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FEBRUARY 2, 2009 Casio EX-Z300 Digital Camera In the Box If you prefer to skip the words and go directly to the results you can do so by going to my Flickr site to view 100 plus photos and videos. I deleted very few shots. That way you can see the good and the bad. I found the 4X Optical plus 4X digital zoom (16X with both) was fairly good but, as with many cameras, it lost definition at the farthest distances. The anti-shake worked better than most in the optical range but not well when at the end of the digital zoom. The Z300 was quick to focus, recovered well, and was always ready for that next shot. I do love the Video record button at the upper right corner. The EX-Z300 is a little bulky at .9 inches deep and around 5 ounces with battery and MicroSD card. It is a good daylight point and shoot camera but the suggested price of $299.99 seems somewhat high. If low light results were good I would give it higher marks. The microphone recorded amplified sound well even when some distance from the speakers. I was very happy with all daylight photos. Interiors with soft or low light gave photos a somewhat yellow cast. Photos taken from the balcony of the center meeting area at LVCC were darker than I would expect them to be. Using Auto at all times does not give any camera the opportunity to show off its special settings. The EX-Z300 comes with over 30 presets called Best Shot by Casio. I elected to stay with Auto settings as that is what most point and shoot users seem to do. It takes a long time, if ever, for new owners to open the manual let alone master the details. I am often asked to show someone with a new camera how to view their photos after they have shot a number of them. New buyers should spend less on their first and even second camera. That is not to say the Casio EX-Z300 is not a feature rich product. The EX-Z300 is a decent camera but there are other models at a lower price point that will make first timers reasonably happy. Those who make the effort to learn the Casio EX-Z300 ins and outs will no doubt improve their results. |
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