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CNET editors' review
-
CNET editors' rating:
stars
Very good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 10/30/2009
- Released on: 01/08/2009
There's no doubt the high-speed photo and movie shooting features of the Casio Exilim EX-FC100 are remarkable given its size and price. Its features tackle one of the biggest problems with point-and-shoot cameras: missed shots due to slow performance. Even its regular shooting performance is reasonably quick. Look past the high-speed features, though, and the FC100 is considerably less attractive with a narrow lens, a control and menu design that takes some adjusting to, and photos that are simply OK for its class. Plus, the high-speed options come at the cost of resolution and battery life.
| Key specs | Casio Exilim EX-FC100 |
| Price (MSRP) | $300 |
| Dimensions (WHD) | 3.9 x 2.3 x 0.9 inches |
| Weight (with battery and media) | 6.2 ounces |
| Megapixels, image sensor size, type | 9 megapixels, 1/2.3-inch CMOS |
| LCD size, resolution/viewfinder | 2.7-inch LCD, 230K dots/None |
| Lens (zoom, aperture, focal length) | 5x, f3.6-4.5, 37-185mm (35mm equivalent) |
| File format (still/video) | JPEG/Motion JPEG (.AVI) |
| Highest resolution size (still/video) | 3,456x2,592 pixels/ 1,280x720 at 30fps |
| Image stabilization type | Mechanical and digital |
| Battery type, rated life | Li-ion rechargeable, 300 shots |
| Storage type | SD/SDHC |
The FC100 is a hefty compact camera, but it's still easily pocketed and not nearly as large as Casio's forebearers of its speedy shooting options, the FH20 and F1. The all-metal casing adds to the solid feel as does the weighty 5x zoom lens. Unlike a lot of the compact competition, the FC100's lens is a narrow 37mm-equivalent with a maximum aperture of only f3.6. (After testing so many wide-angle point-and-shoots this year, the difference is really noticeable.) Also, the autofocus system is distractingly loud; leave it in Continuous AF and it'll never shut up.
Like the FH20 and F1, this camera has an above-average number of controls. On top is a power button and shutter release with zoom ring. There is also a button for switching to continuous shooting--either high-speed or normal depending on what you've set it to in the main menu system--and a Slow button. Hitting Slow starts the camera prerecording images and playing them back in slow motion. When you see the shot you want to capture, say the moment a raindrop hits the surface of a puddle, you press the shutter release down and the camera will capture the shot.
On back to the right of the excellent-quality LCD is a discrete movie record button with a selector for going between the high- and normal-speed capture modes. Below that are buttons for moving between playback and shooting modes, a circular directional pad centered with a Set button, and Menu and Best Shot (BS) buttons. Pressing up on the directional pad changes the amount of information on the display, down sets the flash, and left and right can be programmed to turn on and off face detection or the self-timer, or switch light metering. The Set button brings up mode-specific shooting options while the Menu brings up three tabs of recording, quality, and system settings. The BS button is for picking a shooting mode. Got all that? Probably not, and that's what using this camera is like; there's so much going on it can be disorienting.
One feature you'll find buried in the system menu is the option to activate support for Eye-Fi Wireless SD cards, which allow you to transfer photos off the card and onto a computer over a wireless network.
| General shooting options | Casio Exilim EX-FC100 |
| ISO sensitivity (full resolution) | Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1,600 |
| White balance | Auto, Daylight, Overcast, Tungsten, Shade, Day White Fluorescent, Daylight Fluorescent, Manual |
| Recording modes | Auto (program AE), Scene (Best Shot), User Scene, Movie, High-Speed Burst, High-Speed Movie |
| Focus modes | Spot, Free, Tracking, Manual, Macro, Pan, Infinity |
| Metering | Multi, Center-weighted average, Spot |
| Color effects | Sepia, Black & White, Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, Pink, Purple |
| Burst mode shot limit (full resolution) | Unlimited continuous |
Shooting options are based around picking a scene mode from the Best Shot menu (there are 20 to pick from) or putting it in Auto and deciding on the camera settings for yourself. Basically everything but shutter speed and aperture are at your disposal in Auto including adjustments for color saturation, sharpness, and contrast. If you compile a mix of settings you like for a particular subject or situation, you can easily establish a User Scene mode for them; you can create up to 999 of them, in fact.
With the FC100, Casio plays up the 30-frames-per-second continuous shooting and slow-motion movie modes, but barely touts two other features that make good use of its high-speed abilities: High-Speed Night Scene and High-Speed Anti Shake. Both use the speed of the camera to quickly capture and combine multiple images to remove blur caused by shaky hands regardless of lighting conditions. The results are good enough that the modes deserve more recognition. However, like all of the high-speed shooting options, the photo resolution drops from 9 megapixels to 6.
Reduced resolutions are a problem for the high-speed movie modes, too. The mode can shoot at 210fps, 420fps, and 1,000fps at resolutions of 480x360, 224x168, and 224x64, respectively. There is, though, a variable 30-210fps option letting you toggle the movie recording speed between 30fps and 210fps, basically going from normal to slow motion when the moment's right. Regardless of what type of movie, though, there is no use of the optical zoom while recording.
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Where to buy
Casio Exilim EX-FC100 (black):
$226.95 - $299.99
| store | price | in stock? | rating |
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$299.99 | Yes |
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$234.95 | Yes |
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$226.95 | Yes |
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$269.99 | Yes |
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Amazon.com Marketplace
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$264.51 | Yes |
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