Casio Exilim EX-Z4U 4 MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom and Dock

by Casio

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 0.9 x 3.4 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000BZG0P
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,084 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: August 26, 2003

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Get closer than ever with the new Exilim EX-Z4U with 3X optical zoom. The EX-Z4U makes it easy to capture the perfect moment. With 4 megapixels and a 2-inch LCD screen, you can set up, zoom-in and shoot high-quality photos in an instant. There's virtually no lag time. Just point and shoot. You can even use Best Shot mode for more creative effects--automatically.

To download, print or play back photos on your desktop picture frame, just pop it into the cradle, press one button, and voila...You're a professional.

Built-in speaker
A speaker built into the camera lets you enjoy audio snapshots. Everything about this new Exilim is designed to further expand your digital imaging enjoyment.

Audio Snapshot
The Audio Snapshot feature lets you add comments or other audio to your still images. You can record audio as you record the image, or add it later.

Voice Recording
Voice Recording lets you keep audio records of meeting or create voice memos while on the go. The camera's built-in memory (10MB) provides enough capacity to record approximately 40 minutes of audio.

7-point Multi-AF simplifies focusing
7-point Multi AF means you never need to worry about focusing again. The camera automatically selects one of seven focus points based on which one is aligned with the nearest subject, and focuses on that point. This helps to avoid loss of foreground subjects and minimizes the chance of the image being out of focus.

Macro Mode
The Macro Mode of the EX-Z4U lets you move in to distances ranging from 50 cm to as close as 6 cm for really intimate close ups of everything from portraits to flowers, pets, food, and more. The Macro Mode also supports zooming in the range of 1X to 1.8X.

Pan Focus Mode for instant recording
Pan Focus makes it possible to record an image virtually the moment you press the shutter release button. It helps to ensure that you are able to capture exactly the moment you want.

On-screen histogram
An on-screen histogram can be used to check the exposure of an image before you record it. The shape of the histogram graph provides you with important feedback about the relative brightness of the image. A histogram that is tilted to the left indicates underexposure, while tilting to the right indicates overexposure. Optimal exposure is indicated when the histogram is in the center.

What's in the Box
EX-Z4U camera, lithium-ion battery, USB cradle, USB cable, AC adaptor, strap, CD-ROM

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awsome for every day use! Small, Fast, and Solid., November 3, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Casio Exilim EX-Z4U 4 MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom and Dock (Electronics)

This camera is perfect to store in your backpack, briefcase, or front pocket. It is very small and very solid. It starts up very quickly, and is ready to go. The 2" LCD screen is wonderful, and it has great battery life. When I first received the camera, I was careful about using the LCD, but after a while, I used it liberally. I purchased an extra battery and battery charger, so when the battery starts to run low, I swap in a fresh one, and I am ready to go. No need to remember to dock it each evening. But, the dock is very nice, and works great. The LCD screen is really wonderful when you are on-the-road. It is large enough and crisp enough to show people your pictures with ease.

The camera is very speedy. The time between pressing the trigger button and taking the picture is about 1/2 a second delay. It takes about 2 second to complete a shot, and you are ready for the next shot. Viewing images is also very fast, even at 4MP.

The camera is a pro-consumer camera. It has some advanced image options such as White Balance and EV Shift. The standard 3x optical zoom is great. The images are very clean. The digital zoom is not so great. 12x images (3x optical, 4x digital) are good enough to identify, but they are blurry...which is understandable. The camera is so small, I realize you can't fit the optics for a much higher optical zoom. Having some optical zoom was important to me, which is a great feature of this camera. If compact high-level optical zoom is important to you (more than size), I hear the Panasonic Lumix Digital DMC-FZ10K (12x optical, 3x digital) might be a good option (it is larger to support the optical zoom lenses).

A note on picture taking. The images this camera produces is really effected by the image options. The White Balance especially changes the coloring of the images. For example, on a sunny day at the beach, setting the White Balance to "Sun" makes the images look great. At dusk, setting the White Balance to "Shade" produces better images. If you are lucky enough to get this camera, you should spend a little time getting comforable with the images options. To make things easier, Casio has pre-programmed different configurations for night, day, scenery, portrait, etc. These configurations make it easy to get a great picture. You can also create your own 'canned' configurations.

