I have been giving less and less credibility to the so-called digital camera reviewing websites lately as digital cameras get past the gee-whiz-gadget stage and become true instruments of photography. The review sites are ok when they talk about their interpretations of published specs but they leave me cold when it comes to how good a digital camera is at making a memorable photograph. Yes, things like start-up time, internal memory capacity, and battery life are good to know because if a camera scores really badly on certain specs it can become a chore to use. But how well a digital camera helps create a photograph is still the most important thing that needs to be considered.
I have preached the mantra that "more megapixels doesn't mean a better picture" for years and I still believe it, but I also believe that some of the newer high megapixel cameras are also now giving us better lenses and processors, which are the two main things that make one digital camera better than another. And I've resisted getting suckered into the hype about some manufacturers putting exotic-sounding names on their lenses. All that really means is that they paid to license the lens name, it doesn't mean each lens is hand made in the Black Forest by old bearded craftsmen.
The same review sites mentioned above seem to kiss the feet of anything with the name Canon on it to the point of putting their independent review status in severe jeopardy. Yes, Canon makes some good cameras but they really don't have any more real experience in the business than most other DIGITAL brands and in my estimation they consistently fall just slightly short of the mark. Yeah, most people buy them, but then again most people eat at McDonalds.
So what do I think is the very best all around consumer digital camera on the market regardless of price? To me it's the Nikon D70S priced right, near perfect design, and slightly more accurate at capturing images than the Canon counterpart. But I don't want to lug a huge camera and a bag of lenses around with me all the time, that's why I was so excited when high-quality pocket-size digital cameras were invented, so I could leave my old Nikon SLR on the shelf and be prepared to make good photographs wherever I happened to go.
Since I put the old film cameras into semi-retirement, I have had digital cameras from Panasonic, Canon, Olympus and HP and they were all adequate but suffered from that "chore" syndrome mentioned above with their horrendous shutter lag, dismal startup time and wretched battery life. This time around I wanted a camera I could truly carry in my pants pocket, yet has a good (no make that great) lens, excellent battery life, as many manual features as I could get in a tiny package, and something that didn't feel like a plastic toy.
I considered Panasonic Lumix, Canon, Nikon and Sony. The other brands I looked at had some good stuff but didn't seem to fill my desire for a true photographer's quality instrument. Sony got booted off the list fairly fast. They are such a fine company, why can't they make a camera that actually takes a great picture?
I am intrigued by Lumix, the quality of the pictures seems first-class, I love the image stabilizer, and they are very feature-rich, but most of the pocket-size models feel just a little cheesy. Canon makes pocket cameras that take good pictures, but I feel Canon is resting on their reputation instead of trying to build a product that's worth the asking price.
And Nikon would have come in a strong second, just missing first place because of weak ergonomics. I never seriously considered Casio, ok maybe for a watch or calculator, but I asked myself what they would know about photography. Turns out they know a lot. They've actually been making digital cameras longer than almost anyone, and when it comes to the right buttons in the right place they are geniuses. I'll go further than that, the whole concept of the Exilim EX-Z750 is genius. It you total up all it offers I would have to give it the honor of being the only perfect pocket-size digital camera on the market.
As soon as I touched on I was impressed by its quality. It feels like it's machined out of block of solid aluminum (its not). The controls give you nearly everything you will every want using buttons that make sense and don't require you to go many levels deep in the menu. I love the HUGE 2.5" LCD screen but no LCD screen is fully useful in direct sunlight no matter what anyone says, so Casio thoughtfully brought back the optical viewfinder.
It seems 9 out of 10 reviewers who mention the optical viewfinder say they hate it because it's so tiny. Who cares? It's there when you need it, and it's sharp and clear. If it makes the difference between getting a priceless picture or missing it, I'll take a tiny viewfinder instead of none anytime.
The EX-Z750 starts up and is ready to shoot by the time I get my finger from the off/on switch to the shutter release. Can't be any faster than that. I have still not found any instance where shutter lag has caused me to miss what I wanted to capture, in other words there really isn't any shutter lag in real life.
Rather than go into every detail of the camera, I'll mention a few of the biggest high points that sets this camera apart from every other one in the category.
1. The EX-Z750 remembers the zoom position when you turn it off and back on again. I have dreamt of a feature like this! There are so many times I have had the camera all set up and had to turn it off to wait for something to be ready, only to have to turn a camera back on and make several readjustments. With the EX-Z750 I can turn it back on and EVERYTHING is set exactly the way I left it.
