Throwback Thursday: Casio QV-4000

Just curious.... since 8 of your 13 sample shots were taken in vertical portrait orientation, was there some reason you didn't rotate them?

Nov 25, 2016permalink

Wenmei Hill

We re-used the original gallery that was published with our review of this camera in 2001. So for all the people who keep asking for us to do things the way we used to do them, you're welcome!

Nov 25, 2016permalink

It really was a serious question.

Oh well...... nevermind. We can just rotate our heads instead....

Nov 25, 2016*permalink

Wenmei Hill

I was hoping the walk down memory lane would override the discomfort of rotating your head, but you make a good point. I updated them. :)

Nov 26, 2016permalink

Thanks!

See, it wasn't so hard to do. Was it? :)

Nov 26, 2016permalink

The Sage Knows

"trying to answer a question we still haven't quite cracked: how do you help the average consumer take better photos"
Convince them that a little understanding of light and shadow along with what a shutter and what an aperture dial do is going to be a very rewarding investment of their time.

Nov 24, 2016permalink

Kharan

You should see all the good that such an approach to UX has brought in other fields. Linux? WTH is that? :D
Never task the user with learning. Unless it's a highly complex, qualified and involved task like piloting an aircraft, or programming a server, or performing surgery, you simply can't let users do the hard work. Otherwise, a competitor will do it for them and kick you out of the market.

Nov 24, 2016permalink

Some folks use this method:

"Shoot 500 photos, keep the best 3, delete the other 497"

Nov 25, 2016permalink

Chris59

You're asking the wrong question! It's not the consumer who takes photographs, the consumer only buys the equipment. It's the photographer who takes the photograph and he needs to understand that the camera is a tool like any other.

The photographer also needs to forget the "mechanics" of the camera, and let the camera worry about exposure and focus, at least initially. Concentrate instead on SEEING composition, colour, line, light, shadow, repetition, expression, form, etc. in reality - then learn how to translate what you see into framing, aperture, shutter, focus, depth of field and so on. If you can't first see the image in your head, you will never make a good photograph and making a good photograph isn't always easy.

Nov 25, 2016permalink

HowaboutRAW

I wonder if this is the same sensor as that in my Canon G2, a camera I still really like?(Own two.)

Nov 24, 2016permalink

Panasonic had two cameras like that Leica had the Digilux 1 and Sony had the DSC 75/85.
Might give a clue of where those cameras came from.

Nov 24, 2016permalink

HowaboutRAW

Sensor, not camera.

This camera only vaguely resembles the Canon G2. It does seem to have the same lens as the G2.

No, Panasonic didn't particularly have a camera like this in later 2001.

Nov 24, 2016*permalink

Panasonic LC5 (that is where those cameras came from...)
The less expensive version was called LC40.

Nov 24, 2016permalink

https://www.dpreview.com/products/panasonic/compacts/panasonic_dmclc5

I sold all of those (Canon,Pana,Leica,Sony and Casio) If you compared where the lens/ VF is in the different models as well as most of the buttons you could see that they had a common origin.
Nothing unusual about that, many compact digital cameras have been shared by several brands.
BTW, we used to print an 8"x10" from each camera , the prints did look slightly different from each. The Pana had a Pana look as the Canon looked like the Canon colours as well as the Sony had that Sony look too. Same lens, same sensor , different firmware.
Generally customers bought the brand they knew best regardless of how the prints looked.

Nov 24, 2016permalink

HowaboutRAW

All I could find on Wikipedia was the Panasonic LC43, and that uses a different lens than the Canon or the Casio.

Found it, not on Wikipedia:

Interesting, could explain why the lens on the G2 stands out.

Nov 24, 2016permalink

Gesture

There used to be (?) a page where DPReview under Phils Askey noted all the cameras that used this lens.

Nov 25, 2016permalink

As I mentioned, i did not need to look on Wiki, I bought and sold them all...

Nov 25, 2016permalink

(unknown member)

Wekk files from a G1 Canon in RAW with the same lens are better, and the colour is better too, but for some reasons I still do not understand I loved my QV4000, I just loved it. I would continually challenge its dreadful automatic noise reduction by shooting really highly detailed images like thistle heads, and then labour for ages in the attempt to extract any genuine detail from them, fascinated by the effects of noise reduction! But ergonomically a fabulous machine to use. The lens far outresolves anything the chip can, and was used sucessfully on the G2 Canon. It is as good as a Summicron, and for little IQ loss and extension etc you can fit the Canon Adaptors though you need the Casio tube to do it. I used to use it all the time, and got some really nice snaps. All would technically have been vastly improved if I had used a G2 Canon instead, but would I have taken THOSE photographs with one? The answer comes back, no.

