Casio Exilim EX-Z1000 Digital Camera First Thoughts

[Ben Stafford]

While we're polishing up our full review of the Casio Exilim EX-Z1000, we wanted to give you a little preview of things to come. Announced at the end of April, the Z1000 features a 10 megapixel imaging sensor. Yes, you read that right. The full resolution images are 3648 x 2736 pixels.

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Besides the 10 megapixel sensor, the camera also features a 2.8 inch "Wide & Bright" LCD and 3x optical zoom. A resolution of 960x240 (230,400 pixels) provides a widescreen format. The LCD is also good in the sunshine, which is a good thing since there's no room for an optical viewfinder. The nice thing about the extra width is that Casio lets you set up the display so the indicators that display things like flash status, exposure compensation, etc. can be displayed down the right side of the screen (instead of being overlaid your image in the LCD).

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Casio's Best Shot system lets you choose the scene mode that will suit your situation. A total of 36 modes plus Auto and Movie mode give you plenty of choices.

Using the camera is pretty simple. Operating the zoom and shutter is easy with a prominent shutter release and zoom ring around the shutter button. The 5 way directional pad is a little small for my fingers, but operates well, with nice clicking resistance. While the display is in "Panel" mode, the camera settings are displayed along the right side of the LCD. Casio has made it easy to change the settings while in this mode by using the directional pad. You can adjust the resolution, flash mode, auto focus mode, timer mode, anti-shake status, ISO, white balance, and exposure compensation without entering the menu system.

Stay tuned for our full review within a week or so. Please use the "Discuss" link to post any questions that you'd like to see us answer, if possible, in our full review.

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[FZ20]

Wow 10 megapixel! Not that I'd ever use that much, but it sounds impressive.
Do you enjoy using the Casio LCD navigation/software? I've never used it myself but it looks user friendly.

[Ben Stafford]

Yeah, I guess that no one told Casio that the megapixel war was over. So far, the LCD is pretty good - very usable in bright light. The menu system is also pretty intuitive.