use on this compact camera – when I need manual control, I use more serious equipment
What I missed/didn't like:
- no AF assist for low light shots (images out of focus)
- noise in low light
- noise at ISO 200 and 400 (unusable modes)
- optics don't give enough sharpness and resolution to use all pixel data of 4 mp
- low pixel count of large LCD, slightly pixelized look (only 85.000 instead of 110.000 or 135.000)
- impossible to download images/charge battery/connect to printer without the sync station (no 'cable-only' mode)
- bad ergonomics, hard to keep steady with one hand
- buttons can be pressed accidentally very easily, causes unwanted changes in settings
- optical viewfinder only gives 85% of the image, proves to be useless
Summary
This is a nice little camera, with average-good picture quality, that stands out from the mass with its very fast operation and very user friendly interface. Because of its small size and weight, it will be a carry everywhere camera and you will make a lots of photos, which is the most important for a camera.
It is surprising, that a small name, like Casio, outperforms the big ones, like Kodak, Canon, Olympus, etc. in many ways. Only Sony makes faster operating cameras and Nikon comes close.
Casio became my first choice for compacts! You can't go wrong with this camera, if you want a compact and small camera, this might be the one you are looking for!
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Update:
If I had to choose a camera today, I'd consider a camera with specs similar to the Casio Exilim EX-Z40, but:
- with higher resolution LCD (135.000 pixels)
- higher quality optics (better resolution)
- small hand grip instead of plain 'credit card style'
- slightly larger zoom (35-120 mm)
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 400
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Easy Enough for Anyone to Use
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Epinions.com ID:
imreasztar
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Location: Budapest, Hungary
Reviews written: 28
Trusted by: 6 members
About Me:
Bio/chemical engineer who loves mobile tech
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