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“I love the huge lCD display & the compactness of the ”

written by RobinP on 02/01/2004

Good Points
Huge LCD screen, very compact, USB & charging cradle

Bad Points
Images grainy on zoom, Sony colours more natural, cannot store preferences

General Comments
I love the huge lCD display & the compactness of the Casio Exilim EX Z4 camera & 4Meg pixels all for just £265. I really like the cradle it sits in for charging & USB connection.



I bought it with the intention of comparing it to my 18 month old Sony DS-P5 3.2Mega pixel camera & then keeping the one I liked most. The Casio Exilim Z4 beats the Sony on just about everything except what really counts & that is image quality !



Graininess was slightly more apparent when zooming in on the Casio images on a PC & they seem to be a little noisy and perhaps becuase the colours seem unnaturally bright the pixelation seems more apparent than on the Sony, even though the Casio has slightly more pixels !



I only ever use optical zoom as digital zoom reduces the number of pixels used. However when you switch off the Casio digital zoom it only stays disabled until you switch the camera off then on again, which is irritating.



One possible way to reduce image noise on zoom in dull conditions might be to set a lower speed (ISO) number than seems to be set by auto. However this, like the digital zoom, returns to the factory default of auto when you turn the camera off then on again. This means that, unlike the Sony which stores new settings, you can't customise the Casio to your own personal preferences.



The Casio does have so many good points though & the images aren't that bad. I really am torn between it & the Sony. The Casio is the ideal very compact easy to use good quality snapshot camera for someone not as fussy about image quality as I am.



However though I love the huge LCD screen & compactness of the Casio, much to my dismay I shall be returning it to the supplier & keeping my Sony.



The Sony images are slightly less grainy on zoom & the colours seem slightly more natural. I guess I'll just have to put up with the irritatingly small LCD screen until Sony have the sense to bring out one with a decent size screen.