Casio Exilim EX-Z120

Reviewed March 2006

Characteristics

The Casio Exilim EX-Z120 is equipped with a 1/1.8 inch, 7.41 million pixel CCD of which 7.2 million pixels are effective when capturing a 3072 x 2304 pixel image.

CCD sensitivity starts at 50 ISO, but can be pushed to 100, 200 or 400 ISO, or simply set to Auto, which allows the camera to adjust it as necessary between 50 and 200 ISO, according to ambient light conditions. In addition, both the Anti-Shake and High Sensitivity modes allow the sensitivity to increase up to 1600 ISO.

The EX-Z120 has a 3X optical zoom with a focal length that covers from 7.9 to 23.7 mm, the equivalent of a 38 to 114 mm lens on a 35 mm camera. The lens is composed of 7 elements in 5 groups and includes one aspherical surface to control optical distortions. It also has a diaphragm with 2 apertures, f2.8 and f4 when the zoom is at the wide angle end, becoming f5.1 and f7.4 at the telephoto end.

Moreover, the camera is equipped with a 4X digital zoom that must be activated in the menu.

When active, the digital zoom takes over when the optical zoom reaches its maximum magnification, and works by cropping the central portion of the image and interpolating it to the currently selected image size, causing a progressively greater loss of sharpness as its magnification effect is increased.

The two apertures of the EX-Z120's lens work in combination with a shutter speed range that covers from 1/1600 second down to 60 seconds, although with some limitations as the range available depends on the capture mode in use. With most shooting modes the longest exposure time available to the camera is 1/8 second. With the Aperture Priority mode, the maximum exposure time is 1 second, and with the Night Scene and Night Scene Portrait modes, the maximum exposure time is 4 seconds, while with the Fireworks mode the maximum is 2 seconds. Only when the shutter priority mode or the Manual mode are used is a 60 second exposure possible.

Photos can be recorded at any one of six image sizes:

7M:	3072 x 2304 pixels.
7M (3:2):	3072 x 2048 pixels (a 3:2 format that is ideal for 4 x 6 and 5 x 7 prints).
5M:	2560 x 1920 pixels.
3M:	2048 x 1536 pixels.
2M:	1600 x 1200 pixels.
VGA:	640 x 480 pixels.

And images captured with the EX-Z120 can be saved at any one of 3 JPEG compression levels:

• Fine, which applies a compression that has a ratio of approximately 5:1 and offers the highest image quality;
• Normal, which applies a stronger compression with a ratio of approximately 7.5:1;
• and Economy, which has the strongest compression with a ratio in the 15:1 range.

The EX-Z120 has few external controls, and settings such as the image size and quality are made in the menu. All but one capture mode access the same menu, the exception being the Easy mode, which has a short 3-option menu:

• Flash: allows selecting from Auto, Forced On, or Forced Off.
• Self-timer: controls the 10-second shutter release delay.
• Image Size limits the choices to 3 image sizes while setting the image compression to Normal:
  • 7M: recommended to print A4-size photos.
  • 3M: indicated as being suited to make 3.5" x 5" prints.
  • VGA: recommended for e-mail use.
• Exit Menu: clears the menu off the monitor.

As noted above, all other capture modes, including the Best Shot Scene mode, share the same menu, a menu composed of three sections: REC, Quality and Set Up. The first section, REC, contains the following options:

• Continuous: On or Off, selects the continuous capture mode. The frame rate varies according to the available shutter speed, the image size and quality selected, and whether the internal memory is being used or a memory card.
• Self-timer: offers two preset delay times of 2 or 10 seconds, or a triple self-timer that captures the first image after a 10 second delay and then captures 2 more one after the other, separated only by the time required to store the image.
• AF Area controls the area used for the auto focus. Multi uses 9 AF areas clustered around the centre of the frame. Spot concentrates the AF point at the centre of the frame.

• Anti Shake: this option has a similar effect as selecting the Anti Shake Scene mode. Anti shake works only when the sensitivity is set to Auto as it increases the CCD sensitivity up to 1600 ISO to maximize the shutter speed and thereby avoid camera shake.
• L/R Keys makes it possible to assign capture mode functions to the right and left arrow keys of the 4-direction control: exposure compensation, white balance, ISO sensitivity, self-timer, metering, or nothing.

• Quick Shutter: On or Off. When On, the Quick Shutter allows the camera to take a photo using the Pan Focus mode, which is used to provide a better than normal depth of field.
• Audio Snap: On or Off. When On, the option allows recording a 30-second or less voice annotation by pressing the shutter release again after capturing an image.
• Grid: On or Off. When On a composition grid is superimposed on the monitor.
• Digital Zoom: On or Off. Controls the 4X digital zoom. (See above.)
• Review: decides whether or not the image is displayed briefly on the monitor immediately post-capture.
• Memory serves to decide which camera settings will be remembered after the camera has been turned off: flash mode, focus mode, white balance, ISO, AF area, metering, self-timer, flash intensity, digital zoom, MF position and zoom position.