2. Some cameras have some limited function to remember other favorite settings, the EX-Z750 seems to have the ability to remember nearly everything without having to commit it to a special "favorites" position on a switch or dial. So if I like -1 saturation (and this camera is slightly oversaturated in its default position) I can leave it at -1 forever.
3. You can turn the camera on and off with the on/off switch, or you can turn it on and off using the "record" "play" buttons to go directly to that mode. How cool is that?
4. The EX button makes it possible to very quickly adjust four of the most important shooting parameters without ever going into the menu mode.
5. The movie mode is incredible, and offers several unique features including a unique pre-movie that's already recording before you push the record button ... kinda like the way TIVO works ... it's weird and insanely brilliant. After seeing the quality I wonder who in their right mind would lug along a camcorder no matter how small it is on those trips to Disneyland when the EX-Z750 can take outstanding still pictures AND decent video in a camera you can hide in the palm of your hand.
6. Live RGB histogram? On a camera the size of a deck of cards (smaller actually)? WOW!
7. Battery life is one of the best in the industry.
8. 30 scene modes! Yeah I know I said I wanted something to take professional quality photographs and I wanted manual overrides, but sometimes you don't want to spend 10 minutes setting the camera like when the sun is setting in 30 seconds. I can't believe how versatile the scene modes are.
Last but not least, the picture quality is shocking. I compared two pictures taken at the same time of the same scene with the EX-Z750 and the $1300 Nikon D70S. I showed them side-by-side to several people who should have been able to tell the difference. Nobody could.
The negative side? Slight oversaturation as it comes out of the box. For snapshots it may help most people make a blah picture look a little more exciting. For someone more critical, just set the new default to -1 and you've got yourself a low-price, pocket-size D70S. To the reviewers who can't figure that out, get over it and go get a job at McDonalds.
The other small negative is that I love panorama assist. I take a lot of panorama pictures and I can't figure out how Casio missed putting in this one obvious feature. Must be some fear they have of absolute total perfection ;-) I rate the Casio EX-Z750 a 10 out of 10
Footnote: I've had the EX-Z50 for a week now. I've taken it on a trip and taken a variety of photographs and even submitted a few to be judged. The sharpness of the lens on this little pocket camera is unbelievable. The realism of colors is uncanny. Overall I can say photographs taken with this camera are so far beyond my expectations I would call them thrilling. I'm still going to buy a digital SLR but I'm in less of a hurry now that I see what I can do with my pocketable Casio.
As other reviewers have already noted, the EX-Z750 is nearly unbeatable in terms of its design and feature set. It is the only subcompact camera to offer such a comprehensive amount of control in such a small package. However, my experience indicates some troubling quality control issues that potential buyers should be aware of. First, however, pros and cons of the camera.
Pros:
--Excellent battery life.
--Excellent menu system and ergonomics.
--Very, very fast and responsive both in playback and record modes.
--Small size, all-metal construction.
--Included docking station.
--Good movie mode.
--Large LCD screen.
--Good flash performance.
Cons:
--Default saturation is really too high. I suggest setting it to -1 in the menu. Even with this corrected, though, I tend to prefer the colors produced by Canon and Fuji. That, however, is a personal preference.
--Images are slightly noisy. (Not enough to mar reasonably-sized prints, however)
--The zoom has relatively few steps between wide-angle and telephoto. Not a big problem, certainly not an uncommon one in point-and-shoot digitals.
Having said that, however, I should mention that my unit was defective. The autofocus system missed consistently (If I had to guess, I'd say that 75% of the shots were blown). Also, mine had a completely bizarre sensor problem; the images were blocky and pixelated even at full resolution and full quality, appearing as though they were of much lower resolution. I took these images to my local camera store and had this impression confirmed.
Anyway, it turns out that I am not alone, especially with the autofocus problems. A not-inconsiderable number of users have been reporting problems with the autofocus system, optical problems with their lenses, and another troubling mechanical problem that I'll explain below. (For these discussions, head over to dpreview.com, select "Forums" on the left, followed by "Casio Talk")
The troubling mechanical problem I mentioned earlier is this: If the camera is ever accidentally powered on while the lens barrel is obstructed, you will probably receive a "Lens error" message. To my understanding, this situation can also damage or break the autofocus motor. It seems like common sense not to turn it on while it's in the case, but accidents happen to the best of us (and other models do not seem nearly as susceptible to this problem). The Casio's easy-to-press raised power button makes accidental power-on more likely; so does the ability to turn the camera on with the "Record" and "Playback" mode buttons (also raised) on the back of the camera. This behavior can be disabled through the menu system; I recommend doing so.
