 Made a Believer Out of Me... |
| Review Date: April 28, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Vladimir Ratner, Upstate NY |
If you read my Kodak V530 review, then you already know what I am talking about. If not, then I'll give you a quick overview:
Last week I sold my Canon S230 camera (similar to SD200), which served me well for about 3 years, and was looking for a replacement. The following criteria were most important to me: price, quality, and reliability. Also, I want to mention that I have some professional photography experience. I used to work for Kodak for a couple of years in Professional Digital Imaging department, doing some software testing. I don't consider myself to be a Pro, but I do know what I'm talking about when it comes to cameras, and digital cameras/photography in particular. Back to cameras - I didn't want to buy another Canon, because I think they are overrated and overpriced. I like Sony - I think their video equipment is one of the best on the market, but unfortunately the same doesn't apply to their digital cameras. So, using specific parameters/criteria I've narrowed down my search to a few brands/models: Kodak V530/V550, Panasonic FX8/FX9, and Casio S600/Z600/Z60 (I was also looking at Z750 and Z850). Kodak turned out to be a waste of my time - two days after I bought it, I took it back to Walmart (thanks to their great return policy - no restocking fees or anything else). After that I wasn't even going to try V550. Panasonic uses Leica lenses, and I wish I could try it, but unfortunately it is not sold anywhere locally, and I didn't want to buy it online, because if I didn't like and wanted to return it, I would end up paying restocking fees.
So, I went back to Walmart, and there it was, sitting on the shelf, Casio Exilim EX-Z60. Pretty in silver. I've read/heard a lot of good things about Casio digital cameras, but was always leery to try one myself, mainly because of the reliability fact. But since Walmart has such a nice return policy, I went ahead and bought it anyway. I was in for a treat - this camera turned out to be a truly pleasant surprise. I've been using it for a few days now and it just keeps on amazing me. In a few more days I will have to take it back to Walmart, but not because I don't like it, but because I bought myself a Z600 (it's coming in the mail), which I wouldn't have before I tried this one. In my review I will give you a full analysis of the Z60 model, and then I will tell you why I chose to go with the Z600, as well as I will compare it to S600, Z750, and Z850.
Pros:
Design - Simple, yet elegant. Very clean, modern look. Available in Silver, Black, and I believe also in Red. I am not sure what other colors look like, but silver looks really nice. It's brushed, not polished, which in my opinion is better, since it doesn't scratch as easily. Buttons seem to be in the right places. Overall, a very sexy looking camera.
Price - Comparing to other brands in the same range, it's on a low side. Walmart had it for just under $250. I think you can buy it cheaper online for about $220-230, which is a great deal for a 6MP digital camera of this caliber.
Picture Quality - Holy cow!!! Wow!!! Those were my first words when I took first few shots. I have not seen anything like this. It put my Canon to shame! Have you heard of an expression "Picture Perfect"?! This was certainly the case. The pictures looked bright, bold, and crisp. Ready to be published/printed in any magazine or to be placed in a frame and hanged on a wall. Simply brilliant! What I also liked is that how "true" the colors were, meaning that whatever was red in real life, appeared red in a picture - not pink, or orange, or any other color. Not many cameras are capable of that - most of them will "distort" the color somehow.
Features - For an ultra compact P&S digital camera, it is packed with various features. Menus, buttons all seem to be in the right places and are very easy to operate without previous knowledge. Large 2.5" LCD (display); 33 shooting modes (including EBay mode, where the pictures are specifically optimized for selling items on EBay - my wife was thrilled about that); Anti Shake DSP (stabilization control for those with shaky hands to minimize the blurriness in pictures); and many more. Great job, Casio!!!
Battery Life - I spent a full day before I had to recharge the battery. With this one, you will probably never need a backup battery.
Cons:
I simply cannot say that I don't like something in particular about this camera. Perhaps reliability is my biggest concern. Will this camera be "true" to me, just like Canon was for 3 years, or will it break after a couple of months - only time will show... but for now, I am a happy camper.
Summary:
Whichever one you choose, Z60 or Z600, any one will be a great choice! But it now!!!
Now that I've given you a somewhat full description/analysis of a Z60, I will have to say why I chose to go with a Z600 (which I will review as soon as I get my hands on it). But before I do that, I will also mention that I considered buying a Z750, Z850, and an S600. So, why didn't I? Well, I did my research first. Both Z750 and Z850 are not true P&S cameras - they are more for someone who wants a bit more of a manual control. From what I hear, they are great cameras, but unless you have some knowledge in professional photography, or want to learn more about it, it's not worth buying it. They also have a few problems that haven't been addressed yet by Casio, and they are also a bit pricy for an average consumer. S600 on the other hand is another true P&S camera, with some great features. For one, it takes movies (video) in MPEG-4 format, comparing to Z60 and Z600's AVI. How is it different? Because it's a better quality format, and you can also store of up to 5 times more. Not bad, ah?! It also looks way too cool. Casio even calls it a Card Camera - it looks and feels like a credit card, that's how compact it is. So, why didn't I buy an S600 then? Well, first of all it's more expensive than a Z600. But most importantly it lacks a few features (such as EBay mode for example), and also has only a 2.2" LCD, comparing to 2.5" on a Z60, and a huge bright 2.7" on a Z600. There you have it. The Z60 and Z600 are practically identical, except for the LCD size. Price difference was not very significant (Z600 probably $20 more), but I figured the larger display is well worth it. Also, Z600 is a bit smaller, and weighs a little less as well.