The next section, Quality, contains options that have a direct impact on the quality of the image:

• Size: provides settings for all the image sizes available (see above).
• Quality (Snapshots): allows selecting one of the 3 compression levels available (see above).
• Quality (Movies) allows choosing one of the recording formats: HQ, Normal or LP (see the Ergonomics section of the review for more details on these 3 formats).
• EV Shift: allows compensating the exposure over ±2 EV in 1/3 EV increments.

• White Balance: Auto, Sun, Cloudy, Shadow, Daylight White Fluorescent, Daylight Fluorescent, Incandescent or Manual, which makes it possible to establish the white balance for the ambient light. Worth noting: the Manual light balance is temporary, and is not recalled when the camera is turned off, or if the white balance is changed to another setting.
• ISO allows selecting the CCD sensitivity: Auto, 50, 100, 200 or 400 ISO.

• Metering offers three metering patterns: Multi, Centre-weighted or Spot.
• Filter changes the colour of the image: Off, Black and White, Sepia, Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, Pink and Purple.
• Sharpness: to increase or decrease outline sharpness over ± 2 steps.
• Saturation: to control colour saturation over ± 2 steps.
• Contrast: to control contrast over ± 2 steps.
• Flash Intensity: to adjust the flash output over ± 2 steps.
• Flash Assist: On or Off. Automatically brightens the image when the flash is insufficient to light the subject.

The third section of the menu, Set Up, contains basic configuration options for the camera, and is covered in the Interface and Software section of the review.

Set to the Playback mode, the EX-Z120 offers a similar-looking menu, but composed of two sections: Play and Set Up, the second section being the same as is presented in the capture modes. The first section, Play, provides options related to the images captured with the camera:

• Slide Show: allows viewing the images stored on the camera automatically, either on the LCD monitor or on a television. All images can be selected, or only still images, or only movies, or only those that have been tagged as "Favorites". The on-screen time of images can be selected, as can the overall time for the slide show.
• Motion Print: allows extracting an image from a movie. Two formats are available: 9 images (1600 x 1200 pixels), which places the selected image at the centre of a group of 9 images from the movie, with the selected image slightly bigger, or 1 image, which is saved as a 640 x 480 pixel image.

• Movie Editing: serves to cut a movie into 2 parts which must be at least 5 seconds long, or to delete parts of a movie before or after a specific point. Editing is done on the original movie, and cannot be undone.
• White Balance: makes it possible to change the white balance of an image, and record the modified image as a new image.
• Brightness: serves to change the brightness of an image over ±2 increments, and then save the altered image as a new image.

• Favorites: to choose images and save them into a special and separate folder, which can be visible or not. An image from this folder can also be used as a start-up image, displayed when the camera is turned on.
• DPOF: to select images that will be printed, the number of prints to make of each, and whether or not the date will be superimposed on the image. The EX-Z120 is compatible with PictBridge and Epson USB Direct Print, making it possible to connect it directly to a similarly compatible printer, and print photos directly.
• Protect: to tag images so they cannot be accidentally deleted.
• Rotation: to change the orientation of a photo in 90° increments.
• Resize: serves to record a copy of an image that is currently under review at a smaller resolution. Images captured using the 3:2 ratio, or at VGA size, or that have an attached sound file cannot be resized.
• Trimming: makes it possible to record a part of an image that has been magnified on the monitor as a new image. Here again images captured using the 3:2 ratio, or VGA size, or which have an attached sound file cannot be trimmed.
• Dubbing: allows recording a voice annotation, up to 30 seconds long, and attaching it to an image.
• Copy: serves to copy images back and forth between the EX-Z120's internal memory and a memory card, or vice versa.

The Casio Exilim EX-Z120 is equipped with a 8.3 MB internal memory, and in North America is retailed without a memory card. The camera is nevertheless compatible with SD memory cards and MMC (Multimedia) cards. The card slot is covered by a hard plastic door located on the right side of the camera, and the card is ejected by pressing it on its edge.

In view of the fact that the EX-Z120 has a 7.2 megapixel resolution, the internal memory is insufficient and a memory card must be acquired immediately when the camera is purchased.

The chart below is provided as a guide to give an approximate idea of the number of images and the length of the movies that can be recorded using the internal memory and a 1 GB SD card:

The Casio EX-Z120 has 2 external connections, both hidden under a flexible plastic cover directly above the card compartment.

At the top is the DC-in jack, intended for the optional AC-DC adapter (AD-C30), which can be used to power the camera from household current for extended periods of time.

The lower connection is dual purpose, the actual function being decided by the cable used: USB (compatible 2.0 High-Speed) which serves to connect to a computer or a printer, or A/V Out (Audio/Video), the output signal of which, NTSC or PAL, is set in the Set Up section of the menu. (See the Interface and Software section of the review for more information about the Set Up menu options.)

Power for the EX-Z120 comes from 2 AA-size batteries, housed underneath the camera and covered by a solid latching door. While not supplied, the use of Ni-MH rechargeable batteries is recommended to give the camera better autonomy than can be had with alkaline batteries.