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) UK£215 US$349 EU295
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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.
Construction and design
The Casio Exilim EX-Z40 is a compact and stylish design and it should be hard-wearing too as it is clad in a metal overcoat. It doesn't feel overly heavy or light when you pick it up. It has a feel of quality about it. The exterior design looks neat and tidy and is devoid of a clutter of buttons. On the down side, what controls there are must share the multiple functions and the labelling of such functions is rather perfunctory.
Casio is quite unpretentious about the fact it's not an optics manufacturer. The lens on the EX-Z40 is supplied from and labelled Pentax and on past record this has been a good choice. Canon lenses have also featured on selected Casio cameras too.
(Front of camera, above) A: Strap lug, B: Shutter release buttont, C: Flash unit, D: Microphone, E: Self-timer indicator light, F: Optical viewfinder, G: Lens, H: Battery and memory card compartment cover.
(Rear of camera, above) A: Audio speaker, B: Optical viewfinder, C: Status lamps for indicating AF warning, power on, camera busy, flash charging/cannot charge, memory card problem, etc., D: Playback mode switch, E: Picture taking mode switch, F: Shutter release button, G: Lens and image review zoom rocker switch, H: Menu switch, I: Strap lug, J: Menu set button, K: Four-way navigation paddle and close-focus, flash mode, calendar mode, focus mode selector, L: Display mode switch, N: 2.0" TFT LCD display monitor.
The power on/off switch is recessed against accidental operation and is situated to the left of the shutter release button (above)
The photographer's eye view of the EX-Z40 is quite straightforward, with the huge 2.0 inch display dominating the back of the camera.
A significant problem with the EX-Z40 is that because the screen is so large, there is limited space to grip the back of the camera without accidentally pressing one of the controls. This can lead to some confusing situations where, for example, the camera powers-up in an unexpected mode or menus appear when you didn't need them.
While a large screen is welcome, the EX-Z40's one was problematic. It was not as easy to view in bright sunshine as we expected, bright areas of a scene being viewed often created electronic flare and ghosting - which was not recorded in the image, incidentally in low light we noted a lot noise and occasionally the screen appeared to lose colour and sharpness even when navigating menus. In the latter respect, it's probable that our camera was suffering from an intermittent fault.
The front view of the EX-Z40 with the lens recessed hints at how slim its design is
It achieves its slim design through an innovative mechanism developed by Pentax, who supply the lens to Casio, which packs the lens internals away in two parts when the camera is powered off. This explains why the front element of the lens is not in the centre of the barrel.
This lens was first introduced in the Pentax Optio S, on which the Exilim EX-Z40 and other related Casio models, is you might say, inspired.
It's remarkable how the lens can be packed away into such a slim body
Above you can see the full extent of the range of lens extension
according to the zoom setting
The baseplate of the camera reveals an almost ideally positioned tripod socket, though only a small tripod head would not foul the large battery and memory card bay cover. The central connector is for the supplied docking cradle that connects the camera to the charging power supply and to a host computer if required via USB. There are no other ports on the camera, so you are quite dependent on the docking cradle.
Limited battery life is simply not an issue with the EX-Z40 thanks to its generously rated 3.7V 1230mAh lithium ion rechargeable battery. Beneath the battery slot is the SD/MMC card slot.
The battery and memory card (above) provide some sense of scale
On a desk at home the supplied docking cradle simply provides a convenient way of charging the camera and connecting it, via USB, to a computer. But when travelling, its a bulky accessory you might need to take with you. Charging status and USB connection are indicated via two status lights. The button labelled 'Photo' starts a slide show of pictures stored in the camera's memory card.
Unfortunately, there is no TV display connection provided on either the camera or the cradle.
All you will find on the rear of the docking cradle is a power socket for the compact world-standard mains electricity adapter and, unusually, a standard full-size USB cable connector socket, for connection to a computer.
The docked camera in its cradle in sideways profile
To summarise the design and construction of the Casio Exilim EX-Z40, it looks great and is well made. However, that huge display has compromised the space available for gripping the camera, the display itself is of disappointing quality and you are reliant on the extra bulk of the docking cradle for recharging the camera and for USB connectivity. The absence of a TV out port is also very disappointing.
