Casio Exilim EX-Z120 7.2MP Digital Camera with 3x Anti Shake Optical Zoom

by Casio

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 1.1 x 3.5 x 2.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0009XQPHU
• Item model number: EX-Z120
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,440 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: August 4, 2005

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

The EX-Z120 camera is designed to bring the fun and convenience of digital photography to people everywhere with user-friendly features that are true to Casio's tradition of cutting-edge technology, intelligent functionality, and high-quality photography.

A powerful Exilim engine puts high-resolution, low-noise digital imaging at your fingertips. A 7.2-megapixel resolution combines with an 8-mode dial that gives you simple access to manual setup, an easy mode for one-touch snapshots, movie recording, and more. Also, an Anti Shake DSP (digital signal processor) minimizes image blur due to hand or subject movement.

Two widely available AA-size batteries (alkaline) provide enough power to record 170 images. You can use lithium or rechargeable nickel metal hydride batteries for power.

Use the bundled cable to connect the USB/AV port to a computer for easy data transfer. You can also transfer images using a commercially available SD memory card reader/writer.

Easy Mode
Easy mode lets you shoot snapshots without worrying about troublesome settings. Flash, image size and self-timer settings are displayed on compact menus. Simply select a setting and shoot.

Three advanced features minimize image blur and ensure perfect pictures

Anti Shake
Image blur due to hand or subject movement is minimized thanks to faster shutter speeds that are enabled by the higher sensitivity of a new Anti Shake digital signal processor built into the Exilim Engine.

The effects of hand movement are reduced even when shooting indoors where lighting is dim. The effects of subject movement are reduced for beautiful images.

Auto Macro
If the subject is in the range of 10 to 50 centimeters, for example, the camera will switch to the Macro Mode automatically, even if the Auto Focus Mode is currently selected. This helps to ensure that your images are always in focus and reduces the chance of focus error.

Quick Shutter
When you press the shutter button all the way without pausing, Quick Shutter focuses the image immediately. This lets you capture fast-moving action, and also eliminates the chance of focus error when you ask someone else to record an image for you.

With normal recording, the moment is missed waiting for the camera to focus. When Quick Shutter is turned on, you capture the moment as it happens.

A person who is not familiar with camera operation often records a blurred image. When Quick Shutter is turned on, you don't need to worry if someone presses the shutter button too quickly.

Image capture
The EX-Z120 combines high resolution (7.2 megapixels), an 8-mode dial for simple access to manual setup, an "easy mode" for one-touch snapshots, movie recording, and more. An Anti Shake DSP minimizes image blur due to hand or subject movement. Use the bundled cable to connect the USB/AV port to a computer for easy data transfer. You can also transfer images using a commercially available SD memory card reader/writer.

Select-and-shoot Best Shot scenes
A single screen shows 12 Best Shot sample scenes, which makes it easier to find the one you want more quickly. This scene produces clear shots with a bright background, even when lighting is dim. It also prevents image blur due to hand or subject movement.

Manual settings make picture taking more fun

Aperture adjustment
The aperture can be adjusted to blur the background or to bring everything into sharp focus and create exactly the image you have in mind. Settings are manual, so you maintain total control over your images.

Shutter speed adjustment
Changing the shutter speed setting controls how movement appears in an image. You can use a slower speed so movement produces a blurred effect, or a faster shutter speed to freeze the movement of a drop of water or other moving subjects. There is even a bulb setting that keeps the shutter open as long as the shutter button is depressed.

Style/design
The Exilim EX-Z120 includes an elegant and durable stainless steel body. Keys for manual settings and a highly intuitive controller button are carefully arranged on the camera's back to keep everything you need just a click away.

Anti-Shake DSP
Image blur due to hand or subject movement is minimized thanks to faster shutter speeds that are enabled by the higher sensitivity of a new Anti Shake digital signal processor (DSP) built into the Exilim Engine.

Product Description

MD) CL) CASIO EX-Z120 DIGITAL CAMERA

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

120 of 120 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, Jitter free, super sharp, super contrast images, October 25, 2005

By 

Sury Ram (33°08 N 96°48 W) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Casio Exilim EX-Z120 7.2MP Digital Camera with 3x Anti Shake Optical Zoom (Electronics)

My first digital camera was the olympus IR-300 which I bought in Office Depot for $150 (after rebate) and returned it the next day. Having been an SLR fan, I was shocked to find the quality and shocked to discover a new 'feature' in Digital cameras - 'Shutter Lag'.

This is very apparent when you use your digital camera in night times, shoot a picture and shake your camera a bit (either deliberately or normal hand jitter as it usually happens) - and your picture looks like a non-descript brush work.

This experience almost made me think that good digital cameras are atleast another 2-3 years away - until I discovered Panasonic and Casio. Panasonic incorporates a mechanical gyroscope to offset the hand jitter and Casio incorporates a DSP based jitter compensation.

Deciding between Panasonic and Casio was a tough one. Some Panasonic cameras come with leica lens, which made them very attractive, but at the same time, they seemed to be bulky.

I weighed my chances and went with the Casio and not at all disappointed.

Another test which you can do for your camera is to shoot the sky along with a building in the foreground, the colors of the building often get diffused into the sky making the sky white and not blue as it usually is. Casio scored very well on this - the sky was really blue !

+ve:
(1) Compact (not ultra compact)
(2) Runs on AA batteries
(3) Ultra bright large LCD Screen
(4) Optical view finder (Panasonic lacks this)
(5) Good combination of mechanical and digital controls
(I've seen cameras that have 100% menu driven controls which require you to go through cascading menus to do even the simplest tasks)
(6) And the best part: Excellent picture quality, compared it
with the quality of pictures in Sony Cybershot and Casio is far more superior. The colour contrast is excellent.
(7) Good sky color contrast (see my test above)
(8) Excellent focussing, I will soon upload some photos of my cat the focussing is very fast and very clear
(9) Image preview sorted by Date, looks like a calender - very useful

-ve:
(1) Not very happy with the battery life, but who cares, they are AA, I might buy some rechargaeble ones soon.

(2) Wish if the optical view finder was a little bigger

Overall, I am very happy with this camera, been with me for 1 week, will update my review if I find anything good or bad in this.

BTW, Target carries some excellent camera bags for as little as $7, no need to spend a fortune on them.

91 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Digital Camera - especially for the price, November 25, 2005

By 

Michael "Creative Guru" (Tulsa, OK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Casio Exilim EX-Z120 7.2MP Digital Camera with 3x Anti Shake Optical Zoom (Electronics)

I recently purchased this beauty after many months of research. Essentially, this is comparable to the ex-500 in most aspects with the exception of storage capacity (pics and movie minutes.) The differences were not huge and, since I was going to purchase a 1gig SD card, the difference became minimal. Add to that the price difference and you can see why I went this route instead.

Once you open the box you can tell Casio has put quality into this item. It feels solid despite it's thin size. This is not the thinest camera out there but it is small, fits easily into my pocket and very durable. Casio provides an "overview" manual in booklet form and that gets you up and running. I am the type that reads everything before I use it and I found the electronic pdf manual very helpful. You can point and shoot out of the box, but you'll need the electronic manual to really understand how to manipulate the settings to your desire.

I took a dozen shots over the Thanksgiving holiday and easily downloaded them to my computer thanks to the included USB cable (no software needed for my MAC) Although it comes bundled with a photo storage, adjustment program, I use photoshop and probably won't bother with their program. It is straightforward and easy enough to use, but doesn't come close to photoshop. Anyway, the photos came out great. I used the 'fine quality' setting and I didn't need to touch up the photos at all. The quality was excellent (and I used their auto settings) and I could probably blow these up to 11x14's if I wanted.

There are nice features like anti-shake capabity and, if you ever have seen pictures from others with out-of-focus people, this feature should be nice to have. It has a quick shutter feature, allowing you to bypass the autofocus and instantly capture the shot in front of you. The start up time is incredibly fast and almost takes you by surprise. Best of all, there is no lag between snapping the picture and capturing the image. That can be a huge problem with other cameras and definitely something you should consider. This camera has other nice features like filters, auto-timers, etc.

To summarize, this is a nice, durable, feature-loaded camera with 7.2 mega pixels with excellent quality results. Amazon shipped it very quickly and did not disappoint. You should consider this one!

60 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow, What a Surprise, October 24, 2005

By 

Brian M. Edwards (Edinburg, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Casio Exilim EX-Z120 7.2MP Digital Camera with 3x Anti Shake Optical Zoom (Electronics)

I bought this Casio EX-Z120 yesterday to replace my Olympus Camedia 5 megapixel camera. I shopped carefully, reading dozens of on-line reviews for digital cameras and even tried out a couple of cameras in "big box"stores. Even though this new camera had no reviews, I was impressed by its specifications and bought one to "kick its tires".

I have now have taken about 20 photos in different light settings, ranging from bright sun, to dim indoor light, sunset, and the two 80 watt light-bulbs in my living room.
Wow, I am extremely impressed. The colors are vivid and life-like, and I have yet to take a blurry picture. I also took some photos in retro and illustration mode with stunning results.
I also shot several minutes of really clear AVI video with great sound quality. Another plus is that it uses regular AA batteries that seem to last forever (though I will buy rechargeable ones)
This camera is small, lightweight, has a large LCD screen and is great for beginners or more advanced users.

On the down side, I did not like the photo software that came with it, preferring to use Photo-Suite. The basic reference manual that comes with it is a ridiculous joke, totally useless. I will need to print out the full version from the CD.

I am really impressed and highly recommend this camera. Asides from the manual and software, I think it is a great buy for the money!