Casio Exilim EX-Z1000

Opinion: Hi I have just got this camera. Previously I have used Sony and Nikon ones. The camera is very simple to use and is rich in features. Overall i am not satisfied with the camera as it had 2 issues mentioned below. I will update with the respose i receive from the service station.

Opinion: This is a nice looking, capable compact. It will fit a shirt pocket though it has a heavy metal body. It has a lovely large LCD, which has several modes of display, most of which fill the LCD (which the chap a couple of posts back would have realised if he had spent more time with the camera instead of ranting).

10 MP does seem like more than anyone might need but there are advantages here. Firstly, this is a nice lens, so resolution is high, resulting in ample opportunity for heavy cropping. Further, you can drop the number of MP to 5 or 3 and each time gain extra zoom without the image deteriorating -dropping to 3 MP increases zoom to x5.8 (almost double the standard x3) and then there is also digital zoom if you want it.

The camera takes nice outdoor pictures. Indoors, I use flash. There is standard flash and soft flash - this helps keep some of the subtle shadows in the subject, avoiding that starkness that standard flash can give.

The best pictures are at ISO 50 - 100. Using ISO 200 is also fine. Above that, noise starts to show (common situation to many cameras). The camera has an anti-shake mode but this is a software feature, not mechanical. Consequently, all it does is move the ISO up to improve low shutter speeds. I feel it best to retain manual control of ISO, so I switch the anti-shake off..

The camera also has a High Sensitivity mode. Without flash, indoors, each of my test shots took the ISO directly to ISO 3200, used an aperture of f5.4 and provided a shutter speed of between 1/30 and 1/50. The results are not going to hung on your wall. There are clumps of colour noise in the picture and my pictures have looked underexposed by around a step. I have used the packaged software (Photohands) to brighten the photo, reduce the noise and printed to a 6 x 4. These are not best pictures, but a surprising amount of detail is preserved and it does ensure that you ’get that shot’.

So basically, this is a good outdoor camera and indoors, use flash or better still, soft flash. It is not the answer for those who seek indoor, low light photo’s without flash - which seems to be becoming a Holy Grail for some.

There are loads of scene modes, some quite offbeat and nice, I like the one that turns lights into starbursts. I also like the one that automatically resizes the photo to be usable on e-Bay.

There is also easy access to the EV levels. Movie mode seems adequate, but I have never been a big user so I am not able to give a fair judgement. The cam does not have a viewfinder (use the LCD to frame the shot).

There is a memory section under settings that allows you to retain changes and also allows some changes not to be retained, so that when you switch on, those settings default back to the factory setting.

There is a thing called “QUICKSHOT”, this allows you to just press the shutter button without pausing halfway to lock on the focus. I found this a bit hit and miss, so I switched it off in the memory - oddly it’s factory setting is defaulted to ON, which may account for some complaining that they have had blurred shots.

Overall, I like the resolution of the lens, the general capability and portability of this cam. I am a DSLR user - this Casio is my “go anywhere cam”. You are paying for miniaturisation of a 10 MP camera.

Opinion: If you're considering buying a Casio, you need to know why I'll never buy another Casio product again. I bought a Casio digital point and shoot about 6 months ago. I make my living as a photographer, I'm a gadget guy and I've owned dozens of point and shoots. I did a lot research and decided on the Casio. The features and design are great. Image quality is only average, but I can live with that.

I got it and was really happy with it for about 4 days. Then it wouldn't turn ON. I'd push the power button and it wouldn't turn ON for 10 - 30 seconds. So I sent it to Casio and they fixed it. ok.

I used it for a few months and was happy with it. Loved the features and design. Not thrilled about the image quality, but I could live with it.

A little more than a month ago I pushed the power button to turn the camera off and the thing freaked out. It made a weird beep or two. The lens tried to retract back into the body but failed. The screen went blank and never came back on. I DIDN'T TOUCH THE LENS BARREL.

So I wasn't happy but at least the thing was still under warranty, right? And I'd be happy after they fixed it again because it's a great camera when it works, right?

So I sent it to Casio and waited to get it back. 3 weeks later I got a repair estimate for $130. ??? They want to charge me to fix their defective product that's still under warranty? So I called their 1-800 number.

This is where it gets interesting. I called and spoke to a friendly person in the repair department. She told me they would have it reevaluated and she would call me back within 2 days. I waited 3 days and never received a call back. So I called again. Talked to another friendly person. She told me the same thing- they'd have it reevaluated and she'd call me back within 2 days. I waited 3 days and never received a call back. Called again. I was told the same thing. The friendly person on the other line apologized for not returning my calls like they said they would. She said she would call me back within 3 days. I waited 4 days with no call. Shame on me, huh?! So I called this past Friday to talk to somebody in charge... and ended up getting thrown into his voicemail... which was full.

That's why I'll never buy a Casio product again. I think I'm going to get a Fuji F30 tomorrow.

Opinion: This camera is not so good. One of the biggest flaws is how the camera is supposed to have an 2.8 inch screen. That is not true at all, all they did was that they did an 2.8 inch screen yes but when you turn the power on all they did was add theese black marks around the actual 2.5 inch cause that is what you get technicly as you would on any other 2.5 inch camera screen.
Who wants black widescreen borders ? i sure dont.

Other stuff that is not so good is the image quality - this is the cameras biggest turndown it has almost poorer image quality then the previous 8mp cameras due to casio wanted to be first with 10mp but forgot the lins cant take as many mps as they think it can.

Opinion: A very well build camera, body is made of pure STAINLESS STEEL....Luxury pure!!!
Bright and big display with 230K pixel in widescreen format ;-)
Verry responsive camera, good and fast AF, good overall performance.
Picture quality is so-so...much noise to see in most of the images taken in normal conditions, indoor almost unusable without flash.Sunny pictures are good, slightly overexposed.WB is sometimes wrong, manual setting the BW can help a lot.
NO manual setting, (A, S,M), only BestShoot modes available and AUTO.
Crippled movie mode with verry big file size, a real step backwards to the Z850.
Overall a good point and shoot for sunny days...not recommanded as alround camera. More like a style gadget....

Opinion: Some great pics, some not

Opinion: What a pleasant surprise this camera was when I bought it a week ago. Photo quality is as good or better than any point and shoot camera I have ever owned. Even the movie quality is better than I expected. The construction is sturdy and is a nice fit in my hand or pocket. The feature set is all I need and I got a great deal from Beach Camera online ($314).

Opinion: I like the design and construction of the camera very much. However, image quality was disappointing. Most pictures were fuzzy as well as the LCD display. Unless pictures were taken in bright daylight there was lot's of noise. Finally I returned the Z1000.

Opinion: I bought a Ricoh R4, but was rather disappointed of the image quality in low light. Espacially the autofocus does not work as I imagined.
Now the Exilim Z-1000, which is a very fine little camera for P&S. It was love on first sight and I am really glad with it. For me it has all features I need, when I don't to carry my Olympus-Equipment (E-1 and E-330) with me.