Menus
The sample screen displays reproduced on this page are not as clear as we would have liked as they were photographed rather than digitally grabbed from a TV-out video feed as the Casio Exilim EX-Z40 does not have a TV-out facility.
Casio Exilim EX-Z40 menus are, on the whole, easy to read, navigate and understand. We did, however have some problems with the LCD display itself. Although it's large and easy to read in normal conditions, in bright sunlight it became relatively difficult to read. Bright areas of a scene causes the screen saturation artefacts to appear more easily than expected too.
The standard shooting mode screen shows basic information, though not aperture or shutter speed settings until exposure is locked by pressing the shutter button half way.
A histogram mode is available if desired during live preview and also when reviewing an image but not in the instant review mode just after taking the shot.
Configuration menus in camera record mode are tabbed.
Each setting is highlighted as you navigate.
Sub-menus can be opened pressing the 'east' point of the navigation pad or the central 'set' button.
To select the sub-menu setting, press 'set'.
One nice feature of the EX-Z40 is the visual characterisation of the 21 different scene modes, both with an example photo and explanation text. Here are a few examples:
Here is a play back mode display showing the whole image.
Zooming in on an image, there is a modest 4x maximum.
The play back menu provides access to functions like a slide show, though this particular option is limited to the screen on the camera itself as there is no TV connection facility.
DXO Analyzer test results
Dpnow has invested in a
DXO Analyzer digital camera test system. We have set up a permanent dedicated test studio that accommodates the 1.2m by 0.9m DXO Analyzer test target and our other optical test equipment. The DXO test target is mounted on 1cm thick plate glass, weighing 25kg and, in turn mounted on a custom-manufactured stainless steel stand. As the studio does not need to be set up again each time it is used, lighting and other variables remain consistent from day to day.
This is the first review we have published using DXO Analyzer test data. We believe the use of DXO Analyzer provides valuable test information to supplement, but most definitely not replace, our more conventional use of standard ISO resolution and Gretag Macbeth colour charts and, of course, analysis of actual images taken using the camera being tested both on-screen an in prints using an Epson Stylus Photo 2100 printer.
In brief, the DXO Analyzer system provides computer analysis of test target images taken by cameras on test to provide data on curvilinear distortion (barrel and pincushion bowing), chromatic aberration (where colours separate due to insufficient focus correction in the lens optics), vignetting (darkening of the corners of the frame), image noise and, finally, image sharpness, measured in a DXO-proprietary Blur eXperience Unit (BXU).
Comparisons
To help put the DXO Analyzer test results for the Casio Exilim EX-Z40 into perspective, we present a comparison with selected results from a similar specification competitor camera, in this instance the Fujifilm FinePix F440. Both cameras are compact, slim and have a similar specification, price and target market.
Chromatic Aberration
All camera lenses exhibit a degree of chromatic aberration (CA) because the component colours of white visible light cannot be focussed by a single lens in one spot. You can see this easily for yourself by using a magnifying glass to project an image onto sheet of paper. Especially towards the edges of the scene, you start to see rainbow colours where you'd expect to see solid hues this is CA. Modern camera lenses use a combination of lens elements to optically correct for CA but it's impossible to eliminate completely across the entire focussing and zoom range. Digital camera purple fringing, found at bright, high contrast edge boundaries in an image, is not optical CA in the conventional sense and this test is not designed to measure purple fringing. We look for purple fringing, in real world test images.
The graphics below show measured CA plotted across the image frame, as indicated by the colour scale under each plot. The colour scale does not relate the colour of any aberration but to the extent, in pixels of the problem Blue (starting at zero) is good and red (to three pixels) is bad. The sharpness and shape of boundaries in the colour maps also indicate whether CA gradually appears towards the corners, which is good, or if there is a sharp or non-symmetrical degradation.
Casio EX-Z40 (left) vs Fujifilm F440 (right)
At the wide angle zoom setting and at full aperture, the EX-Z40 has a fairly typical compact camera CA plot. The F440 shows a more gradual trend towards the corners both are pretty much normal for the type of camera.
At a mid-zoom range setting the EX-Z40's average CA level shows an increase but the corner trend is less steep and the same can be said of the F440, though the latter has the edge in the centre of the frame.
