Just like the Casio Exilim EX-S770
reviewed recently, the Casio Exilim EX-Z1000 offers the possibility
of using a traditional interface that places icons around
the periphery of the monitor to indicate current camera mode
and settings, or a novel, Casio-designed user interface. This
interface, called the Operation Panel, presents
a settings/menu on the right side of the 2.8-inch LCD monitor,
shifting the image to the left side of the wide screen without
making it smaller as long as the 4:3 aspect ratio is used.
The Operation Panel view makes it possible to adjust settings
(Image Size, Flash mode, Focus mode, Self-Timer, Anti-Shake,
Sensitivity, White Balance, Exposure Compensation, and the
Time and Date) directly, without having to access the corresponding
menu sections.
The rest of the interface, the menus, are standard, and similar
to those of other Casio cameras. Whether set to a capture
mode or the playback mode, an access is provided to the Setup
menu to adjust basic camera settings:
Sounds controls the sounds made by the camera:
Startup: 5 sounds or Off.
Half Shutter: 5 sounds or Off.
Shutter: 5 sounds or Off.
Operation: 5 sounds or Off.
Volume: allows controlling the sound volume
from 0 to +7.
Startup: controls whether or not the camera displays
the Exilim logo animation, or a photo captured by the camera,
or nothing when it is powered on.
File No. decides how image files are numbered:
either Continuous, which numbers the files sequentially;
or Reset, which restarts numbering photos at 1 whenever
the camera's memory is formatted, or a freshly formatted
or blank memory card is used.
World Time provides for a home time by selecting
a home city, and a world or travel destination time. The
time in either place can then be selected for display.
Timestamp: decides whether or not the date, or
date and time at which a photo is captured will be permanently
superimposed on the image.
Adjust: serves to adjust the time and date on the
EX-Z1000.
Date Style selects the way the date will be presented:
YY/MM/DD; or DD/MM/YY; or MM/DD/YY.
Language selects the interface language: Japanese,
English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Traditional
Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, or Korean. (Note
that the region of the world where the camera is purchased
impacts the languages available).
Sleep: decides the time delay after which the EX-Z1000
goes into sleep mode if unused (30 seconds, 1 or 2 minutes
or Off).
Auto Power Off: determines when the camera powers
down automatically after a period of inactivity (2 or 5
minutes).
REC / PLAY controls whether the
and
can be used to turn on/off the camera. Three options are
available:
Power On: the buttons can be used to turn on
the camera, but not to turn it off.
Power On/Off: the buttons can be used to turn
on or off the camera.
Disable: requires the power switch mounted
next to the shutter release to be used to turn on or
off the camera.
USB controls the USB protocol:
Mass Storage (USB Direct-Print) lets
the camera be recognized as a hard disk by a personal
computer, or allows it to be used to print directly
to an Epson Direct-Print compliant printer.
PTP (Picture Transfer Protocol) is intended
for use with a PictBridge compatible printer.
Video Out provides settings to connect the EX-Z1000
to a television: NTSC 4:3, NTSC 16:9, PAL 4:3, PAL 16:9.
Format serves to format an SD/MMC memory card,
or the camera's built-in memory.
Reset: returns the EX-Z1000 to its factory defaults
(Reset, or Cancel).
Casio includes a complete manual with the EX-Z1000, but only
in PDF format. The manual provides bookmarks to reach most sections,
but is poorly organized. For example, when covering menu options,
the manual does not follow the same order as the camera, forcing
the reader to hunt around through the manual for many of the
options. Likewise, although a complete list of the menu options
with a brief description of all menus is provided near the end
of the manual, it lacks links the appropriate section, making
it difficult to discover the precise function of some of the
options.
Software
One CD is included with the Casio EX-Z1000 in North America.
The disc contains a number of programs for computers using
Microsoft Windows, but only a limited offering for Mac:
The disc is called CASIO
Digital Camera Software:
For Microsoft Windows:
Photo Loader 3.0
Photohands 1.0
USB Driver B
Adobe Reader 6.0
Direct X
Microsoft DirectX 9.0c
For Macintosh:
Photo Loader 1.1
In addition, manuals for the
camera, Photo Loader, and Photohands are included on the disc
in PDF format.
Photo Loader is a utility that, once the EX-Z1000
is connected to the computer via USB, automatically downloads
images and videos to the computer.
Photohands 1.0 is a very simplistic image editor,
that has been included with Casio cameras for the last few
years. The program has a surprising interface that appears
to have been designed for very young children.
Images are located using the first of the round buttons on
the right side. Once a folder containing photos is selected,
the images appear in a vertical film strip that occupies the
window with a green background in the screen capture shown
below.
At this point, the user has to select one of the 4 icons,
stacked on the left side of the program's window, to work
with a selected image. These icons are the primary user interface
of the program.
Starting at the top, a chameleon
icon indicates the program's photo retouching options: adjustments
for contrast, brightness, saturation, sharpness, noise removal
or "filter" which converts the image to either sepia
or black and white.
A Before and After view is available, but
the After window is quite small and unable to show
any detail, making it quite difficult to appreciate how the
image has changed.
The second icon, a kangaroo,
is the indicator for the program's image resizing function.
Images can be resized up or down, without any apparent limit,
save for the program's own limitation at handling memory.
The third icon is a koala, indicating Photohands' capability
of rotating images. Images can be rotated by 90° clockwise
or counter-clockwise, by a full 180°, or flipped horizontally
or vertically.
The fourth and last icon
is a dog, a piece of paper clenched in its jaws: it represents
the program's ability to print, either in landscape or portrait,
and imprint the date on the photo.
Those wanting to edit or re-work photos captured with the
EX-Z1000 might be well-advised to consider using a more flexible
program.
Compare Prices for Casio Exilim EX-Z1000 10MP 3X Zoom Digital Camera - Silver
Interface & Software
and 
can be used to turn on/off the camera. Three options are
available:
