Casio's Exilim EX-Z200 gets reviewed

Casio's Exilim EX-Z200, which broke cover at CES earlier this year, has been taken in to review by the shutterbugs over at PhotographyBLOG. Sporting a 10-megapixel sensor, 4x optical zoom and a 28-millimeter wide-angle lens, this pocket-friendly point-and-shoot proved to be a love / hate affair in its finest form. Despite being loaded with features and relatively easy to operate, the Z200 still delivered subpar image quality; more specifically, noise and smearing of fine details were quite evident even at ISO 200, purple fringing was obvious in high-contrast scenes and the painfully slow shutter speed left critics woefully underwhelmed. Overall, the digicam seemed to stumble in the areas that matter most, and with the plethora of alternatives out there, it sounds as if your hard-earned dollars could be better used elsewhere.

[Thanks, Mark]

[Zach @ Apr 15th 2008 8:59AM]

Well, at least it looks nice.

[Jaws @ Apr 15th 2008 11:13AM]

sounds typical of Casio....

[Patrick @ Apr 15th 2008 12:50PM]

What, slow shutter speed? Does this mean a long "shutter lag"? What has been done? They made some fast ones. My EX-Z750 was fast. In fact, I had no problems with it(though the image quality wasn't great, it was good). They should have stuck with the pattern.
Hopefully more fast ones are to come. :)

[noAH @ Apr 15th 2008 2:12PM]

My Z75 (looks the same) is pretty good. I like the pictures, especially when there is adequate lighting. The best-shot mode selection is great for a beginner like me, and the white-balance, flash modes, and other adjustables are easily accessible.

Sure, I'd like indoor pics to look better, but it was a $150 camera. Its good.

[dcartguy @ Apr 15th 2008 5:07PM]

Hmmm....thanks for the review. I had an EX- Z750 and I loved it! But I've had it for two years and I wanted to get the upgraded version of it. So I returned it, got store credit (Sharper Image) and I planned on picking up this camera. But now I'm not sure if the image quality is as bad as they say it is. I really like all the other features though, the CCD anti-shake, the wide-angle lens, the 4x optical zoom, the 2.7 high-contrast screen. the wide-screen high quality video. Now I'm stuck. What camera should get now?

[Steve @ Apr 27th 2008 4:57PM]

I've been waiting for reviews on the Casio Exilim Z200 because the new features on the camera sound great; however, if it lacks in good performance as the reviews suggest, I think I'll be purchases the Cannon Powershot SD1100. The Cannon doesn't have the 4x Optical; but, the ratings of the camera are good.

[Scott @ May 11th 2008 2:41PM]

Wow, why would you return something that you bought and used for two years?