The Hunt for the Best Ultra-Compact Camera
by Stephen Caston on October 5, 2004 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Digital Camera
The Design: Casio Exilim Ex-Z40
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The front of the Casio Ex-Z40 features a lens with a 35mm equivalent 3x zoom of 35 - 108mm. The lens has a maximum aperture of f2.6 at wide angle and f4.8 at telephoto with a shutter speed range of 4 - 1/2000th sec. The lens has a built-in lens cover that opens when the power button is pressed. In the upper-right corner is the viewfinder window. To the left are the self-timer lamp and the microphone. To the upper-left of the lens is the built-in flash with a working range of 1.6 - 11.5 ft. at wide angle and 1.3 - 5.9 ft. at telephoto. Lastly, there is a molded metal grip bar below the flash that is designed to help hold the camera comfortably.
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The back of the Z40 houses its large 2" LCD monitor with 84,960 pixels. To the left of the LCD is a speaker. Above the LCD are the viewfinder and two indicator lamps. To the right of the indicator lamps are the camera's Play and Record buttons. These buttons can be used to either switch between the two modes or to power the camera up directly into Play or Record mode. In the upper-right corner is the zoom controller that functions both as the zoom control for the lens in Record mode and as a magnifying tool in Play mode. Below the zoom controller is the Menu button and a multi-directional arrow pad with a separate "Set" button in the middle. This arrow pad is used to navigate through the menus and to select settings. Lastly, just below the arrow pad is the Display button, which is used to select the camera's multiple display options.
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The top of the camera is very straightforward. On the right side is the camera's main On/Off button next to the shutter release button. As noted before, the camera can also be powered on by pressing either the Play or Record button on the back. The On/Off button on the top of the camera will power on the camera in Record mode by default.
 Click to enlarge. |
 Click to enlarge. |
On the bottom of the camera is a sliding spring-action door that reveals the SD/MMC card slot and the battery compartment. The Ex-Z40 is powered by a rechargeable NP-40 3.7V 1230mAh Lithium-Ion battery. To the right of the card/battery door is a multi-connector that is used with the supplied cradle. The cradle can charge the battery, transfer data automatically to a computer, connect the camera to a printer, and allow use of the Photo Stand slideshow feature. Finally, on the right is a metal tripod mount that is nearly in-line with the center of the lens.
Click to enlarge.
Click to enlarge.
The right side of the camera features a post for the supplied wrist strap.
The Casio Exilim Ex-Z40 has an attractive and sleek appearance. Also, it is nice to see such a large LCD on an ultra-compact camera. However, we were disappointed to see that TV-out is not offered as an option. This has become a standard for most other digicams. Now, let's take a look at its recording features.
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stephencaston - Wednesday, October 6, 2004 - link
#11: For the continuous drive section of the specs, we use the results of our test. Canon is rated at 2.5 fps, but we found that in the highest resolution and SuperFine mode, we were able to take 3 shots at 2.8 fps.Thanks, I'll add a little note in the specs table.
flexy - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
i love my S230 with its 640x480 video capability. Believe me, once you get started with vids and a good editing program like Vegas you wont get back and pics are only the bonus :) And all that fun with such a tiny cam :)I consider the picture quality/optics of the Canon Powershots "ok" - if you consider it's a shoot and point and not a SLR with hyper-great image quality/zoom etc.
Its picture quality is 'overall good' - a great allround camera with nice features (esp. the vids :). I would prefer my S230 (or newer) any time over a big/bulky camera.
Pros:
nice 640x480 vids
IQ good for a point/shoot
size
stylish
Cons:
weak zoom
xand - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
Also, the continous drive information for the cannon in the specifications table is wrong.xand - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
The "best pictures" of this lot of cameras are almost a given; the S410 has a sensor of the same generation with an area of 38.2mm(1/1.8"), as compared to the others, which have 24.7mm (1/2.5") sensors.What would be more interesting would be a comparison of newer cameras by major manufacturers; generally they now all come with 1/2.5" sensors, including the new canons.
stephencaston - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
#8, Unfortunately, we were limited by which cameras we could choose and the S4i was unavailable at the time. However, we feel that the S40 is comparable to the other two cameras with respect to exposure options, size, etc. The S4i would have been a good option and we would have included it if it was available.rliao - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
How come the S4i wasn't reviewed? Isn't it more of an appropriate comparison?SleepNoMore - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
I looked at the Canon S series - they are very nice - almost bought one - THEN I found the Pentax Optio 33WR (now it's upgraded to 4 MP and called the Optio 43WR).It's WONDERFUL.
First of all, it's highly water resistant, has gaskets all through it.
Has about 13 programmed modes but I never need them really I just point and shoot and things look great. White balance is always right on.
Panorama/stitch modes, close-up modes, etc.
Takes SD cards.
Quicktime movies are a bit cheesy (320 X 160) it's more the sound I have issues with than anything but most of the time it's acceptable.
I'm guessing the Pentax 43WR goes for around 280 bucks - havent checked lately.
If you want a camera you can take skiing, snowboarding, to the beach or stand out in the rain without worrying about damage to the electronics, this is the one. It's also not gooney looking (i.e. bright yellow etc) like some other water resistant cameras.
stephencaston - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
#5 thanks, I have fixed the mistakeGumbico - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
Actually, the S410 only allows 3 mins of vid time. That's my only gripe about this camera.TheAudit - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
I have the Canon and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve never been one to read through a manual and this camera was easy enough to figure out so I did not have to do so. I am always surprised at how crisp the pictures are. Of course, I am not a professional photographer but this camera provides everything that I want in a camera – good pictures and small size because I hate carrying stuff around.