Nov 24, 2016permalink

I disliked ("hated" would be too strong) but loved mine for the same reasons. I particularly remember when switching to the Eos 300D that I missed the quality feel of the QV4000. As such I find it a bit of a pity that this throwback article only focuses on the scene modes (I guess nobody at DPR HQ owned one), because there was much more to this camera. Luckily us users remember ;-)

Nov 24, 2016permalink

Sirandar

Actually this is a very insightful look at camera history and the developments behind the scene. Considering the dismal dynamic range, tiny lens, and other limitations, my Galaxy Note 4 takes fairly nice pictures. Apple too. There must be a lot happening behind the scenes. The panorama mode on the Note 4 is a miracle or ease and results considering its running on a low power android device.

The statement "Casio was only trying to answer a question we still haven't quite cracked: how do you help the average consumer take better photos? "

This is a rough goal to reach becasue the look of photos like keeps changing with taste, boredom and technology. When HDR images hit they were the rage and established a new look. NikTools did the same thing. Six months later people were screaming for it to stop ;)

Nov 24, 2016*permalink

Claus-C. Plaass

Greetings to all QV 4000ers here !

Being my first digicam in 2002 or so, what a progress she offered vs my analog NIKON 801. Although at 650 DEM, the comfy workflow and savings in time and money paid off. With her Canon 2.0 / 38-113 (?) lens from their G-series, full exposure control up to 40s. (?), extra wide and tele lens, an x-contact for flash, she was what i needed. As a writer for intl yachting mags,
her 4MP chip made cover pages at 133 print dots possible, earning me lots of usd - without rushing slide strips by express mail around the globe. plus i took her on bicycle trips across rainy latvia & ireland and warm israel. she took it all.

but she had her drawbacks: she was slow in startup, saving, focussing, over the years her screen got darker (the friendly folks at casio europe hamburg asking 130eur for a new one ), so after 8 years of heavy use 24-7-365, she was replaced by a panasonic fz100

Would I buy her again ? Yes, her principle "enthusiast robust compact" works.

Nov 24, 2016permalink

Hugo808

8 years! Bravo, that's a good innings for a digital camera. And she earned you money, perfect.

Nov 24, 2016permalink

Indeed, that was amazing value for the money you got out of your QV4000. Also goes to show how spoiled and whiny we are about micro-flaws in present-day cameras (and phones!)...

Nov 24, 2016permalink

CanonKen

Wow, you don't realize how old the camera is until you see Canary Wharf. It has sure filled out over the past 15 years!

Same for digital camera reviews in NYC pre-9/11, with the Twin Towers.

Nov 24, 2016permalink

Hugo808

Shame you couldn't find a toadstool for the sample pictures and had to make do with the "London on its side" mode.

Nov 24, 2016permalink

Tan68

There is 'neon kangaroo' mode !

I don't see 'frisky sheep running from car' or 'cat'

Nov 24, 2016permalink

entoman

The problem is that 5 scene modes isn't enough, and 10 is too many, because of the time that it takes to choose an appropriate one.

Most cameras now, have 1000's of scenes (with appropriate exposure corrections applied) stored in the cameras memory, leaving the camera to sort out the problem. In most cases it works very well, but it teaches the user absolutely nothing about photography.

Unfortunately, there is no way a camera can currently detect whether the frame is filled with a white wall, a grey wall or a black wall, so photographers who haven't learned the basics of exposure compensation don't know how to adjust the camera accordingly.

With EVF viewfinders the problem is almost solved, because the photographer can see the end result before the shutter is pressed. All we need now is to have higher resolution EVFs, with no noise at low light levels, and no detectable lag or flicker - plus of course, batteries that don't run out of power 3 times a day under heavy use!

Nov 24, 2016permalink

RCSantos

I love these Throwback´s.
Keep them coming DPreview.

Nov 24, 2016permalink

https://www.flickr.com/photos/animaux/albums/72157594362188728

Ah, the QV4000... my first digital camera, and after years of taking holiday snaps on film, the tool that jump-started my passion for photography. I never used the "Scene modes" much, instead the full set of manual controls allowed me to experiment and learn quickly. I only used it for a good year, since Canon then released the first affordable dSLR, but it will always be my first photographic love. (I still have it for memory's sake)

I know it doesn't look like much by today's standards, but this is the gallery that cemented my love for landscape photography: http://www.pbase.com/gbleek/heath

Nov 24, 2016permalink

NikonD2X

As usual ;-)
Please enjoy my "fresh" Casio QV-4000 report from October 2016 and use Google Translate:
https://www.digicammuseum.de/geschichten/erfahrungsberichte/casio-qv-4000/
I think, the Casio QV-3500 was the much better Casio:
https://www.digicammuseum.de/geschichten/erfahrungsberichte/casio-qv-3500/
Ralf

Nov 24, 2016permalink

LJ - Eljot

Zum Glück brauche ich keinen Übersetzer.
Furtunatly I don't need a translator.

Very nice.

Nov 24, 2016permalink

animaux

I have used it exclusively from 2002 to 2007 and was very happy with it. Never used the scene modes though. And looking back I feel foolish not having used the full resolution and TIFF-mode, but 1600px JPEGs m(

Nov 24, 2016permalink