At full telephoto zoom, the EX-Z40's CA map has become asymmetrical and particularly poor in the left hand corners. We repeated the test target shot on several occasions to eliminate any possible errors, but the results were consistent. The F440's lens extends its advantage clearly over the EX-Z40 at this zoom setting.
Curvilinear distortion
Here we show results, once again, for each camera at a wide, mid and telephoto zoom setting to evaluate any geometric distortion of the image. Two plots for each camera at each zoom setting are shown, one representing the actual distortion as if it had been photographed and reproduced normally and the second showing a 5x amplification of the distortion to magnify the error.
Both cameras perform well given the wide angle zoom setting tested, with slight barrel distortion being the norm.
At the mid-zoom setting the curves have almost disappeared, with the Pentax-sourced lens of the EX-Z40 marginally superior.
At full telephoto setting there is hardly any visible distortion. Some cameras will produce visible inward bowing of the margins (pincushion distortion) but not here both cameras have passed this test well.
Sharpness
At first site this might seem overly technical, but it's easy to understand really. A Blur eXperience Unit or BXU is a measurement of perceived sharpness in an image. It was devised by DXO to approximate the way the human eye sees the sharpness or lack of sharpness characterised as blur in an image. This test was designed to differentiate resolution from sharpness as an image with good resolution can also look blurry. The test doesn't really differentiate between 'good' sharpness and 'bad' over-sharpening that is found in a lot of cheaper cameras, but we will let you know if over-sharpening is detected in our visual appraisal of real world test images and our ISO resolution test target shots.
The main thing to remember with BXU, the smaller the unit value, the better!
The BXU test has immediately highlighted a problem with our EX-Z40 we already noticed in our test shots very poor sharpness in the diagonally opposite corners top left to bottom right, although sharpness in the centre is good. Remember, the smaller the BXU number the better the sharpness. This would suggest that the EX-Z40's image sensor is out of alignment with the lens along the top-right to bottom-left axis.
The F440's results are much more even. The EX-Z40 has superior sharpness at the centre, though looking at our ISO resolution test results for both cameras, it does appear that the EX-Z40 applies more in-camera sharpening than the F440.
At the mid-zoom setting the EX-Z40 has recovered some composure, but the F440 remains more even and consistent.
The F440 remains consistent, though with an average BXU rating of nearly 3, sharpness is not especially good and this was certainly evident in the test photos we took.
At full telephoto zoom setting the poor sharpness in the EX-Z40's result has migrated to the opposite diagonally facing corners. This would suggest that the lens mechanics are not aligned consistently throughout the zoom range. This could be a design defect, a manufacturing problem or even the result of a knock to the camera, but if it's the latter, there is no external sign of damage. We're expecting to test another Casio camera which uses the same lens soon and we will be looking out for similar inconsistencies then.
Vignetting
Vignetting is the darkening of the corners of an image visible in skies and other scenes where there is an expanse of light area. Vignetting can be noticeable in digital cameras for a number of reasons including physically small diameter lenses in relation to the sensor size and lens optics not optimised for digital sensors.
As with the CA test earlier, blue is good and red is bad. When you see a cross in the image map, this denotes the central point of the vignette when it is not dead centre in the frame.
In both cameras, as you would expect, vignetting is minimal at the telephoto end of the zoom range. The F440 once again proves superior overall especially at the wide end of the zoom.
Image noise
We're currently working with DXO Analyzer version 1.25 and although it does measure noise, for various technical reasons the way it works means we can't usefully compare results with different cameras. We're informed that version 2.0 of the software, expected to be available some time in November, in conjunction with an additional test target, should solve this problem. In the mean time, below we can show the increase in noise the higher the ISO setting of the EX-Z40 and, in particular, the much worse noise detected in the blue channel.
Although blue channel noise is a common problem with digital cameras, causing graining of blue skies, for example, the unusually large difference between the overall luminance noise level and the blue channel is a poor result.
Standard Test charts
On this page we examine the conventional test charts you may be familiar with already. We continue to use these tests in conjunction with DXO Analyzer. Both sets of tests are very complementary.
