Compared to the Pentax Optio S and Canon SD100

These three ultra-compact digital cameras all have three megapixel CCD sensors. From a size point of view the Pentax Optio S is the smallest (and lightest) followed by the Casio EXILIM EX-Z3 and then the Canon PowerShot SD100.

Studio scene comparison

• Casio EXILIM EX-Z3: Normal exposure mode, ISO 50, Default Parameters,
  Manual preset white balance
   
• Pentax Optio S: Program AE (P) exposure mode, ISO 50, Default Parameters,
  Manual preset white balance
   
• Canon PowerShot SD100: Manual record mode, ISO 50, Default Parameters,
  Manual preset white balance

Each square crop is a 200% magnification of a 80 x 80 portion of the image.

Casio EXILIM EX-Z3	Pentax Optio S	Canon PowerShot SD100
ISO 50, 1/8 sec, F3.1	ISO 50, 1/8 sec, F3.1	ISO 50, 1/10 sec, F3.5
1,622 KB JPEG	1,857 KB JPEG	1,312 KB JPEG

Resolution and sharpness of the EX-Z3 image is very impressive, indeed it seems to outperform both the Optio S and SD100 in this regard. A closer look shows that the EX-Z3's sharpening is very strong which leads to artifacts not found in the other images. Red and yellow color response from the EX-Z3 was virtually identical to the Optio S, however green and blue response was quite different (darker) than either of the other cameras. Personally I preferred the SD100's blue and green reproduction.