With the recent advances in digital camera quality and functionality together with the recent demise of my last everyday snapping Minolta, I decided to take advantage of the recent post Christmas sales and join the twenty first century. Little did I know that just 10 days later I would also find myself the proud owner of a Cannon ixusi5, but that’s another story (and another review).

In terms of photography I would call myself a fairly enthusiastic snapper. I can compose a photograph fairly well (my father is a keen photographer, a one time semi-professional who took time out teaching me the basics). I’m not too sure exactly what it was that attracted me to the half price Casio QV-R61, but for the £199 price tag ($360 – electrical goods are more expensive in the UK), the package seemed to offer a good deal.


So what do you get?

Unusually for this fairly modest outlay, the QV-R61 offers a whopping 6 mega pixels worth of picture quality. My niece was convinced that I had 6 mega pixies in my camera and I certainly like the idea of these mega pixies eagerly storing my images. I was only actually looking for 4 mega pixel quality (as it’s not often I would want to produce large picture images), but I couldn’t resist the extra spec.

In fact, despite being dazzled by the specification, having as much as 6 mega pixels might prove to be a bit of a negative as pictures taken with the camera will store up more memory. The 256 MB memory card I purchased with the camera will store 75 six mega pixel photos. Had I a 4 mega pixel camera, I could get 128 photos crammed in there. Likewise, if I’m storing the pictures on my PC, I need to shrink the size of the pictures so as to minimise the memory that is used up and to reduce any download times.

The other great bit of functionality is the three times optical zoom (39 – 117mm) on top of the digital zoom. This means that I can zoom on into my subject without impacting upon image quality. Some cameras simply “zoom” in on the recorded image.

The thing I was really surprised with was the size of the screen on the reverse of the camera. It is a 2” LCD screen. Given the size of the camera, it almost takes up the whole of the reverse side. My beloved was pleased with seeing the screen as she thinks she will be able to take photos without having to wear her glasses (her eyesight is at that rather annoying stage where she doesn’t often have to wear glasses but she needs to carry them around with her just in case).

I am also impressed with the look of the camera. It is common for less expensive but high spec cameras to look rather cheap and clunky (I was once the shamed owner of a huge blue plastic Jenoptik camera; I have never lived it down). While it will never win any prizes for its weight or size, the Casio QV-R61 is a pretty attractive looking beast. Its casing is made from sturdy brushed silver metal (although of course with that LCD display the camera is actually quite delicate) and has rounded edges. It’s not a camera I would be ashamed to whip out of my pocket in polite company.

The camera also arrives with a carrying strap, a USB cable, two rechargeable batteries and a re-charger. You also get a CD-Rom with some software to download. The rechargeable batteries are standard AA (R6) size. This makes it is easy to buy a couple of spare batteries in case you are travelling somewhere far flung and can’t be bothered with the hassle of buying a travel plug or taking the re-charger with you. The high quality spare batteries I used didn’t perform half as well as the rechargeable ones. As well as being less environmentally invasive, it makes both financial and practical sense to splash out on a couple of rechargeable AA batteries.

I found the life of the rechargeable batteries to be very impressive, if not quite as impressive as the manufacturers claim. I certainly got well over 100 photos snapped using the full LCD screen, and although the batteries were down on power at that point, the camera was still working happily. Considering I also spent a fair bit of time playing with my new toy and the photos on the display unit, I have no complaints. Recharging batteries takes about 4 hours from flat to fully charged.

For those already with rechargeable batteries, Casio also offer the QV-R62 model, which is the same as my QV-R61, only without batteries or charger.


Extras to buy

Fundamental things to buy on top of the camera are a memory card (and with 6 mega pixels, the smallest card you can really get away with is a 128MG card, which will store thirty eight photos), and a carrying case. These added another £35 ($65) to my tab. The camera doesn’t come with even a tiny memory card, so you can’t do much playing with your new toy unless you have one, although it does have 9.7 MG of internal memory which will store you around 3 photos. Of course I’ll also have to pick up a few more rechargeable batteries before my extended Cuba jaunt in the spring.


A little about Casio

The origins of Casio are based in a company formed in Japan just after the Second World War. The company was founded by the Kashio family. It is still run by the younger brother of the founder who is now in his mid seventies. Casio originally produced aircraft parts, but the company soon diversified into developing and producing new products.

In 1957, Casio produced a true electronic calculator with no moving parts. Progress on the product was initially slow and it was the mid 60’s before Casio managed to produce a desk top sized calculator, and 1972 before an affordable mass produced model came onto the market. 1975 saw the first digital watch being produced by Casio. I certainly largely recognise the Casio name for its development of calculators during my secondary schooling years of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. Casio also surprisingly (for me) produced the first mass market digital camera with instant picture viewing in 1995.