Framing accuracy
It's all very well having a zillion megapixel camera, but if the camera only lets you frame a fraction of the actual scene being recorded, millions of those pixels can go to waste.
Above is the standard ISO test chart for electronic cameras as framed by our test camera. As you can see, the Casio Exilim Zoom EX-Z40 allowed us to frame the test chart almost perfectly, with a practically 100% view of the scene being recorded.
Resolution
The resolving power of a camera is important to understand in relation to sharpness. The ISO test target gives a good indication of the resolving power of a camera, which is affected by both the lens and the sensor as well as the image processing engine inside the camera.
Sharpness and resolution are not the same. An image can be less sharp than another but record the same amount of detail. Careful sharpening can clarify the detail and produce a better image, but sharpening cannot clarify detail that isn't there.
Below are two sections from a standard resolution chart taken by the Casio EX-Z40 and the same Fujifilm F440 we used for comparison purposes in the DXO Analyzer tests. The reason why the F440 selections look grainy is because they were taken using ISO 200 instead of 100 as we normally would.
Casio Exilim Zoom EX-Z40, ISO 100, f/3.5. f=62mm (equiv zoom setting)
The detail is noticeably sharper than the F440 below, but if anything there is slightly less resolving power in the EX-Z40 with the EX-Z40 running out of definition at just after the 13 mark and the F440 practically making it to 14.
Fujifilm FinePix F440, ISO 200, f/4.1, f=82mm (equiv zoom setting)
The F440 has a slight (half a stop) advantage at f/4.1 over the EX-Z40 (a smaller aperture can help resolution up to a point), but this is kind of balanced by the extra noise in the image because of the ISO 200 setting.
Casio Exilim Zoom EX-Z40, ISO 100, f/3.5. f=62mm (equiv zoom setting)
The slight diagonal patterning in the three central regions above shows aliasing issues have begun to make themselves felt. This is a probable sign of over-sharpening compared to the relatively clean performance of the F440 below.
Fujifilm FinePix F440, ISO 200, f/4.1, f=82mm (equiv zoom setting)
Although the EX-Z40 is 'sharper', the F440 resolves slightly more detail and is relatively free of unsightly digital artefacts.
Colour chart
Currently we use a Gretag Macbeth ColorChecker DC chart to evaluate digital camera colour quality. The target is lit using a custom-built daylight colour temperature lighting system. Special Solux tungsten halogen dichroic reflector lamps are used, over-driven by a custom-made DC power supply to generate an even 'hotter' colour temperature (which means a 'colder' white balance) than their 4700 Kelvin rating at 12V.
Special patented Solux dichroic lamps are designed to lose unwanted UV and infra red out the back of the lamp through the semi-reflective reflector. Combined with our over-drive power supply, the actual illumination on the test target is particularly close to natural sunlight, with a well-matched colour spectrum, especially compared to so-called fluorescent daylight lamps that exhibit spikes across the colour spectrum.
Our lighting rig means cameras can operate normally in auto white balance for the purposes of evaluating colour rendition under consistent and relatively authentic sunny day light illumination emulation, something that would be impossible with the fickle nature of the British weather!
Casio Exilim EX-Z40
The Casio EX-Z40 has a noticeably cooler colour balance than the Fujifilm F440 below. But the white and grey patches are very neutral. Casio has certainly resisted the temptation to over-saturate colours, a trick that proves too tempting for a lot of manufacturers of consumer digital cameras.
Fujifilm FinePix F440
By comparison, the F440's colours are decidedly on the warm side, with pronounced yellows and almost orangey reds.
Dayglo fluorescent colours
We've been doing this test for a while now. Fluorescent cards are photographed under the same daylight rig as the ColorChecker DC chart (above). Fluorescent colours are particularly difficult for digital cameras to reproduce.
Casio Exilim EX-Z40
The EX-Z40 fares little better (above) than most of its rivals, with rather washed out results, especially the yellow.
Fujifilm FinePix F440
While the F440 has more saturated orange, red and green hues, the yellow is even flatter than the EX-Z40.
