I primarily shoot with higher end DSLR cameras. I bought this camera mainly because of its ability to shoot at 40fps and to have a fun, pocket sized snapshot camera. It certainly does delivery on its promises, and does a great job of doing it! It is about the same size as common P&S cameras but is loaded with great features that gives it an edge over other cameras.The button to switch from single shot to high speed and back to single shot is conveniently located at the top of the camera. Push the button and you are in high speed mode. Push it again and you have a regular camera. If you shoot action shots and are not good at timing your shots to 'capture the moment', you will love this camera. If you have kids and they do sports, you will LOVE this camera.
The camera can be used in a fully automatic mode, fully manual, or anywhere in-between. Access to all the shooting settings is accomplished by pushing one button as well (on the command dial), so you can adjust aperture, shutter speed, ISO, exposure compensation, white balance, frame rate for high speed shootings, buffer settings, etc. The MENU button allows you to access typical setup features and reformat the memory card.
Auto focus is fast and accurate. The focus tracking feature works, and works great. Metering is excellent as well giving consistent, correctly exposed images.
The lens gives very sharp pictures with nice color and contrast. The zoom on the long end to too strong to use effectively without a tripod, even with the image stabilizer on. It is easy to get good 12x shots though.
Like just about any P&S camera, good lighting is the key to success. Very low light performance is only good at best, but keep in mind it is typical just like any P&S camera. If you plan to use your camera in low light often, you may be better off with a P&S that has a f2.8 (or faster) lens, or a micro 4/3 or DSLR camera where you can put a fast lens on the camera. The flash works well when needed, providing even, accurate light without hot spots and naturally looking pictures.
Video quality appears to be very good although I have not viewed the HD video on my HDTV. Video can be recorded in slow motion but resolution is quite low and probably only suited to viewing on a computer. It also requires a lot of light. Shooting under fluorescent lights in slow motion can produce a flicker effect in the lighting.
I have owned several P&S cameras. This one is loaded with features that give it an advantage over many other P&S cameras. Although it is a little bit more expensive than some typical cameras, because of its high speed image capture features, it is an excellent value (if you need and can use those features, of course).
One other drawback is is slow write speed to the memory card. I did not notice any difference using a high speed memory card to a slower speed card. This is not an issue for single shots or if you shot in small bursts. But, if you shoot a burst of 30 shots, you might have to wait 20 seconds for all the images to be written to the memory card, You can of course still continue to shoot (up to the buffer capacity). You cannot view images while the buffer is clearing. I don't know if this camera is any faster or slower in write speed to other similar cameras. But of course, I don't believe there are other cameras that take 30 frames in 3/4 of a second and have to write so many images to a memory card at one time!
The panorama mode of this camera is excellent, providing seamless panorama shots with ease the entire process is automatic. All you have to do is pan the camera smoothly as you hold the shutter down.
I did a side-by-side comparison of this camera Vs a Lumix P&S that my friend has. His camera has a Leica lens. The image quality was basically identical and indistinguishable between the two at both low and high ISO. I have read a couple of reviews about this camera not giving sharp images. If you are not getting sharp images, there is something wrong with your technique as the lens on this camera is excellent.
I wanted a camera that shoots 1080HD, this one does it and seems to do it very well. It also has an HDMI output build right in so thats a big plus.
I was really interested in the high speed capabilities of this thing as its the only one I could find that has it. Its really revolutionary and is a game changer as far as I'm concerned. I was amazed that the average person could get high speed technology for only $240. Its not perfect as the image quality decreases quite abit the higher frames per second that you go but you can still get very impressive results. The key is to get a lot of light, just the same as what the professionals need for their hundred thousand dollar cameras. I put three or four lights shining on the table and spun a quarter and got really awesome results. It showed up clearly even at 1000fps and looked incredible as it slowly turned. You can watch the unedited footage in amazement so I can't wait to see what I can do after some editing. I'm definitely gonna have a lot of fun with this feature.
I read reviews that said the HDart feature is overhyped and useless but I don't agree. Although its nothing too incredible, it does give some really cool results. It instantly turns a regular picture into a work of art of sorts and I think I'll definitely be able to use it to create some cool images.
