Quirks can make or break a relationship. He or she may be attractive, smart, funny and have plenty of good qualities, but unsightly habits such as tooth-clicking or nail-biting may be enough to push you over the edge. Technology is the same way; a camera may be attractive and fast, but those irritating flaws can be enough to drive you crazy. Casio’s 7-megapixel Exilim EX-Z70 is one such quirky camera.

At 4.8 ounces and only 0.8 inch thick, the Z70’s slim, metal body is the right size to fit into your pocket. Though the size is right, you should still be very careful when pocketing this camera. Besides the tiny power button on the top, the two flat record and playback buttons on the camera’s backside can also turn it on. If your pocket is too tight or if you don’t pay attention, you could drain the camera’s battery or have the lens pop out at inopportune times. On the back of the camera, the 2.5 inch LCD takes up most of the space with just a few additional buttons. A zoom rocker switch on the top right of the camera handles zooming during image capture or image playback. Below the zoom switch are two buttons used to switch between capture and playback modes. A 5 way directional pad provides the main mechanism for navigating through the menus that are activated with the menu button. A BS button provides access to the Casio Best Shot scene modes.
The tiny Z70 features a maximum capture resolution of 7.2 megapixels. Images can be captured at resolutions of: 3072 x 2304, 3072 2048 (3:2 aspect ratio for 4×6 prints), 2560 1920, 2048 1536, 1600 1200, and 640 x 480. Three levels of JPEG compression are also available: Fine, Normal, and Economy. At full 7.2 megapixel resolution and Fine compression, the file size is approximately 4.32 MB. At this size, you can fit approximately 55 shots on a 256MB memory card.The lens provides a 3x optical zoom range (a 35mm equivalent focal length of 38-114mm). There are 6 increments of zoom control through the optical zoom range.The 2.5 inch LCD on the back of the Casio has 115,200 pixels of resolution, is color accurate and refreshes quickly enough to afford a smooth image. It gains up or down automatically, depending on the light conditions. Outdoors in the sunlight, the LCD visibility is average.The Casio Exilim EX-Z70 will power up in approximately 1.4 seconds with flash off, has a 0.002 second shutter release lag time and with high speed image play back will scroll at 100 images per 10 seconds. Flash is built into the Exilim EX-Z70 and can be selected as auto, on, off, soft and red-eye reduction whilst rapid flash can produce 3 flash photos per second.

The EX-Z120 is the latest offering in Casio’s EXILIM ZOOM line up and is designed to be user-friendly, fun, and convenient. It features CASIO’s renowned EXILIM Engine with Anti Shake DSP, a high resolution 7.2 megapixel imager, 3x optical zoom lens and a 2.0-inch color LCD monitor. Housed in a compact, durable and lightweight aluminum body.

The Anti Shake DSP reduces blurring caused by shaky hands or moving subjects, while the Auto Macro and Quick Shutter functions ensure that photos are properly focused. High Sensitivity Mode produces clear shots with a bright background without the flash, even when lighting is dim.

The mode dial gives you quick access to the Easy, Program, Aperture priority, Shutter speed priority, Manual, Movie and 32 Best Shot scene modes. The Easy mode and menu use simple icons to make picture taking a snap for inexperienced users. The EX-Z120 features quick start-up and easily accessible direct buttons to switch between the capture and review modes. The camera is designed to bring the fun and convenience of digital photography to people everywhere with user-friendly features that are true to CASIO’s tradition of cutting-edge technology, intelligent functionality, and high-quality photography.
The cameras 3x optical zoom lens is equivalent to 38mm - 114mm in 35mm terms, and has a built in metal lens-cover. The Casio Exilim EX-Z120 is available from £150, this makes it very good value for money as a compact 7 megapixel digital camera. The camera is enclosed in a silver metal body. The Z120 records 640×480 movies with sound at 30fps. The camera is very compact and fits easily into pockets. The camera takes two AA batteries and measures: 90 x 60 x 27.2mm (without protruding parts), and weighs 138g (without batteries and memory card).
A powerful Exilim engine puts high-resolution, low-noise digital imaging at your fingertips. A 7.2-megapixel resolution combines with an 8-mode dial that gives you simple access to manual setup, an easy mode for one-touch snapshots, movie recording, and more. Also, an Anti Shake DSP (digital signal processor) minimizes image blur due to hand or subject movement.