White balance
Here we test the ability of the camera to cope with low levels of artificial light without using flash. Both a standard 60W soft white light bulb and an equivalent brightness low energy fluorescent replacement lamp are used fitted in a holder with a small white reflector, mounted about 100cm over the test scene, comprising some colourful ornaments and the ColorChecker DC chart against a white background. Shots are taken with the camera's white balance set to auto for both types of light source and for respectively matching preset white balance settings.
We are not comparing the EX-Z40 with another camera for this test.
Fluorescent light source with camera auto white balance set.
This is a very good result for the EX-Z40, with near neutral greys and whites. The test image is underexposed, though.
Fluorescent light source with in-camera fluorescent tube white balance preset option selected. The spectrums of different fluorescent light sources vary considerably. Only one preset for fluorescent light is offered by the EX-Z40 and it did not match our light source at all well.
Tungsten filament (ordinary light bulb) light source with camera auto white balance selected. The image is under exposed, but it's reasonably neutral, though some warmth lingers.
Tungsten filament (ordinary light bulb) light source with camera tungsten white balance preset selected. Apart from the image being too dark, colour balance is practically neutral.
Macro (close) focus coverage
For the first time we are using a new test target we developed specifically for this test. It is designed to show the minimum area that can fill the frame, in square cm, at closest focus. The 1cm squares (black and grey) also show curvilinear distortion if present. We try to test the camera at fullest wide zoom setting, mid-zoom and full-tele, though not all cameras permit zooming in macro mode.
Wide zoom
Barrel distortion is evident and lateral coverage of 5cm is a respectable, but not spectacular.
Mid zoom
It is not possible to zoom to full tele with the EX-Z40 in macro mode. However, the mid-zoom setting provides much better close coverage than the wide zoom setting and with a lot less barrel distortion. Filling the frame with as little as 3.3cm across is a good performance and the end of the lens isn't inconveniently close to the subject either.
Test photos
On this page we have a selection of shots taken using the Casio Exilim EX-Z40 supplied for review.
This shot was taken in bright late afternoon summer sunlight. The conditions were extremely contrasty and it's not surprising to see burned out highlights, though the shadows haven't suffered too badly. Some softness in the corners of the frame, as identified in our test chart analysis is even visible in these images reproduced at smaller size for the Web.
This time I've moved the girls to the shade under a tree. Exposure is slightly on the dark side but the colours are mostly true. Even this relatively low contrast shot caused purple fringing with some cameras we tested around the edges of the white chairs, but the EX-Z40 kept this problem under control in all but the most extreme conditions.
Flare when the sun was in front of the camera was a problem the EX-Z40 failed to cope with well compared to other cameras tested at the same time.
With its 35mm (equiv) wide angle zoom limit, you get good, but not generous coverage. The green grass and blue of the skies is reproduced well, while the white in the houses remains neutral. Exposure is good.
At full (105mm equiv) telephoto zoom setting, there is a slight darkening of the scene, but it's not as bad as other cameras we tested. Colours are again neutral.
This shot of a classic GPO phone box can be a tough test for some cameras. The red paint is perhaps a smidgen too blue in balance, but overall not bad.
This is one of the test shots we examined in printed form. Colours are good, but sharpness is inconsistent and the model farm animals are more washed out than other cameras we tested at the same time.
Indoor flash performance close to the subject was very good, with no burned out highlights despite the dark background. Skin tones were reproduced well too. The use of red-eye reduction mode only made a marginal difference and red-eye overall wasnt a major problem. Despite the absence of an AF assist lamp, the EX-Z40 usually managed to focus well on the subject in dark areas.
The EX-Z40's built in flash was about average for the class of camera in terms of power and as this image shows, there is a sharp fall off in intensity towards the extreme corners of the frame.
Using the EX-Z40's night scene mode, it's possible to get effective results, though a tripod would be vital as this mode results in exposures as long as several seconds.
Noise and fringing
Taken at ISO 100, above is a portion of the frame magnified by about 50%. The image illustrates two things: on the bad side - excessive blue channel noise grain in the sky area, as detected in the DXO Analyzer tests and on the good side purple fringing being kept under control. Fringing isn't absent, but it's really not a problem with the EX-Z40. General image noise is not too bad and almost undetectable in normal conditions, apart from blue areas, at ISO 100. Noise gradually builds up as ISO speed is increased, being quite noticeable at ISO 400 but this is comparable to many of the EX-Z40's peers.
