Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

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.

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 !!

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).

The Casio BC-10L battery charger will charge batteries for the EX-Z4U (and all other Exilim cameras). You can buy this charger from the Casio Exilim web site (and hopefully soon Amazon!). The charger is about the size of a PCMCIA card, plus the inevitable (but not excessively large) power brick.

The combination of a USB SD reader and the BC-10L is arguably the same size as the cradle and its cables, but with a charger and extra NP-20DBA battery, I find that I can leave the charger and cradle at home and only travel with the SD reader. I just swap batteries whenever the camera is running low.

As a side note, the EX-Z4U is only slightly smaller than an iPod and fits nicely into many of the fabric and neoprene iPod sleeve-cases. I've been keeping mine in a Timbuk2 iPod case I found at an Apple Store. Of course if you're ordering from Casio's web site already, get yourself a EXCASE2 or EXCASE3.

I like this camera a lot for the small size, decent optical zoom, great battery life and large LCD screen. It's a great camera to own if you want to always have your camera around and just want decent pictures. If you want to be Ansel Adams, get a different camera. ^_^

There are three big drawbacks I've noticed so far:

First, the camera has terrible low-light performance (in comparison to a Canon S10 and a Kodak DC260). Pictures taken without the flash are dark and grainy, often with purple specks on them. Expect to use the flash all the time.

Second, the camera ships with "medium" compression turned on. Presumably this is so you can put more than 3 pictures on the camera out-of-the-box (the built-in memory is small). However, I took 20 pictures or so before I noticed this and was annoyed by the compression artifacts on the originals. When you get the camera, make sure you turn the "Quality" to "Fine".

And last, of course, is the lack of a movie mode in the US version of the camera. The EX-Z4U can even *play* movies recorded by other Exilim cameras, just not record them. Talk about adding insult to injury.

Also, get the latest EX-Z4U firmware from Casio's web site if you don't already have it. The 1.0 firmware has some white balance problems which the latest version fixes.

This is my third camera (second digital) and I think you should grab this one for the price.
This camera has a lot of options, so it may take a while to get used to it. Don't give up, patiently try out the options and once you get used to it, you'll appreciate each of the options.

I'll first talk about the plusses.

The obvious ones are 4M pixels and 3x optical zoom, ultra sleek design (by far the best looking camera I've seen), dock availability, super fast startup and capture time. Here's a brief mention of other features.

1) Large LCD screen for its size. This really helps for focus and also for previewing the pictures.

2) Best shots mode: Though it takes a while to get used to different modes to figure out the best possible setting, once you remember that, you're in tune to take great pics. I got fantastic pics of my campus on a cloudy day. The scenary mode allows you to capture intricate landscape details even in the borders.

3) Long exposure: You can take night pics with the long exposure mode (upto 4 seconds), the picture quality was awesome.

4) Fits in my shirt/coat pocket, no bulky stuff to carry around, can travel with your hands free.

5) The superimposing feature, where you and your buddy can take pics of each other with a scenary and merge the pic with both of you in it, sounds like a cool feature (if you're not an Adobe pro). I haven't had a chance to try it though.

After mentioning the coolness factor, please read this also.

For indoor pics, the flash is not powerful enough for objects that are say about 10ft away, but for closer objects it's good, or if the room is well-lit also, its good.

Make sure you choose the correct white balance. OK, this is a feature you'll have to test out if you're not a pro. Especially, if your room has fluorescent lamps, there is a special setting and I did not get good quality pics with the default setting.

The US version of the camera does NOT have MOVIE mode. I don't care for it, if you do, you should look for other cameras. There are cameras which have movie mode for this price.

And yes, if you're planning a long trip you have to carry the dock for recharging (you save on battery costs though).

The 10M memory bundled is inadequate, additional memory is a must, I bought a 256M SD card which costed me about 80 dollars.

Pros:
The small size of this camera is excellent. Very nice and easy to carry around in a pocket.

Great display size. Very nice!

4 megapixel spec, very nice again.

Decent quality with landscape photos.

Great cool factor! Nice to hold.

Cons:
Awful pictures of close in subjects or indoor scenes. Digital noise is very intrusive in pictures.

You would think that a 4MP camera would take good photos, this camera proves otherwise. My 1.6MP and 2 MP Kodak's pictures are much better. Digital noise ruins most pictures from this camera if the subject is close in. Focus is a slight problem also as it seems to slightly not be flat throughout the scene but the noise, what a waste of time spent trying this camera out.

All settings were tried to make camera perform well, photos with people in them close up always looked awful. The lighter colors always have digital noise colored sparkles throughout.