In conclusion, then, the EX-Z750 is endowed with a nearly unbeatable combination of design, features, and image quality at this price point. And despite the problems that I mentioned, realize that all consumer electronics have a reasonable rate of failure. Nonetheless, my impression (both from my personal experience and from the anecdotal evidence I've gathered from the forums) is that this might not be the most trustworthy and reliable camera around.
If you decide to go with the Z750, shoot a LOT of pictures when you receive yours. Shoot some houses on your street; definitely shoot some portraits. Put the camera through its paces in the first couple of days, then examine all the images at actual size on your computer screen and make sure that the focus is accurate and that the resolution and detail is all there. Especially when dealing with third-party merchants who sometimes have VERY short return/exchange periods (mine required getting it postmarked for return within seven days of receipt), it is important for you to establish that your camera is working well right off the bat. And, again, make sure to disable the power-on function for the record and playback buttons on the back of the body.
Some other models you may want to consider in the same (roughly) size/price range:
--Fuji F10. Terrific noise control, very fast-operating camera. A little bigger than the Casio and short on manual controls, but endowed with good battery life, beautiful 6.3MP images, and Fuji's (to my eye) excellent image quality. It has some downsides, too; be sure to read up on it.
--Canon SD500. A very popular choice-watch out for fragile LCD screens, though. Limited manual controls. Many have reported breakages that Canon will not cover under warranty.
--Sony DSC-P150. I'm not too familiar with it, but it is favorably reviewed.
Lastly, make sure that you really need a camera this small. There is something to be said for the way that a larger camera feels in the hand, and there are plenty of attractive super-zoom models for similar prices as these point-and-shoots. Making things smaller always entails some kind of compromise. However, the good news is that these small point-and-shoots (in my opinion, particularly the Fuji) deliver outstanding images on par with much larger and much more expensive cameras. Just make sure that your particular camera's optics and focusing systems are delivering the results you expect.
My four-star rating for this camera combines impressions of my actual experience with the expected image quality of a non-defective unit. I gave it four stars instead of five because of reliability concerns and slight image problems (too-high saturation, noise levels, good but not great color rendition, in my opinion).
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I've researched and debated on buying a camera in this class for a couple months and my choices were the Casio Z750, Casio s500, Casio s600, Canon SD450, and the Canon SD550. Lots of great reviews for all these cameras, and all seemed to have their pros and cons. In the end, it came down to the Z750 and the SD550 (wanted to go for the 7 megapixels because my wife really likes to do stuff with photoshop and print large layouts of pictures).
I'm not a photographer, just the average person who likes to take pictures at social events and vacations, and wants a good camera that I easily take with me in my pocket. I can't really tell the difference that a lot of reviewers talk about in image quality, and frankly I don't really care about purple fringing, softness, contrast, saturation, blah blah blah...as long as the picture looks good to me and takes me back to the moment then I'm happy. Therefore the images produced by both the Z750 and SD550 (and the others as well) were all good enough for me.
Here's the dealbreaker that led me to buying the Z750 over either of the Canon's...SPEED. I've read just about every review out there and although they talk about how fast this camera is, they don't really relay just how much faster this camera is when you simply push the button. I'm the guy who's on vacation who will bother a stranger to take a picture of me and my wife or friends, and I can't tell you how many times we've had to tell these strangers how they need to hold the button down halfway, let the camera focus first, then push it all the way down. Only for them to not understand or not be able to do this. Then we end up getting crappy shots or have to ask someone else who looks younger and more in tune with today's digital cameras. I'm sure a lot of you know what I'm talking about. So a major concern of mine when selecting a new camera was the ability to hand the camera to anyone walking along the street and let them simply push a button and take my picture. Here is where the Z750 sealed the deal for me.
I went to a couple of stores, turned on each camera, pointed at something in the store and pushed the little button to get a picture. The Canons (both SD450 and SD550) wouldn't take the picture, and I ran into the same "hold the button down halfway" problem. Even though they were quick to focus once I held the button down halfway and quick to take the picture once I fully pressed, neither would take a picture if I simply pushed the button all the way. On the other hand, all the Casio's took a picture immediately. They all have extremely quick autofocuses and in combination with this, if your finger is too quick for the autofocus there's a quick-shutter option that will allow the camera to bypass the focus and still take the picture. Some reviews say the autofocus is so fast that it's hard to even get to the quick shutter phase, and some say that the quick shutter sort of guesses on a focus and takes the picture based on this guess. I don't really know what to believe, but what I do know is that either way when I just press the little button, I get great looking pictures.