It also has a few cool options like the ability to superimpose a background (you take two pictures to get one), and the ability to take half a picture, and then a second half, so if you are traveling with a buddy, you can each be in the same picture. There is also the ability to create HTML pages with thumbnails to copy to your website. Overall, it has some impressive features in such a small device. Make sure you get a memory card. The internal memory card is insufficent. I am very happy that Casio supports the SD/MM cards, rather than some proprietary format like Olympus.

One thing that does disappoint me is that the camera does not support video. I figured since the Z3 did, the Z4 would. I am not too disappointed, since I plan on getting a second camera at some point, but if you only want one digital camera, you might consider a different camera which supports video (perhaps even the Z3!). Also, the camera is not the greatest in low light conditions (early evening)...where the picture can get grainy in zoom mode (without flash).

Overall, if you want a very portable camera, this is such an awsome device. It really amazes me. If you are more concerned about image quality over portability, you might consider other cameras. I plan to purchase another larger digital SLR camera such as the Canon Rebel 6.3MP to use when image quality is most important. I have a friend with a larger Sony camera, and he rarely uses it because it takes time to pull out of the carrying case. He also does not like to carry it around all of the time. I, on the otherhand, yank the Casio Z4 out of my front pocket, and am ready to go in seconds. He might have somewhat better pictures (subjective), but I get much more use out of my camera, which is a better investment in my opinion. Why buy a camera that you barely use? Actually, now he is thinking about getting a Casion Exilim as well.

In closing, I am very happy with my purchase. It is a pleasure to use, and my money was well spent. After having this camera, if I only planned on owning one digital camera, I would be very happy owning the Casio EX-Z4.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Small Easy and About as good as it gets, December 7, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Casio Exilim EX-Z4U 4 MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom and Dock (Electronics)

Not sure where I read it, but someone said that the only bad picture is the one you couldn't take... because you didn't have your camera, or couldn't get it out fast enough.

I am not a professional photog... but do know good from bad. I have owned 3 digitals, and a die hard 35 MM user. I own Camera's with lenses that come off :-)

What I liked most - the big screen, if not just for me, I was able to hand others this camera to take the shot... and they have all been able to use it. Even in strong sun.

Small size, keep it on your pocket.. starts up fast enough to get the good shots.

It is practical, I never needed to pack a "bag", and never felt guilty about it. Seriosuly if the only way you'll take a digital camera with you is to pack an entire bag for it... you won't want this anyway. Keep your 35 MM. Traveled with some folks recently, and I usually had my camera out, shot and done before a co-traveler even had the bag unzipped... got so bad he bought a disposable. Just emailed him my picks which he claims looked better than the new 6.3 MP camera he was using.

Good battery life, recharges, comes with a cradle, and a spare battery is tiny enough to carry if you are really that demanding. Most of us just need to get through a day or two of sightseeing in between charges. I recently took over a hundred picks before needing a charge. Other camera's I had always needed new battery's frequently. Don't buy a digital without rechargables, you'll spend more $$'s on expensive battery's than your kids favorite toys demands.

Dislikes.. power button is a bit small, fingernail is the best way to turn it on, but this was probably thought out I never was concerned about it powering on in my pocket as a result. I did have this problem with an other small camera. No direct usb link, you have to use the cradle.. but such is life with sucha small body, you have to move some things out. I bought a USB reader (cruzer), tiny and I slide the SD memory into it. Also serves as a great place to store a spare memory chip on a trip. Software that comes has weird navigation for the average folks. Try it out, but suggest you look for a decent photo editing program if this is you first camera.

4.0 MP... will be as good as the scene you choose (there are 21 with this camera, everything from Portrait, Pet, Kids, Food and Night and Fireworks, very cool).. or choose Best Shot, which I have inadvertently turned off a few times. 4.0 MP is also as good as your printer and process...

Like that it uses SD memory, although most SD cameras are a little more money, it does make your life more flexible (fits in Palm Pilots, some phones, tablet PC's, etc. etc.). You should consider what memory format you want to standardize on if you are a first time buyer.

The Pentax lense seems good. If you haven't figured it out yet, the Pentax Optio is similar, but has it's own strengths and weaknesses.

As for price I noticed that you can save about $40 between merchants (as of now)

Hope this helps !!

