Version: 2008
  • On MovieTome: See the villain of IRON MAN 2!
advertisement

Casio Exilim EX-Z55
Reviewed by
Robert Dubbin
on 11/12/2004
camera on front sides back

See all products in the Casio Exilim Z series
See all Casio Inc. products

Add to my list Product summary

The good: Large, bright LCD screen; outstanding battery life; intelligent and eye-catching design; solid indoor photo quality.

The bad: Poor outdoor photo quality; no burst mode; few manual features.

The bottom line: A great-looking 5-megapixel point-and-shoot with a big screen and so-so photo quality.

Read full review

Compare this digital camera to:

CNET editors' review

  • CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
    Detailed editors' rating
      Design : 8.0
      Features : 7.0
      Performance : 7.0
      Image quality : 6.0
      Overall score: 7.2 (3.5 stars)
  • Reviewed by:
    Robert Dubbin
  • Edited by:
    Lori Grunin
  • Reviewed on: 11/12/2004
  • Released on: 09/20/2004
At some point, you have to figure that the dominant digital photography trends of smaller cameras, bigger LCD screens, and more megapixels will reach a critical point, and we'll be left with some sort of tiny 12-megapixel monocle. Until that day arrives, we'll have to settle for models such as Casio's 5-megapixel Exilim EX-Z55 digital camera, a highly portable snapshot camera with a 2.5-inch LCD that's as bright as it is large. Though the Z55's lack of manual features and poor outdoor imaging can be frustrating at times, the camera delivers pleasing indoor results and acceptable shot-to-shot performance.

The centerpiece of the Z55's design is its 2.5-inch LCD screen, which takes up most of the small camera's back and, thus, seems even bigger. Also contributing to this effect is the Z55's comically small and essentially useless optical viewfinder, which works only passably well during daylight and will temporarily blind you at night if you try it with the LCD turned on. Casio crams all of the buttons on the 5.6-ounce Exilim Z55 to the right of Screenzilla but organizes them logically despite their cramped layout. Though the camera lacks ports to charge the battery and download photos directly, the included dock accomplishes both tasks seamlessly.

The Casio Exilim EX-Z55's 3X optical zoom works well, although you're limited to six stops from its widest angle of 35mm to its 105mm telephoto (35mm equivalents). The camera's lens is small enough to keep the camera looking sleek but protrudes enough to keep you from inadvertently taking 10 shots of your own finger. We like Casio's novel memory menu, which enables you to instruct the Z55 to remember the camera's current settings--zoom length, color and ISO settings, white balance, and flash modes--even after you've turned it off. This feature will benefit anyone who chooses to use the Z55 with a tripod, as you'll be able to compose your shots, then take a break without losing battery power. Speaking of the Z55's battery, it's phenomenal: we took more than 1,000 photos, 50 percent with flash, without needing to recharge.

Continue reading

Most helpful user reviews

Submit your review

Log in or create an account to submit your review for:

Casio Exilim EX-Z55

 ORLog in with your Facebook account
1. Rate this product:
(Mouse over the stars to rate this product and click to set your rating.)
2. One-line summary:(Summarize your review in one line. 10 characters minimum; required.)
0 of 55 characters
3. Pros:(Tell us what you like about this product. 10 characters minimum; required.)
0 of 250 characters
4. Cons:(Tell us what you don't like about this product. 10 characters minimum; required.)
0 of 250 characters
Bottom-line summary:(Explain to us in detail why you like or dislike the product, focusing your comments on the product's features and functionality, and your experience using the product. This field is optional.)
0 of 5000 characters

The posting of advertisements, profanity, or personal attacks are prohibited.
Click here to review our site terms of use.

Submit

Compare prices for Casio Exilim EX-Z55

This product is currently not in stock at any of our online merchants.

Email me when this product is available

advertisement

Recent user reviews

Submit your review

Log in or create an account to submit your review for:

Casio Exilim EX-Z55

 ORLog in with your Facebook account
1. Rate this product:
(Mouse over the stars to rate this product and click to set your rating.)
2. One-line summary:(Summarize your review in one line. 10 characters minimum; required.)
0 of 55 characters
3. Pros:(Tell us what you like about this product. 10 characters minimum; required.)
0 of 250 characters
4. Cons:(Tell us what you don't like about this product. 10 characters minimum; required.)
0 of 250 characters
Bottom-line summary:(Explain to us in detail why you like or dislike the product, focusing your comments on the product's features and functionality, and your experience using the product. This field is optional.)
0 of 5000 characters

The posting of advertisements, profanity, or personal attacks are prohibited.
Click here to review our site terms of use.

Submit

Special sponsor stores

advertisement

Reviews from around the WebPowered by alaTest

  • alaTest.com

    Editors' rating: 85

    Summary: alaTest has collected and analyzed 419 reviews of Casio Exilim EX-Z55 from international magazines and websites. Experts rate this product 71/100 and users 88/100. Comparing these reviews to 554627 other Digital Compact Cameras reviews gives this product an overall alaScore™ 85/100 = Very Good.

    Read full review

  • dcresource.com

    Summary: The EX-Z55 has a built-in lens cover so there are no messy lens caps to worry about. As you can see, the camera is quite small

    Read full review

  • macworld.com

    Editors' rating: 60

    Summary: The EX-Z55 has 23 scene modes in all, including a Business Shot mode for straightening pictures of business cards and white boards in-camera. Manual controls are limited to manual focus, exposure compensation (which you access via a menu), white ...

    Read full review

  • pcmag.com

    Editors' rating: 70

    Summary: The Z55 has the sharpest images we've seen in a camera this size, a big LCD, Casio's great menus and features, and reasonable speed. But the images produced by this camera don't quite measure up to those of of the Canon Powershot SD300.

    Read full review

  • photographyreview.com

    Summary: The Casio S500 is an extremely well-built camera that provides incredible features. When you are out and about, this camera can go with you without slowing you down. It fit in my shirt pocket or in my pants pocket, and I was almost tempted to fit it ...

    Read full review

  • cameras.co.uk

    Editors' rating: 75

    Summary: The Casio Exilim EX-Z55 is a fairly solid offering. It scores highly for ease of use and I like the design. I did experience problems using the camera indoors and it tends to struggle in lowlight.

    Read full review

Casio Exilim EX-Z55

Reviews & advice
Site map
Editorial policies
Meet the editors
How we test
Forums
Internet speed test
Popular topics
Apple iPhone
Apple iPod
Cell phones
Dell
GPS
LCD TV
CNET sites
CNET Site map
CNET TV
Downloads
News
Reviews
Shopper.com
More information
Newsletters
CNET Mobile
Customer Help Center
RSS
CNET Widgets
About CNET
sponsored