Using the camera
Casio has designed the Exilim EX-Z40 to be easy to use. This does mean some more sophisticated features are missing. There is no manual control of aperture and shutter speed settings, nor full manual exposure mode. This will frustrate some photographers but at least you can manually select ISO speeds to suit conditions and white balance settings. 21 scene-specific modes are available and you can set your own scene mode based on a photo you have previously taken. Unfortunately, the printed user guide supplied is far too brief and offers no help for the camera's more advanced features. A much more detailed manual is supplied as a pdf document on the utility CD.
Compact camera operation checklists
Exposure modes:
| Full auto program |
Yes
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| Exposure over and under bias control | Yes
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| Auto with user choice of shutter speed and aperture | No
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| Shutter priority auto | No
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| Aperture priority auto | No
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| Manual exposure | No
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| Manual ISO speed selection | Yes
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| Spot metering | No
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| Matrix metering | Yes
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| Live histogram | Yes
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| Histogram in instant review mode | No
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Notes: There are 21 scene-specific modes with useful advice and example images shown on-screen. The ISO speed is not recorded in the EXIF camera data for each image, a worrying trend in cameras recently.
Focus modes:
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Spot autofocus | Yes
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| Wide autofocus | Yes
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| User selectable AF points | No
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| Manual focus | Yes
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| Manual focus check zoom | Yes
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| Infinity lock | Yes
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| Close focus (macro) | Yes
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Notes Manual focus is a nice touch and works quite well. A novel feature is Pan Focus (PF) mode. This switches autofocus off and sets the focus to an optimal point according to the zoom and aperture setting to capture moderately near and far subject with the depth of field (sharp focus) range of the lens. AS AF is switched off, delays while the focus is being determined, although generally not a problem with the EX-Z40, are avoided completely. PF can also be employed with AF switched. When enabled, if you don't half-press the shutter release to give time for the AF to kick-in, the camera defaults to PF mode instead. It's a clever way of combating the perennial problem of shutter delay in digital cameras and in our hands it worked quite well.
Flash:
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Slow sync | No
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| Red-eye reduction | Yes
|
| Flash hot shoe | No
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| External sync socket | No
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Notes: There isn't a manual slow sync option for lighting up the background when using flash, but some of the night time scene modes appear to offer a similar solution.
Shooting modes:
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Continuous shooting | No
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| Self timer |
Yes
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| Short delay self timer |
Yes
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| Movie mode |
Yes
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| Sound with movie |
Yes
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| Audio record only |
Yes
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Notes: Movie mode is AVI motion JPEG at QVGA (320x240) resolution. Quality is nothing to write home about and the frame rate is rather low. It's surprising that a continuous shooting mode is not provided.
Image quality controls:
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Sharpness | No
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| White balance | Yes
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| Colour saturation | No
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| Contrast | No
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| Post-shot red-eye removal | No
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| Smart image optimisation | No
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Notes: Pre-programmed scene-specific modes available provide set adjustments to some of these parameters.
Framing aids:
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Grid | Yes
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| Scene-only view | Yes
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| Focus distance scale | Yes (PF mode only)
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| Panorama stitching | No
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Notes: Although the LCD is large, it only has 85,000 dots, which makes the screen display slightly coarse. Although the visible viewing angle of the TFT display was good, display quality deteriorated noticeably when bright areas were being displayed. The screen was difficult to view in bright sunlight. Low light viewing was also afflicted by on-screen noise.
Playback:
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Zoom | Yes up to 4x
|
| Multiple thumbnail browse | Yes 9 at a time
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| Histogram view | Yes
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| Exposure setting information | Yes
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| Resize | Yes
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| Rotate | Yes
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| Crop | Yes
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| Original image retained after edit | Yes
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| DPOF print order selection | Yes
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| Image protect (from erasure) | Yes
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| Slide show | Yes
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Notes: Playback facilities are good so it's a shame you can't connect the camera to a TV.