Once again, I am very impressed with Casio, and highly recommend it to everyone. |
Awesome tiny camera
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| Review Date: June 7, 2006 |
| Reviewer: PM, Van Nuys, CA United States |
| This is the smallest of the credit card size cameras on the market today - feature-wise the Sony is the next runner up but size-wise it is wider than this Casio. I did quite a bit of research before buying this camera because I already had a perfectly fine small digital Canon but I wanted a "credit card" sized one for trips and conversely for black tie events so I could slip it into a tiny purse. I'm not disappointed. The Casio S600 costs $100 more and that's cuz it makes MPEG movies but since many programs call for AVI and since I already have a couple mini-DV movie cameras that feature was not worth the extra money to me. For $249 this camera is a gem. On my recent trip to China many people saw me using it and were blown away. The LCD screen is quite large and the battery life is incredible - lasting for days, hundreds of pictures and abusive LCD viewing! I used the 6mp quality setting and don't know why anyone would complain about the image - it looks great. The picture taking is instant without that dreaded delay of most digital cameras. If the camera doesn't have time to auto-focus it shows a red square and then you need to half click down again until it locks into focus (green square), but usually it catches the focus right away. The only thing I wish is that it had a view-finder for those days when the sun is glaring and you can't see the LCD but I found that none of the tiny cameras have view-finders so I guess that's the trade-off to get a tiny camera. I highly recommend this camera. |
Great, Compact yet Powerful Camera
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| Review Date: October 23, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Randy Young, NJ, USA |
After researching digital cameras for months, I bought this camera 5 months ago, and I have enjoyed it ever since. The camera is so slim on compact, it easily fits in pockets, while packing all the major features needed in a good digital camera.
As an amateur photographer who just wanted to capture memories, I love the settings button, that lets you choose all the settings based on what type of shot your taking (some options are running water, birthday event, night landscape.) The camera also has a host of features for more advanced users like histograms and ISO speeds.
The battery life is amazing, and I don't even bother taking my charger with me on vacation because the battery lasts so long. I bought a 1 GB SD card to go with it, and it can store hundreds of high quality pictures. The camera even lets you look at your pictures in a calendar mode, so you pick a date and it will show you all the pictures you took on that date. The video recorder is a great feature too and of pretty good quality.
The only downside is the screen on the back gets scratched very easily. I just bought a $2 screen protector for an iPod and it fit perfectly.
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Fabulous Little Camera
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| Review Date: August 21, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Gregory Nole, Connecticut |
| Full of features and easy to use. Particularly like the compact size and large viewing screen. Bright and clear. Only downside is the non-standard battery. Be sure to purchase a spare! I found the importing/editing software was poor but if you use Google's free Picasa program, it does everything for you anyway and it is so good you don't need Casio's software. |
The best word to describe is "Wow."
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| Review Date: February 17, 2007 |
| Reviewer: V. Mellott, Pennsylvania, USA |
| I got this camera to replace a 3.2 MP Nikon Coolpix... and it instantly gave me a wow effect. The camera is so thin, it fits comfortably in your pocket to go anywhere. And the screen is beyond huge (my Nikon only had a 1.3 inch screen, so this is a major upgrade). The only disappointment would be the actual "resolution" of the image. I mean... the picture files themselves don't seem to be able to be zoomed in on the computer as much as I was expecting without becoming pixilated. But I guess maybe that's how it's supposed to be, 6 MP doesn't mean you can zoom and crop for eternity? Either case, I soon got over that... because the pictures always turn out great. Colors are accurate, pictures are VERY clear, even in a variety of situations, and the Best Shot modes are actually useful, unlike on my Nikon in which they didn't help very much. Also I must say that this camera is very fast at taking pictures, starting up, and recovering from the flash going off. Which is great. It's so annoying when you have to stand and wait with the "black screen" while the flash reloads or something. Finally, I will say that the included rechargeable battery is AWESOME! It lasts for... almost eternity. You can take hundreds of pictures on one charge... so great! Previously, I would always need to have spare AA batteries along, but not anymore! This camera will fulfill the needs of any normal person who isn't expecting an SLR-camera. I would recommend it to anyone. Before purchasing this camera, I put a lot of research into it's competitors. I say: Buy this one. It's great. |
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