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Slick little camera with a big screen, February 7, 2004

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Casio Exilim EX-Z4U 4 MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom and Dock (Electronics)

BENEFITS (my opinion):
Even though the Z4U does not have movie or AV cables, it's a nice camera because of the many neat features as well as being ultra small.
1) Camera SIZE & LCD - as advertised, this little camera is very compact. Go to the Casio Exilim site to view the demo. The size of the camera shown in the demo is exactly the same as the actual camera. The LCD, though lower in resolution, is still a plus. No more squinting at a tiny LCD.
2) BUTTON PLACEMENT - Before buying, I held and handled the Minolta Dimage 3.2mp, the Pentax Optio 3.2mp, and the Canon Powershot S400. Of the four cameras, the Exilim Z4 'felt' the best to me. I liked how all of the buttons were placed on one side of the camera (rather than all around) and the large LCD was placed on the other side. I can hold the Exilim comfortably in one hand (with camera strap on) and press the
buttons while someone else is viewing the pics. My big thumb doesn't get in anyone's way. It works the same when I'm taking pics; I can press the buttons for options I need without blocking the LCD.
3) NO rotating "WHEEL" - Thankfully, the Exilim has no wheel button to rotate for optional features. In a big camera, it's not as bad, but for an ultra compact camera, I found the wheel to be a nuisance. If you have big fingers, you have to use your fingernails (if you have any) to rotate the wheel.
4) LOOKS - Of the four cameras I looked at, the Dimage looked the plainest. The Dimage has similar zoom features, but there is no physical telescoping lens-- all of the zoom is done with its special optical non-telescoping lens technology.
5) PICTURE QUALITY - The Powershot S400 appeared to be the best in all low light situations; the Dimage the worst. The Exilim, if used correctly, will take good photos in low light with less purplish 'noise'. DON'T use the digital zoom in low light situations because it enhances the noise factor. On the other hand, the Exilim takes excellent outdoor photos. I guess the downside of an ultra compact camera is that photos in low light situations do not turn out the way you expect in some cases.
4) BESTSHOT mode - The Bestshot templates (21 of them) are excellent. Examples: B&W, Sepia, Coupling shots (split screen 'ghost' image), Pre-shot (background 'ghost' image), Night Scene, Twilight, Sundown, Natural Green, Collection (for toy photos).. and more. Besides Coupling and Preshot, you really don't need to use the templates because the camera does a great job without them.
5) SELF TIMER - 10sec, 2sec, and x3. I found the x3 function VERY helpful. In group shots, the camera takes three consecutive photos without having to run back and forth to the camera. The first delay is 10sec and the remaining two shots have a ~5sec delay. This feature helped me pick out nice shots. Also, the large LCD screen makes it a snap to position and center a group shot on a tripod.
6) Power Saving Mode - The sleep mode and power off mode are handy in saving battery power.
7) AUTO FOCUS - The time it takes for the camera to focus in Autofocus mode is very quick. However, Exilim doesn't take close-up shots in Auto Focus mode very well, so use Macro mode and the close-up photos come out great. Make sure to press the button halfway to focus before fully depressing to snap the shot.
8) ISO - The Exilim does an excellent job in selecting the proper ISO (in auto ISO mode) versus if you set it yourself manually.
9) BATTERY LIFE & CHARGE TIME - On a two week trip, I did not have to charge the battery the entire time. Charge time itself took a couple of hours.

CONS:
The learning curve on the Exilim Z4 may be high if this is your first digital camera. I already have an older digital camera, but I needed to play around with options/functions for a couple of weeks before I started taking serious photos with it. However, once I got the hang of it, I can use the Exilim with ease.
1) DELETING FILES - In the delete menu, 'delete' and delete all files' are on the same screen, so it is easy to accidentally delete all of your pics if you are pressing buttons very fast. This happened the first time I fiddled with the camera.
2) INSTRUCTION MANUAL - The contents of the Exilim box contains a 'brief' camera manual pamplet. You will need to refer to the PDF manual on the CD-rom or print it out in order to read full instructions.
3) CAMERA CASE - There isn't any...
4) BLURRY SHOTS - Easily avoided if you hold the camera steady, but a nuisance if you have never used a digital camera before. I learned to take shots with a steady hand when I first bought my old digital camera, so this was not much of a problem with me.. but my spouse is still getting used to it.
5) LCD SCRATCHES - to avoid scratches on the rather large LCD, I cut to size and stuck on a clear plastic overlay (used for PDA screens).