External connectivity:
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Pictbridge | Via docking cradle only
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| Audio port | No
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| Video port | No
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| USB | Via docking cradle only
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| High Speed USB | No
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| Firewire IEEE1394 | No
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| Power | Via docking cradle only
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| Universal world standard AC adapter | Via docking cradle only
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Notes: The docking cradle supports an automatic image download function when used with supplied software. USB transfers can be made without the AC adapter attached. Transfer rates of about 0.6MB/sec were measured only rising marginally when transferring to or from a high-speed SD card, indicating the USB port is not of the high-speed variety. The relatively large llithium ion battery lasted extremely well between charges.
Handling
As its large screen dominates the back of the EX-Z40, it's all too easy to press a button by accident when handling the camera. The buttons are far too sensitive to resist accidental pressure.
You can directly power-on the camera in either playback or recording mode using one of the two buttons above the screen without having to use the top-plate power button.
Responsiveness
The EX-Z40 takes about two seconds to power-up or power-down, which is good, but not the fastest in class. Autofocus speed is good and generally accurate when the central spot mode is used. Overall shutter responsiveness, including AF lock, was also judged to be good and delay was hardly detectable in practice when the Pan Focus mode was employed.
A continuous shooting mode is not offered with the EX-Z40. By repeatedly pressing the shutter release, if you use the cameras's internal memory or an inexpensive slow SD or MMC card, you can shoot two or maybe three pictures, two seconds apart, before the buffer fills and prevents another shot from being made. The good news is that by using a high-speed SD card, the buffer was emptied faster than we could shoot the next shot at a rate of about one shot every two seconds.
Operational noise
Full control over the volume of operational 'beeps' and other sounds generated by the camera is provided. The lens extension, zooming and autofocus motors are generally unobtrusive and refined.
Software
Two software CDs are supplied with the Casio Exilim EX-Z40, one containing Casio software, plus a crucial extended camera user guide in pdf form and the second CD contains a copy of Kodak EasyShare 3.2.
The first Casio software utility is called Photo Loader:
Photo Loader detects when the camera is docked and connected via USB and automatically prompts you to start copying images from the camera.
Transfer progress is indicated by a bright green status bar.
Once the pictures have been loaded, you can view them using Internet Explorer. If you have Windows XP Service Pack 2 installed, Photo Loader falls foul of IE's added suppression of pop-up windows, though you can switch this off if you prefer.
Some might find themselves at home with Photo Loader, but it's difficult to see what advantage it has over good old Windows My Pictures image viewing.
The second program from Casio is called Photohands:
This is a very basic and rather over-simplified image fixer program. It rather looks like it was designed for kids to use.
Someone at Casio must have realised that the own-branded software above wasn't particularly inspiring, which possibly explains why a Kodak EasyShare CD was thrown in:
EasyShare is a well thought out image management package for beginners which features an album system, CD-burning capabilities and key word organisation of selected images. It also has some good basic image fixing and enhancing facilities. It also helps you to print photos to your computer's printer or via a Kodak online photo printing service. And it's free well, the software at least - you can download the latest version from Kodak's Web site. It's certainly a lot better than the Casio software.
Unfortunately, EasyShare is also a controversial package. It uses a BackWeb routine to maintain the software by background checking for latest versions. Unfortunately, BackWeb is associated with so-called Spyware and does trigger anti-Spyware alerts. We have been repeatedly assured by Kodak that no information is stolen by its use of BackWeb in EasyShare and we are confident this is fact. Anyway, if you have a good software firewall installed on your computer you should be able prevent BackWeb from bothering you, though you will have to manually update your software when the next new version is released.
Conclusions and ratings
Here is our concise summary of our experience with the camera we tested.