One of the other great features in the panorama shot. I don't have much experience with this so when I first did it I was really impressed. It takes a 360 degree picture and, from what I saw, it stitched them together almost perfectly. Its a pretty amazing feature and you can definitely have fun with it. I can't wait to try it out on some outdoor scenery.
Since this little device is also a digital camera I better touch on that, haha. The still pictures were very good in my opinion. The colors were great and really popped. Some people will complain about the sharpness of the images and if you really zoom in, yeah of course its gonna start getting grainy. If you take the picture and are looking at the full picture, however, it looks great. It does a good job of focusing and automatically adjusting depending on the light in the room. Also since one review said it didn't have an autopreview after you take the picture I'll mention that it does, you just have to go to the menu and turn it on.
Overall I was very pleased with this camera. If it had cost $900 I may have been a little more picky about image quality but at $240 this thing is incredible. Seriously, if you're gonna complain about image quality, go buy yourself a $2000 canon or nikon. And if you're gonna write poor reviews because you don't take two minutes to learn the menu system and features then ask your grandkids to show you how the thing works first. And if you're just on amazon looking for a great little camera that gives you awesome pictures plus an endless set of fun features then don't hesitate to buy this one.
Buy Casio Exilim EX-ZR100 12.1 MP CMOS Sensor with 12.5x Optical Zoom Digital Camera Black Now
Pros1. Compact. Packs 12.5x optical zoom in a 1.1" body, competitors are on 1.3" or 1.4" bodies (though Nikon S9100 packs an 18x optical zoom in that slightly larger form factor).
2. Fast operations
3. Good low light pictures a definite improvement from previous Exilims
4. Good video again a definite improvement from previous Exilims
5. Panorama mode better than the Sony Cybershot DSC HX9V.
6. Flash doesn't pop-up and take the space where you'd keep your finger (as in Nikon Coolpix S9100, Canon Powershot SX230 or Sony Cybershot DSC HX9V)
Cons
1. Poor image stabilization. Low light images with optical zoom extended all the way were mostly blurry. Was a deal breaker for me.
2. Battery meter was flaky I saw it indicate solid (meaning full battery) before starting on a picture, medium when focusing and low immediately after the picture was taken. Obviously no single picture can suddenly drain the battery. Also for some reason the battery life is not as good as previous Exilims (which has again been a Casio differentiator)
Check out dcresource.com, pcmag.com and cnet.com for professional reviews of compact superzooms. I still haven't found one from the 2011 crop that I'd recommend.I am not a highly experienced or professional photographer, just a casual amateur. I was looking for a camera which could act like a P&S for my wife, yet offer high-speed and some other sophisticated features for me at sporting events. This little gem has met all those requirements extremely well. The continuous shutter and high-speed features are stunning, allowing me to capture the pitch leaving the pitcher's hand or the ball leaving the batter's bat. For me, this is a thrilling capability. I also like the panorama capability. The telephoto with anti-shake works great, giving clear crisp photos even when my hand is having difficulty holding the focus area on a small item. The large screen, with higher than average pixels, is a pleasure to use very clear viewing and a fairly intuitive menu system.
The small size and light weight let this little wonder fit easily in my pant pocket or my wife's purse. The only feature I have yet to explore is the HD movie, but I expect it to be as great as the other features if not, I will update this review in the future. I highly recommend this camera and am totally baffled by negative reviews.This item has to be the best pocket camera ever. I have had this camera for just over 4 months. I've used it in extremely bright sun shine and in very low light situations (For both Still pictures and Video). Its exceeded my expectations in all areas. Its packed with so many features (High speed shutter operation, panorama photo's, Macro & Super Macro features, High Definition Videos and high quality slow motion videos). Menus are well organized an easy to navigate. Battery life is extremely good. I have taken at least a 1000 photos and 2 hours of video footage on a single battery charge. The controls are easy to use and provide tactile feed back, except for the power off button. One other feature that is rarely discussed, is downloading of video's and pictures from your camera to your PC. It downloads 100 2650x1980 pictures in less than 10 seconds. Truly a speed demon.
Casio Exilim EX-ZR100 12.1 MP CMOS Sensor with 12.5x Optical Zoom Digital Camera Black
No comments:
Post a Comment