The digital camera has come of age. I was going to say "finally", but really it hasn't been a long wait. Gone are the bulky, heavy boxes that took a few low-resolution images on low-capacity memory cards, and which ate a set of batteries every ten or so shots. Current models have huge image resolution with staggering quality and are stuffed full of every feature imaginable (and some that aren't). Memory cards now hold hundreds of pictures or hours of television-quality video, and the batteries last long enough for the charger not to be needed for a week or more.

However, when it comes to choosing a model is there any real difference? What is important and what isn't? Here's my two-pennyworth. Two years ago I bought a new pocket camera and I've been utterly delighted with it ever since. Recently I added a second, not because there was anything wrong with the old one (far from it) but so I wouldn't have to share it.

Both these cameras are Casio models. The two-year old one is the 7.2 megapixel Exilim Z750. Googling this still turns up web pages extolling it as the finest thing around, and for over a year it topped the reviews at www.cameras.co.uk, which is itself a good place to start to get the low-down on any model you can buy. So what stands out after two years of use? For me there are a number of key features. In no particular order:

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  Portability. I've nothing against SLRs but they are bulky and liable to be left at home the very time you need them most. If you have a camera small enough to carry with you it's more likely you'll use it. You might also consider getting one of the latest camera phones, but these have yet to match a "proper" camera for image size, the screens tend to be rather small compared to those in cameras and adding a good camera to a phone does tend to make it a bit bulky and heavy. These things are changing all the time, of course, so it may well be the wave of the future. Neither of the Casio models I own are the slimmest available, but they can be slipped into a pocket or handbag without adding too much bulk.
  


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  Image size. Two years ago, 7.2 megapixels was a huge imager, way above that offered on the majority of cameras then on the market. Now it's towards the lower end of the range normally offered, but still very respectable.
  


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  Picture quality. This is outstanding. A friend of mine was most disappointed that the pictures produced by his high-end Nikon were no better than those from the £180 Casio. In fact, the colours are more vibrant on the Casio; this is of course very subjective but we found those from the Nikon to be a little flat by comparison.
  


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  Ease of use. This covers pretty well everything else that's important. Casio put a lot of trouble into designing a user-friendly menu system, and considering how many things you're allowed to change it all works remarkably well. Most of the time you only use three or four controls as the camera gets it basically right for the majority of shots, but there's still the need to turn the flash on and off, select macro mode for close-ups or do rudimentary editing such as deleting unwanted photos or trimming video clips. There's a huge user manual on the CD supplied with the camera but I don't think I ever needed to read it.
  

I should note that I am of a generation for whom the name Casio would until quite recently conjure up images of cheap, poor-quality gimmicks. Owning the Z-750 changed all that. I doubt there's a manufacturer anywhere with a better eye for what customers want, and the machine has performed flawlessly for this whole time while being treated with far less than respect. Bounced around on car dashboards, left in baking sun, sat on, used in the rain... none of this had any effect on it. Not even the occasions when the "on" button got pressed while the camera was jammed in with other items, unable to extend its lens. Nope; it just thought about it for a moment and quietly gave up the attempt. The internal counter (that numbers the pictures going to the PC) tells me I've taken over 5000 pictures so far, so the camera hasn't just been left in a cupboard; it's an average of something like fifty pictures a week for two years.

OK, some other things I like about it:

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  Battery life. Unbelievable. Even while making generous use of the 2.5" screen it will still return several hundred shots between charges, or record video continuously until a 2GB flash card is full - that's over an hour - and still let you replay it.
  


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  An optical viewfinder. This is increasingly rare on small cameras but it can be handy at times, especially when the sun is too bright to see the screen clearly. And it does mean you don't need to adopt that awkward modern pose, holding the camera at arm's length.
  


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  Build quality. Already mentioned above, but worth enlarging upon. I previously had one of the first Canon Digital IXUS models and was impressed by its toughness, apart from the cover over the flash card slot, which was plastic and guaranteed to be the part that hit the ground first if you dropped it. There's no such problem with a Casio; the whole thing is stainless steel and feels like it could take a truck running over it (but you can't borrow mine just to prove me wrong).
  


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  The cradle. This is the "last but not least" feature. Most cameras connect to a PC using a cable you have to plug into a fiddly little connector on the side of the camera. The Z750 came with a small cradle that does everything. To charge the camera, drop it in the cradle. To transfer pictures, drop it in the cradle. To connect to a TV, you guessed - drop it in the cradle. Some complain about the need to carry the cradle on holiday compared to a tiny cable, but I spend much more time at home than I do on holiday and being able to instantly transfer pictures from the camera to my PC is for me a big plus. The cradle lives by the side of the PC and that's that.
  

As I said at the start, the camera is so good I found myself having to share it. That's unacceptable as I like to carry it everywhere, so I decided to look for a second one. The Z750 is no longer made but Casio have a number of alternative models. The nearest equivalent is something like a third of what I paid for the Z750 but unfortunately (for me) lacks the cradle, presumably to squeeze the cost down. After all, the competition rarely offer a cradle and to continue supplying one with every camera would put Casio at a considerable disadvantage.

So although quite happy with every other feature of the new models I turned my eyes up-market, to the Z1200 (pictured). Named for its 12.1 megapixel imager, this is the cheapest one to use a cradle, and although Ebuyer wanted around £140 it still cost well below what the Z750 had set me back two years earlier. A 4GB memory card is now down around £7.50, and at Stansted airport Dixons sold me a "Crumpler" neoprene carry pouch for about £11.

So what do you get now that wasn't on offer two years ago? The obvious thing is the imager, though in fact anything above 6 megapixels is perfectly adequate for most uses. More is handy, of course, as long as you have a really big hard drive to store the pictures on; at the highest quality settings each shot is over 5MB. Twelve megapixels is a huge image size and allows you to be really lazy in framing your pictures. You can throw away loads of extraneous picture and still have plenty left.

The other major change is that the new camera does widescreen. This isn't just a stretched picture; it really does have more horizontal pixels compared to the vertical ones. A widescreen image is close to the "golden ratio" said to be the most pleasing to the human eye, and widescreen photos do seem to have that little extra bit of impact. The widescreen format is particularly useful when shooting video, as the results are immediately compatible with modern TV sets without making everyone seem fat. The highest video quality is superb for such an inexpensive item and raises serious questions as to the point of owning a video camcorder.

Most other changes are pretty minor. The optical viewfinder is gone but the screen is a little bigger (and also widescreen). The mode selector wheel has been replaced by an on-screen menu; this takes a little longer and I do miss it, but I suppose it makes for less mechanical stuff to go wrong. There are some new interesting modes, such as automatic face recognition and a focussing system that follows a moving target, but don't ask me what I think of either of these as I've had neither the time nor the inclination to try them out.

The most notable change is one where nothing has changed. Casio did a good job of designing the user interface and have hardly altered it at all other than to accommodate changes to the mechanics. Swapping from one camera to the other requires no thought at all.

So to sum up, I'd confidently recommend Casio to anyone wanting a new digital pocket-sized camera. Tough, easy to use and giving excellent results, these devices are the equal of anything on the market.Tag: camera Articles by The Riviera Woman General Articles Home Contact