Casio Exilim EX-Z120

Reviewed March 2006

Interface & Software

Interface

Overall, the Exilim EX-Z120's interface is quite legible and clear, although the monitor's resolution is quite low: Casio uses a mix of icons and bold white characters, which improves legibility. As there are few external controls, many settings are made in the menus, and the speed at which the camera responds to the controls is commendable.

The EX-Z120's menu system is typical of Casio cameras: clear, well-organized, and fast to use. For example, the camera remembers the last accessed section of the menu, and returns there when the menu is called up again, making it quicker to access options that tend to be used more than once during a session.

Aside from the Easy mode, all menus contain a direct access to the camera's basic Setup options:

• Sounds controls all the sounds produced by the EX-Z120:
  • Start-up: 5 sounds or Off.
  • Half Shutter: 5 sounds or Off.
  • Shutter: 5 sounds or Off.
  • Operation: 5 sounds or Off.
  • Operation Volume: allows setting the volume from 0 to 7.
  • Playback Volume: allows setting the volume from 0 to 7.

• Battery Type: serves to let the camera know the type of battery in use so it can maximize autonomy (Alkaline, Ni-MH or Lithium).
• Start up: to choose if during start-up the camera displays the Exilim logo, a selected image from the Favorites folder, or nothing.
• File No.: to decide whether images are numbered continuously, or restart at 1 once the card has been emptied of images, or formatted, or a new card used.

• World Time serves to select a Home time, and a Destination time, and then select which is active. In turn, this makes it possible to record the correct time at which photos where captured.
• Adjust: to set the internal clock and calendar of the camera.

• Date Style: serves to select the way the date is displayed: YY/MM/DD or DD/MM/YY or MM/DD/YY.
• Language: Japanese, English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, or Chinese.
• Sleep: to decide the delay time after which the EX-Z120 will enter the sleep mode (30 seconds, 1 or 2 minutes, or Off).
• Auto Power Off: to select the delay time after which the inactive camera will power down (2 or 5 minutes).

• REC / PLAY to select one of three possible behaviours for the and buttons:
  • Power On: the buttons can be used to turn On the camera, but not turn it Off.
  • Power On/Off: the buttons can be used to turn the camera On and Off.
  • Disable: Only the top mounted On/Off switch can be used to turn On and Off the camera.
• USB selects the protocol for the USB connection:
  • Mass Storage (USB Direct-Print) allows the camera to be recognized as a removable hard disk or connect to an Epson Direct-Print compatible printer.
  • PTP (Picture Transfer Protocol) is designed to connect the camera to a PictBridge compatible printer.
• Video Out serves to select the signal produced by the camera: NTSC or PAL according to the television it is connected to.
• Format serves to format either an SD or MMC memory card.
• Reset: returns all settings for the EX-Z120 to their original values.

Casio supplies the camera with a printed Basic Reference Guide that describes the parts of the camera, inserting batteries and a memory card, and provides a description of the menus. For more in-depth information and explanations of the camera's functions, the full manual, supplied in PDF (Adobe Acrobat) format on the CD that is included with the camera must be consulted. The manual contains detailed and valuable information, but its interactivity is limited to bookmarks, and critical explanations can be difficult to locate.

Software

In North America the Casio EX-Z120 is retailed with a single CD that contains: Photo Loader (version 2.3 for Windows and 1.1 for Macintosh), PhotoHands 1.0, USB drivers for older Windows versions, Adobe Reader 6.0 to see the complete manual that is on the CD, and Direct X (9.0c).

Photo Loader is a utility that serves to import images, be it from the camera while it is connected via USB or from a hard disk, making it possible to create an HTML album, which can be created using any one of a variety of interfaces.

Once configured, the program can be used to access different folders and organize images by date and see them as slide shows, or print them.

Image editing is given over to Photohands, a program with a rather unusual and child-like interface that Casio has been bundling with their cameras for the last few years, and which has not changed over time.

The program makes it possible to adjust contrast, brightness, colour saturation, sharpness and noise, or even apply "filters" which convert the image to sepia or black and white. in addition, photos can be resized, rotated, or printed.

A green background area provides the working space, sandwiched between the image on the right and the main tools — shown as animals — on the left, but regrettably the "Before and After" views of the image are too small to ascertain if the changes being made are appropriate.

Photohands' interface is a barrier to any serious photo editing, and the use of another program is necessary, especially in view of the large and detailed images the camera captures.