Camera model: Casio Exilim Zoom EX-Z40
Firmware version number: 1.00
Serial number: 1128876A
Camera supplied by: Casio UK
Features
Design and build quality
Ease of use
Performance
Image quality
Value for money
Good things about the Casio Exilim Zoom EX-Z40:
Stylish slim design
Large LCD display
Excellent battery charge life
Consistently exposed images in normal lighting conditions
Neutral colour quality in images
Well-suppressed purple fringing
Pan Focus feature
Good close focus (macro) performance
Generally easy to use
Can benefit from faster memory cards
Competitively priced
Not so good things about the Casio Exilim Zoom EX-Z40:
Control buttons too easily pressed accidentally
Inconsistent image sharpness
A touch too much in-camera sharpening
Excessive blue channel noise
Limited controls for more ambitious photographers
No continuous shooting mode
Relatively poor LCD display quality
No audio or video (TV-out) ports
USB and battery charging connection only via docking cradle
Unimpressive movie mode
Printed manual very brief
The bottom line:
I had high hopes for the Casio Exilim Zoom EX-Z40. It looks and feels great and while it's compact and slim, it's robust without being too heavy. Once you learn to hold the camera carefully and avoid pressing the various controls by mistake, which is too easily done, the camera is easy to use if lacking some more advanced creative controls. The lack of AV ports, even via the supplied docking cradle is disappointing, as is the lack of a continuous shooting mode.
Image quality was a mixed bag our sample clearly had a problem that manifested itself in the form of inconsistent sharpness across the frame. The problem is not a disaster, but keen photographers will spot the problem fairly easily. It's hard not to point a finger at the unusual mechanicals featured inside Pentax-made lens, which enables it to retract so tightly, for an explanation of the sharpness issues. If it weren't for the image quality inconsistencies, the EX-Z40 would have earned a 'Recommended' rating easily, but as it stands we can only award it the lower rating:
"Worth considering"
Digital Photography Now is a member of the DIWA organisation and our test results for Casio Exilim EX-Z40 have been submitted to DIWA for comparison with test results for different samples of the same camera model supplied by other DIWA member sites.
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Detailed specifications
| Recording Element: | 1/2.5 inch primary colour CCD;
(4,230,000 pixels total, 4,000,000 pixels effective)
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| Recording Format: | Still Images: JPEG (Exif. Ver. 2.2), DCF standard, DPOF compliant
Movies: AVI (Open DML Motion JPEG standard) Audio: WAV
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| Recording Medium: | Built-in flash memory (approx. 9.7MB), SD memory card / MMC
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| Images Sizes: | Photo: 2304 x 1728, 2304 x 1536 (3:2), 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 640 x
480; (Fine/Normal/Economy)
Movie: 320 x 240, (15fps)
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| Lens: | f= 5.8 (W) to 17.4 (T) mm (equivalent to 33 to 105mm in 35mm format), lens barrier
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| Zoom: | 3 x optical, 4x digital zoom
(12x total when used in combination)
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| Focusing: | Contrast AF (selectable from spot and multi); manual focus; pan focus;
macro; infinite; focus lock
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| Focus Range: | Normal: 40cm to 8; Macro: 6 - 50cm
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| Exposure Control: | Metering: multi pattern; Exposure: program AE; Compensation: -2EV to +2EV (in 1/3 EV units)
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| Shutter: | CCD shutter, mechanical shutter,
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| Shutter speed: | 4 to 1/2000sec (night mode incl.)
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| Aperture: | Auto (F2.6/4.8)
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| Sensitivity: | Auto, ISO50 , ISO100, ISO200, ISO400
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| Self-Timer: | 10 seconds or 2 seconds; triple self-timer
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| Flash Modes: | Auto, Flash On, Flash Off, Red Eye Reduction
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| Flash Range: | Approx. 0.5 to 3.4 metres (W); 0.4 to 1.8 metres (T)
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| Recording Modes: | Still image, self-timer, movie with audio, BESTSHOT*, still image with audio, voice recording, macro, coupling shot, pre shot, world time, calendar (preprogrammed to the year 2049)
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| Monitor / Viewfinder: | 2.0" digital TFT colour LCD (84,960) with 100% view; optical viewfinder
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| Playback: | Enlarge (4x), resize, trimming, movie playback, 9-picture display, reverse, rotate, calendar, Photo stand (slide show), custom start up screen, roulette
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| Data transmission: | USB cradle connection
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| Stand-by operation: | approx. 1 sec. (Direct-On, recording mode)
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| Power supply: | Proprietary lithium ion rechargeable battery; AC adaptor
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| Dimensions: | 87 x 57 x 23.1 mm (W x H x D) excl. projections
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| Weight: | Approx. 121g (excl. batteries and accessories)
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| Supplied with: | USB cable, AC-Adaptor for docking station, hand strap, rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery, users quickguide, CD-ROM
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