CNET editors' review
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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Very good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 03/31/2004
- Released on: 10/15/2003
The EX-Z4U is less than an inch thick, and its retractable lens maintains that sleek profile, so the camera fits neatly in a pocket or a purse. Solid but light at 5.2 ounces with a battery installed, the metal body can also dangle from your neck. The lens zooms to 3X and covers 35mm to 105mm in 35mm-camera terms. A 2.2-inch LCD claims most of the rear-panel real estate, but Casio makes the most of the remaining space with logically located controls. When you're shooting one-handed, however, it's far too easy for your thumb to inadvertently activate the zoom.
 The EX-Z4U's manual white balance produces extremely neutral and reasonably detailed exposures. |
Designed for the snapshooter set, the EX-Z4U boasts 21 scene presets, which Casio dubs Best Shot modes. Each comes with a brief explanation, and the low-light selections remind you to hold the Exilim still. The clever Coupling mode automatically stitches together two shots, so you won't have to bother a fellow tourist to get both yourself and your traveling companions into that photo in front of the Louvre. You can also set up albums in-camera and copy images between the internal memory and an optional SD card. Factor the media into your budget; the built-in 10MB hold only four high-resolution files. The bundled cradle makes picture transfer a breeze, charges the proprietary battery, and holds the camera during slide shows.
 At ISO 50, this Exilim generates little noise but tends to blow out highlights. Note the white patches on the silver dish. |
A peppy start-up gets you to the first photo in only 1.7 seconds, but the EX-Z4U slacks off a bit between shots. It typically pauses almost 3 seconds, nearly 4 seconds if the flash fires. Shutter lag is minimal and sometimes too short; the EX-Z4U captured some pictures before it had time to focus. Even though the autofocus doesn't have an assist lamp, low-light performance is good. The LCD is bright, clear, and reasonably visible outdoors; the optical viewfinder is very tiny but helpful on really sunny days. And the little battery let us grab 461 images before it died.
In general, we liked the EX-Z4U's photos; they were relatively sharp, with good exposure and pleasantly saturated colors. Manual white balance worked very well, but the automatic setting oversaturated skies and made pictures extremely cool outdoors and really warm indoors. When we captured a nighttime scene through a window, the camera surprised us by producing well-balanced colors and rich shadows, though the expected image noise appeared in the dark sky. Macro shots exhibited particularly good detail and respectable sharpness--when they were in focus. And the ISO 50 sensitivity generated very little noise.
With the Exilim EX-Z4U, Casio gives patient shooters a stylish, friendly traveling companion that doesn't take up too much space.
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