The company prides itself on innovation and the company is currently working on solar powered auto correcting time zone watches with various electronic gadgets attached. These include a GPS system, digital camera and possibly even a mini TV. As someone who hasn’t worn a watch in twenty five years I guess I will be able to contain my excitement about these new developments for a while yet.

Casio has an 11,000 strong worldwide workforce. All manufacturing is undertaken in the Far East in various countries. Casio cameras in particular are produced in China. Those concerned with human rights, the occupation of a foreign territory (Tibet) and environmental issues may want to take note. There are many boycott calls against products made in China. Unfortunately, the UK is in no position to take a high moral stance on any of these issues.


Functionality

While the QV-R61 allows us fairly slapdash photographers the point and push automated option, there is also the capacity for a considerable amount of manual intervention if required. Flash for example, can be switched off or adjusted to five different levels of intensity. Other things that can be manipulated include the addition of eight different colour filters (should you want to give everyone a green or purple tint, for example) and some adjustment of the auto focus sharpness.

There are also twenty three pre-set photo conditions programmed into the camera. Casio call these BestShot. They range from landscape and portrait to twilight to night shots, as well as document, black and white, food shots, forest photos and the facility to pre-shoot a background before adding a foreground to the photo. Snazzy, huh? I like the idea of giving it my bestshot!

The best thing is that although there are a lot of facilities on the camera, it’s also pretty easy to get the hang of amending your cameras settings even without using the manual. Of course, you may lose a little spontaneity with your shots if you get too bogged down with the functionality.

Casio also offer the option of a view of a photo histogram if you need help with your shots. I haven’t quite worked this out yet, and it looks like too much hassle to practically use. The histogram seems to indicate the proportion of colours (red, blue and green) and where they lie in your picture; it also measures variations in light density. I’m yet to be convinced as to the value of this functionality, although I suppose you could use it to spot potential photos with large light and dark variations (such as a photo including both sunlight and shadow). Anyone with half an eye for photography should manage to avoid most of these pitfalls without studying the histogram.

I almost forgot the movie mode! Apparently, the amount of memory in the card is the only limit with the movie mode. My 256MB card should get me about 13 minutes of film. I tried it for a while and found it to be very good quality. No jerks. Unfortunately however, no sound either. Of course, as the camera just has a flash, the movie mode can only be used where there is sufficient light. While I am impressed with the movie mode, I’m not quite sure when I’ll ever use it.


Free Software – don’t get excited

The software for downloading onto your PC which comes free with the package is Photoloader and Photohands.

I found Photohands the picture manipulation package to be very lacking in functionality. It really is very basic, with a simple rotation, resize within current ratios, change into black and white or sepia and print functionality. It was allegedly developed in 2002, but has the functionality of a package some years older. I’m supposing that Casio expect users to do most of their manipulation on camera. Even with the two inch screen, it’s not that easy to crop your image in the way you really want, and it’s not always the most convenient thing to fiddle with the camera settings as your perfect picture trots off into the sunset. After a brief look around the software, I decided to uninstall it as I have better photography packages already stored.

Ditto with Photoloader which can be used to download your photo’s from camera to PC. I suppose the phrase it’s better than nothing comes to mind.


In the field… well OK, Slovenia

Of course, I had to rush off and use my new toy and as luck would have it, we had booked a few days in Slovenia for a New Year break. The first thing I noticed was that the picture quality meant that I could spot my sloppy picture taking habits on some photos. Whereas a traditional camera is fairly forgiving of camera wobble given the size of print usually printed, I found that zooming in on my photos found me out. I do have a habit of not taking the time to still myself before snapping away, and some of my photo’s are a little blurred as a result. It’s not a criticism of the camera, but means that I have to re-learn how to take a photo on a digital camera.

One thing I will be slightly critical of is the brightness of the LCD screen. I took a few night shots of the Christmas lights in the beautiful capital Ljubljana without flash. While the LCD display came up with a promising looking series of shots, when I downloaded them onto my PC, they were very dark. While they were rescued with my photo manipulator package, I was a little disappointed with the night results.

Another thing the camera (in common with many, I have to say) doesn’t do wonderfully well is to get the correct amount of exposure onto a photograph with a lot of sunlight and shade. It’s not a big problem; just a case of getting used to the camera and knowing when to use fill flash.

Despite these couple of grumbles, overall I was really pleased with the results.


To Sum Up

I don’t think the Casio qv-R61 is the best camera out there in the market, but it seems to pop up with an unbelievable price tag attached to it from time to time. For the money I spent, I got a lot of camera functionality and a good quality photo. Hunt around and you can get yourself a good deal.
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cr01 asserts his right to be associated as the author of this review -2005-

Why not Challenge Yourself?


Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 360
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Easy Enough for Anyone to Use