Casio Exilim EX-Z1050

Opinion: I bought this camera three months ago after using a EX-S600 for almost two years. I don't like the on screen menu taking up a lot of the large viewing screen and I've found that the image quality of the 6 mp EX-S-600 is superior unless used in ideal lighting situations. I found out by accident I needed a HQ SD card, but even that didn't seem to make much of a difference.

Opinion: I am an old 35mm SLR type who until given this camera as a gift laughed at this style (I have a SLR Digital, I mean the pocket snapshot look) of camers. I am absolutely amazed at the versatility and power this camera affords. Keeping in mind this camera was intended for quick shote and portability, it has everything you might need without being ridiculous and hard to please. I really like the camers and it's capabilities!!!

Opinion: I bought this camera two weeks ago as an update to an Exilim EX Z40 I've had for two years. I am very impressed by its image quality and much lower noise than the Z40 ( at reasonably lit scenes ), obviously achieved by a better sensor but also a well developed software. The noise reduction is somewhat apparent at ISO 800 but does a good job. The EX Z1050 features are as expected for this type of camera, more than I need for snapshots, it could have an aperture priority mode. I never used movie mode ( I really don't care for it ). The AF takes a bit to get used to, although I use the fixed center spot most of the time.

Opinion: I try to be professional and unbiased in my opinions and keep in mine this is my opinion. To be fare this camera has tons of fun options and photo modes it seems to do every thing weel but take pictures. I took it back, I suggest you do the same.

Opinion: I bought this camera based on the good previews given by the people reviewing the camera in here (dpreview). However I was initially disappointed by the amount of noise generated in the pictures taken, even in bright light especially. Then I compared the pictures with those from Ixus 750 and realized that the ISO settings are probably too high for what is required. Whilst the camera will take a bright albeit blur picture, the Ixus gives a black picture which is unusable. Narrowed it down to ISO and exposure time; with ISO 80, all the pictures come out great.

Opinion: Almost like everyone here, I got it for my wife with the hopes that it is easy to use, makes decent photos in AUTO mode, has low noise levels and long life battery.
Partially, it fulfills my expectations. I didn’t have time to play with it a lot because I really don’t like this kind of toys. I went back to my Olympus E-500 SLR immediately.
Here is a mini-review based on what I’ve seen so far:
- A lot of features, but some of them are perfectly useless for an amateur because he/she will not understand them
- Huge amount of predefined modes called “best shot”. However, there are too many for someone who wants to point and shoot (they will not be able to find the right scene, so they’ll use Auto)
- Nice video mode, but a lot of noise in it. Sound is decent for such a small camera.
- The so called super feature „Anti Shake DSP” is perfectly useless. I tried to take a shot of my cat while it was just walking near me, and the image was blur (because of the movement)

Noise:
If you don’t use the flash the pictures are blur even at ISO 100, indoor. A nice feature is the ISO 80 mode, which produces a better quality. In daylight (I tested only from my balcony, so there is more to test here), the quality is much better. Overall, the colors of this camera are a little bit pale, but maybe because I am used to Olympus’ vivid colors. When the flash is used from a small distance (30-50 cm) , the image is clearly overexposed. I think that Casio added a lot of software correction to the noise and this is why the colors are a little bit pale and the images are blur.
PRO:
the response time of the camera is very good. It starts and stops almost instantaneously, of course, after I deactivated all the feature for sound and splash screen.

See photos made with this camera on my Flickr account (I’ll add them in the next days). They will be tagged Casio EX-1050.

Opinion: Great camera, Casio Z1050 is my 7th digital camera (after 3 Fuji's, Canon SD900, Nikon P3, Sony W100) and this is what I was expecting from a pocket size P/S ! A compact, well designed, quick, and the most important - giving you a really sharp pictures like no other from my previous cameras. There are obviously some features that could make this small wonder even better (LCD resolution) but for me, the clarity and colours of the printed picture is what counts and Casio Z1050 delivered it !!!

Opinion: I bought this small camera about 10 days back. I like the simple menu driven options. Hate cameras with many buttons. Simple to use and carry. Good battery life. Batteries without 'memory' affects. Charges fast and ready to use. Very quick start up and ready to shoot mode. Purchased a 2GB SD card which really helps take more Photos. Good Number of options.
The Best Shot feature gives number of options to shoot your pictures.
This is my 3rd small Digital Camera. I like this better than the others (5mp and 7mp).
The best thing about this camera is the speed at which it starts and at which it can take continuous photos without sacrificing the clarity of the photo. I timed the camera for continuous photos for 40 seconds and I have about 232 photos. Which I think is really great. I Captured all possible movements during this time.
You can easily learn the features in a couple of hours and then you can be shooting !!!
Despite some problems mentioned below, I still like the camera. And I recommend it seriously. I studied sony w35, w55, w80, olympus FE190, 200, 230, F30, Canon A540, A710, some other Nikon and Panasonic small cameras but choose this one because this uses Rechargeable Li-ion battery, quick start up, uses standard storage which I can use for any other purpose (sony uses pro and pro-duo which is difficult to use with other appliances like nav system or standard card readers (maybe i still have to get used to using these).
You will definitely enjoy this camera for quite some time to come. BUY IT without any more thinking, if you are looking for a small camera within 300 EUR budget.

Opinion: Replacement for an EX-Z750, which has the dreaded "Lens Error". I'm sort of happy with this as a follow-on, especially with a brighter LCD and a better color balance. Even with 10MP, though, it's definitely not better than it's predecessor. The one thing that is better, is the price is much less.