So if you're like me and need a camera that will take a good picture while handing it over to a stranger , then the Z750 is the better choice. If you're the only person who's going to handle your camera and know all the ins-and-outs of digital photography, you'll probably have a much tougher decision.
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The lens error problem is real. It is a design flaw (in my opinion as a Electrical Engineer). I experienced the problem about 10 minutes from opening the box.
The sensitivity to go into the lens error failure mode is too high. Any pressure (even the slightest) on the lens at opening will shut the camera down w/error. After that, each time you try to power up the camera it will keep displaying the lens error and power down immediately. The only way to get it working again is to re-apply very slight pressure to the lens. I know this is counter intuitive and in fact scary, especially on a new camera w/warranty disclaimers on power lens failure due to the blockage / abuse. It may take several trys. You may even hear a ratcheting sound from the lens. But it works !
If necessary, you can recalibrate the autofocus by zooming in / out completely.
Turn off the digital zoom. It seemed to aggravate the probability of the lens error problem when zooming the lens in and out specifically when switching (crossing over) to/from digital zoom mode. Digital Zoom doesn't really help anyway.
The case also has a padded insert causing the case to be way too tight remove the padded insert !
Out of the box the unit powers on in multiple ways. This can cause inadvertant power up w/lens blocked. Turn off those power up options.
Double check the picture mode each time you start taking pictures the dial tends to rotate when handling the camera out of the case.
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Hi all. First of all, I must say the main idea of this comment. THIS IS A DIGITAL CAMERA... AND ITS MAIN FUNCTION IS TAKING PHOTOS.
I bought this camera a couple of months ago, after a very deep research, investigation and comparissons. The first thing I was looking for, was a good resolution and high quality photos. Then I wanted a big LCD screen and of course, good image stabilization. After that, the size of the camera was very important, memory and storage features and then, price and brand.
When I saw this camera for the first time, I got very interested with its 7.2 megapixeles. When I took some trial photos (when I had already bought it, of course) the results where amazing. Its 3x optical zoom is just enough if you have modes to take huge photos (fixed to be printed in a A3 paper). So, my first conclusion was: If I don't have the 5x or 10x of optical zoom that other cameras offer... I can select the biggest printing size for my photos and equal that quality. it's not dissapointing at all, I swear.
Then, I read carefully about the different modes it has to fix images according to light conditions. You can easily go from a sunset landscape to a fireworks scene, from a backlight picture to a night portrait... and it really works well. And you get it, just selecting the auto-configured modes. One trick I always do is (if I'm in doubt about which mode to use) taking trial photos with the possible modes, and then compare them (the huge 2.5" LCD screen is very helpful here). The result is the perfect photo, the best flash setting, contrast and white balance. Simply awesome. I almost forgot, if you take an action scene with the standard mode, you get a great picture too (this camera has an almost instant photo taking from the time you press the buttom).
After those photo features, I found a very friendly menu. it's really easy to change settings and modes. You can do it from the complete menu, or the wonderful quick access buttom to edit or modify the most common settings for a fast configuration. You also have to buttoms to switch between the play mode and the camera itself. Then, you have a very friendly and easy to understand menu and structure.
Another outstanding feature of this camera is the use of SD cards. This cards are widely used in many other devices as PDAs, cell phones, other brand cameras, whatever. This is not as the nasty and "exclusive" Sony's Memory Sticks, so, you won't have to buy many memory storage cards for each device you have (but you'll have if you have a Sony). Its LCD screen is simply wonderful, a great colour display and even the digital zoom (8x) is a helpful tool.
Then... and finally... the video feature. This camera has 3 basic video modes. The first one, and the most common in other cameras is a poor video quality (320 x 240) which can be used for quick videos to be sent by Email. As I said at the beginning of this review, you're buying a photo camera, not a video recorder. But, this is your like day... If you use this camera's best movie quality mode (640 x 480) you'll get really GREAT and enjoyable videos. I went to Las Vegas for a holiday week and I spent a complete day taking videos with my camera. The quality is incredible for a photo camera (for both, images and sound) which can easily be played in a 15 inches screen without losing resolution. It's really cool.
For video editing, this camera comes with a CD containing an editing software to brun a VCD or DVD file, so you can enjoy in both two ways of your videos. Of course, you have the .mpg and .avi files.
So, my conclusion: This is the best camera I've ever had, about its price... I think it's fair, you have the best photo camera and a pretty cool video recorder (but, be sure of buying a 512 MB or more SD card to storage lots of video).
Pros:
