Casio Exilim EX-Z80 review

The Casio Exilim EX-Z80 demonstrates how small can be mighty

If you’re looking for a fun, compact and easy-to-use camera, then Casio should be your first port of call in your search for the perfect model. Casio is renowned for its great quality compacts, which are simple to operate and offer a whole host of automatic features for the photography novice.

The Casio Exilim EX-Z80 is one such model that lives up to these high standards. At present it’s one of the smallest 8-megapixel models on the market, complete with 3x optical zoom. It’s squarely marketed at the mainstream consumer looking for style, functionality and results bundled into a neat and tidy package. It comes in a rainbow of colours including: pale pink, fuchsia pink, green, blue, black and silver.

The most obvious outstanding feature of the EX-Z80 is its petite proportions. It is so compact that the tightest of pockets would be able to accommodate this little shooter, as would the most bulging of handbags. Despite its thin body, it tucks away a 3x optical zoom lens neatly inside the body when not in use. The smallness of the camera, however, in no way impairs its feature set, as it boasts a wealth of interesting technology, bound to inspire.

First off, the Face Detection feature has some advanced functions to set it apart from the competition. It offers a Family mode, which actually distinguishes individual faces and gives them priority in terms of exposure and focus. There is also the option to specifically set a high priority preference for individual faces yourself.

The Movie mode is also a winning feature, designed to give the user ultimate control and flexibility. It’s activated by a specific movie shutter button on the top right-hand corner, to enable a quick start-up. The movie clips can be recorded in a special format called H.264/AVC MOV.file, which you can upload to iTunes and your iPod. Within the playback function, you can control your viewing with traditional VCR-type controls of fast-forward, rewind and pause. You can even edit your movies in-camera with a great frame-cutting control.

This forward-thinking approach to the camera features also appears elsewhere in the EX-Z80’s remit. Within the Best Shot scene modes is YouTube capture mode, designed to make uploading clips to the website and absolute breeze. Here you will also find Auction mode, which is perfect for those avid eBayers, who frequently upload images to such sites. The image is taken at the optimum resolution for web upload and the focus is set to get the best view of your item for sale.

In terms of performance this camera is a great all-rounder. It provides a decent range of auto focus options, including tracking, as well as Pan Focus for movie shooting. Unfortunately, the camera does lack an autofocus-assist lamp, so don’t expect a fast or accurate performance in low light.

Speedwise, this camera is faultless. We managed to go from power-up to capture in just less than two seconds, which is great for a camera of this calibre. Shot-to-shot, the EX-Z80 zips along with no noticeable shutter lag and this extends to pictures taken with flash too. In Flash Continuous mode, expect to shoot three images in under a second – which is something of a marvel.

Image performance is equally impressive in most parts too. Daylight shots show a great degree of true-to-life colour, with natural greens and browns appearing spot-on. There is a bit of a battle with bright, fluorescent colours, which tend to lose detail, although thankfully these aren’t a part of everyday life. Watch out for very contrasty shots, as there is a tendency to blow the highlights, especially in bright skies.

Taking the camera indoors, the EX-Z80 does a great job maintaining an accurate white balance. This is great news for those who are after a versatile camera for all occasions, as situations such as indoor parties are a doddle.

For many users, the camera is likely to be used in automatic allowing one of the many Best Shot modes to do there stuff. However, for those who want control over the ISO, be aware this camera does suffer at the hands of ISO 200 upwards. Quality at ISO 64 is outstanding but pass the 200 mark and expect grain in your images.

The lens is perfectly adequate for a camera of this price range and target market. It does a decent job at capturing well-balanced shots and in the main part we were happy with the results. For the eagle-eyed photographer, however, there is barrel distortion at the widest end of the zoom and the over-exposed skies don’t help in disguising the apparent purple fringing that appears in areas of high contrast. The zoom properties of the lens are great for composition purposes, but don’t expect to bring distant objects much closer in your own pictures.

All said and done, let’s not be too harsh on this little shooter. For all intents and purposes this is a fanstastic compact, which will make a casual user or novice photographer extremely happy. It offers style, great features and much-welcomed simplicity, all within a fantastically neat little package. It is perfect for daytrips, indoor parties and not to mention fantastic movies, making this one of the best entry-level compacts we’ve seen for a very long time.