Two widely available AA-size batteries (alkaline) provide enough power to record 170 images. You can use lithium or rechargeable nickel metal hydride batteries for power.

Use the bundled cable to connect the USB/AV port to a computer for easy data transfer. You can also transfer images using a commercially available SD memory card reader/writer.

With its super-slim body, light weight, versatility, and excellent picture quality, the 5-megapixel Casio Exilim EX-S500 is a camera you can carry everywhere. What’s more, the hot colors and “electrical coating” ensure you’ll take it out of your pocket as often as possible to show it off (and maybe shoot some photos, too). It performs on par with our Editors’ Choice, the 4-megapixel Canon PowerShot SD300 Digital Elph (and its big brother, the SD400), though the SD300 retains its EC title.
The EX-S500 sports a 6.2- to 18.6-mm lens (a 35-mm equivalent of 38 mm to 114 mm) with f/2.7 to f/5.2 at its widest aperture over the zoom range. But unlike the recently reviewed Fuji FinePix Z1, the lens protrudes (as does the Canon SD300’s). The EX-S500 gives you 8.3MB of on-board memory, displays images on a large 2.2-inch LCD, and lets you record MPEG-4 video clips until your memory card is full. It weighs in at just over 4 ounces, and measures 3.5 by 2.3 by 0.6 inches (HWD). That thinness makes the EX-S500 incredibly portable, and the rounded edges give it a beautifully sleek look.

Outdoor scenic type shots when the light is bright and sunny proved to be the strong point of the Exilim EX-S500. On the whole these shots are fine and they compare well against other similar cameras, but the lens is not one of the sharpest around. Bright and dark areas of each picture are handled well and the colours are deep.

In the colour test the colours come out well. They have a good balance with no one colour being overly dominant. The colours also posses a natural feel to them.

The outdoor portrait also stands up well in comparison to other cameras. In this case I have used the flash unit to beef up the lighting a little. The shot was taken in November and by this time of the year shots like this one can appear a bit dull otherwise.

Indoors in lowlight I could not get the camera to focus sharply no matter what settings I used. Both the indoor portrait and the shot of beer bottles taken in almost complete darkness are blurred. If I was to identify one typical weakness with digital cameras it would be taking shots indoors in lowlight. Nevertheless I had hoped for better and I am still disappointed by the overall quality of these shots.

The macro shot produces a very good photo. There is nothing wrong with the photo at all. Levels of detail are good and the image is sharply focused.

This section of the review has been updated in December 2005. I would like to thank Paul-Henri Cahier for his help in resolving a number of focusing issues I had previously had with the is camera.

The Exilim EX-S500 has an average bundle. Inside the box, you’ll find:

The 5.0 effective Megapixel Casio Exilim EX-S500 digital camera
NP-20 rechargeable lithium-ion battery
AC adapter
USB camera cradle
Wrist strap
USB cable
A/V cable
CD-ROM featuring Casio PhotoLoader and PhotoHands, Ulead Movie Wizard SE VCD, and drivers
Printed basic manual + full manual on CD-ROM
Casio is one of the growing number of camera manufacturers who no longer include a memory card with their cameras. A year or two you’d see a 16MB (or 32MB if you’re lucky) memory card included with the S500, but no more. Instead Casio has built 8.3MB of memory right into the camera. That holds a grand total of TWO photos at the highest quality setting, so consider a larger memory card to be a required purchase. The EX-S500 uses Secure Digital and MultiMedia cards, and Casio recommends the use of a high speed SD card with the camera. A 256MB card is a good size to start with.