Before I forget, the digital zoom is so bad in reproducing an image it should be left off (the controls allow you to do this). True garbage.

Summary:
The camera is junk. I thought mine was perhaps broken but other reviews agree with my findings. I'm returning it. Buy it if size / cool factor are what matters or if getting the shot is more important then getting a great shot.

I was disappointed to find that the US model of the Exilim Z4U camera has fewer features then the foreign model. Mainly the movie feature is missing. I contacted Casio to find what was up and if an upgrade would be available. After contacting Casio I received the following reply.

Well basically You need the EX-Z4 ( one without the "U"). This one is not officially released in the US by Casio Inc
Do an internet search for the model which should take you to international store that sells them

There is no info available on a future "fix"

Don't buy the US model.

I have to admit that this camera surprised me at first. I did not think I would have liked using it since I am used to larger higher MP cameras.

Because of the small size I carry it everywhere and take more photos on a daily basis. I find that using the Basic Photo mode it takes great pictures that I can blow up to at least 8x11 (or larger)when using it's fine mode.

One of its best features is the large LCD screen, It is just huge for a camera of this size.

I have used the "Best Shot" mode and find that it sets up the camera for some standard shots and special effects (20 in all)which is great.

You can also setup your own best shot mode but I have not done that yet.

I don't have much need for a Movie mode in this camera because I have a micro digital Video camera that I like to use for motion shots. Not having the movie mode in this camera is not a big deal for me.

The battery lasts forever but, it needs to because the only drawback is you can only charge it in its base.
That means you have to take the base and the ac adapter with you if your going on a trip. Once you got a full charge I have used the camera for Days (manual says 8 hrs battery time) without having to charge it again.

Bottom line
Pro
I like the small size and the quality of the photos it produces. Huge LCD screen.
Simple to use and has great features (Onboard 10 MB memory, histogram, 20 BS modes, Rule of thirds grid, Spot meter, Matrix type metering, internal photo rotation, etc...)
Battery life is great.
Quick startup (once you turnoff the splash screen and startup sound.

Con
Needs travel charger, Movie Mode (?), Needs a Customized case.

I purchased this camera two days ago AFTER I came back from vacation - being very disappointed with my old camera (with film, and a 1 hr photo place.. remember those??) I bought the Casio Exilim EX-Z4 over the nokia for a very vain reason -- it was smaller and cuter. Bringing it home and taking unauthorized pictures of my family and the messy rooms of my home I was extremely surprised at the speed I was able to take pictuers, the incredible sharpness of each photo, how easy it was to change lighting issues and sizes. (being technically - challenged, this was incredible) My ABSOLUTE favorite feature is the "coupling" shot feature where I can take a picture of my sister and then switch places with her so that she can take a picture of me and it looks seamless!!! I am unaware of other digital cameras and if they can do this or not - but its phenomenal! I took it out into Manhattan today and took a photo of the silver still-man on Broadway and then a picture of a man looking at a girl's rear end -- the result is hilarious and it is now my desktop picture.

The LCD screen in the back is quite large and makes it very easy to shape the photo you want to capture

Along with the camera, comes a USB cradle/charger making recharging the battery very easy and making picture loading from the camera to your PC a BREEZE. Slide the camera in, hit the USB button and voila! Your pictures are loading and you can then delete them from your camera

I reccomend this camera to beginners (with $500) and I also reccomend that you get a memory card along with it. Once you start taking pictures, don't let lack of space interfere. I purchased the 256 MB card and now can click freely.

Excellent purchase... I got what I paid for. Money well spent.

Before buying this camera I read many reviews and looked at some very impressive galleries. My comments are:

Positives:
1. Small, light and compact.
2. Large LCD screen although too few pixels.
3. Ease of use
4. Excellent macro results.

However, the negatives and inherent quality faults outweighed any positive as follows:
1. Within a week of getting my first Z4, the electronics malfunctioned and resulted in the camera `freezing' every time I used the right arrow next to the select button.
2. This camera also had problems focusing and pictures mysteriously disappeared during download.
3. Picture quality was often poor with excessive `noise'.

I exchanged this camera in mid February 2004, and within two days have experienced the following fault:
1. Excessive blue tinge on all the pictures, regardless of whether a flash was used. Downloading the Firmware upgrade 1.02 has not improved or solved this problem. All pictures taken with this camera are unusable. Correction of the white balance will temporarily solve this problem until the camera is turned off when this correction is lost.

My advice is that until Casio have seen to their quality problems, this camera should be given as wide a berth as possible. I will now return this camera and try exchange it for a different make - possible the Canon A80.

As a last comment, Casio, while having a very informative web site, do not appear to have an easily assessable customer care line or comment/feedback section.