Casio's 4MP Exilim EX-Z40 juggles, style and features
Introduction
| Casio's Exilim Zoom EX-Z40 is a stylish, compact and slim metal-bodied four megapixel digital camera notably featuring a large colour screen. The EX-Z40 is aimed more at point-and-shoot photography where speed and ease of operation is more of a priority than manual creative control of camera functions.
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Who is Casio aiming for with the EX-Z40?
The EX-Z40 is small – only slightly larger in frontal area than a credit card – and just 23mm thick, thanks to some clever Pentax lens technology and it's only 150g, so it will live comfortably in your shirt pocket.
The EX-Z40 also looks good so it won't leave you high and dry in the style stakes. The 3x 35-105mm equivalent zoom lens covers the standard range for its class and macro coverage is good. Automatic exposure settings rule the roost with the EX-Z40, though you can manually select the ISO speed, white balance presets, over and under exposure bias and scene-specific profile settings. So the EX-Z40 is a classic all-rounder designed to be easy enough for a novice to use but offering a smattering of slightly more advanced controls.
Mid-range compact camera checklist:
| Typical price | (UK/US/Europe) UKŁ215 US$349 EU€295
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| Resolution | 4 megapixels
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| Lens | Pentax smc 3x (35-105mm equiv) zoom, f/2.6-4.8
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| Typical image size (high quality setting JPEG) | 1.3-1.9MB
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| Memory card type | SD/MMC (not supplied)
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| Internal memory | 9.7MB
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| Autofocus assist lamp | No
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| Battery type | Proprietary lithium ion rechargeable
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| Movie mode | 320x240 QVGA with sound
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| Notable features: | 2.0 inch TFT LCD display, metal construction, docking cradle, 21 Best Shot scene modes, instant play/record buttons, voice recorder
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| Measured weight including battery, memory card and strap | 152g
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| Dimensions | 87 x 57 x 23.1mm (W x H x D excl. projections, thinnest point 19.7mm)
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Other cameras the EX-Z40 is competing with:
(Price check in your region) Fujifilm FinePix F440
Kodak EasyShare LS743
Samsung Digimax UCA-4
Olympus Mju:410 (Stylus in the US)
HP Photosmart R707
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P100
Kyocera Finecam SL300R
Family alternatives
A slightly cheaper three megapixel version, the EX-Z30 is also available, as is a dearer five megapixel EX-Z50 version. There is also a black-finished limited edition EX-Z40.
EX-Z30
EX-Z50
EX-Z40 Limited Edition (black)
Casio currently has two camera ranges, the QV-range powered by standard size disposable or compatible rechargeable batteries and the more up-market Exilim EX-Z series, powered by custom lithium ion rechargeables and benefiting from Casio's Exilim image processing engine. The EX-Z40 reviewed here belongs to the Exilim family, though it has a close family resemblance to the QV-R41 in terms of control layout.
QV-R41
The EX-Z40 is markedly slimmer in design than the QV-R41.
In the box
Besides the camera itself, you will find a lithium ion battery, compact universal mains voltage (100-240V 50/60Hz) adapter and mains power lead, standard (full-size connector) USB lead, a Casio software CD and a Kodak EasyShare CD, Basic Reference guide booklet, plus leaflets concerning the warranty, software licence terms and a product registration leaflet.
A docking cradle is supplied with the EX-Z40. Indeed, there is no way of connecting the camera to a computer via USB or to recharge its battery without the cradle.
You won't find an A/V cable as there is no support for connection to a TV or similar device and nor will you find a memory card supplied. However, a wrist strap is supplied.
The supplied instruction booklet covers several languages, but only 16 pages worth per language. A product as sophisticated as this should have a much more comprehensive user guide than this. What the user guide should have been can be found as a pdf document on the Casio CD.
