Casio EX-S100 Digital Camera - Security Camera User Rating

Price range: $209.00 - $349.95 from 35 Seller with a available.

Average user reviews: from 2 User Reviews

Description:The EX-S100 features a stainless steel body, a hallmark of the EXILIM CARD series, which has been polished to a brilliant shine through a special process. It is created entirely of metal, right down to the screws, for a true feeling of high.Reviewed by: holly1011 from FL on Feb 28, 2005
Rating:

Experience: 5 Days

Strengths: Extremely minute, feature-rich, stylish

Weaknesses: Sketchy bundled software

Summary: Naturally, the first thing that needs to be said about this camera is that it is tiny. It really is only a little larger than a credit card (significantly thicker, of course- but still only about 16 milimeters at the most). It is also extremely stylish, sporting a metal casing throughout, with stainless steel screws holding everything together.

Aside from the amazing and powerful features, this camera has some other distinct advantages over others in the same class. First of note is power-on speed. It takes little more than a second from the press of the power button to full-functionality. Furthermore, there is no noticeable delay between shutter-press and capture (this seems to be a recurring trend among even some of the better digital cameras, saddly). This, of course, does not apply to low-light conditions and some manual settings. Also, the image playback speed is excellent. Almost immediately after pressing the button, it will display the last photo taken, eliminating the need to have the photo preview (which can be toggled), allowing multiple action shots. Finally, the battery lasts forever, even with the flash on!

Features include a full suite of manual settings to adjust ISO, color saturation, sharpness, backlit corrections, as well as an EV-shift histogram, which conveniently displays the RGB shift in graphic form to assist amateur photographers perfect shots in certain light conditions. Another photo assist function, called "best shot" mode adjusts all the manual settings automatically for twenty-odd tailored scenarios. One needs simply select the scenario (eg, "scenery", "portrait", "white board", et cetera), then compose the photograph. The flash comes with three modes, including a red-eye, and also has adjustable intensity. Video capture (with audio) comes in at lower-than-average resolution, so probably not the best bet if that's your bag.

Although infinitely more attractive, sleek, and sexy than comparable models from other manufacturers, there are some drawbacks. Sony's closest competitor camera is a 5.0MP, whereas the EX-S100 is capable of only 3.6. The Sony is only slightly larger, and also sports the nifty Carl Zeis lens that sounds as spiffy as it is. We must remember, however, that this is the price you pay to have the world's smallest optical-zoom camera (bragging rights worth the 1.4MP difference). It's not really a price, either, if you consider you'll be paying an average of an additional 50-70 dollars for the Sony (at press time).

All of that notwithstanding, there is one disadvantage that needs to be harped on. The bundled software was weak and uncompelling. The camera doesn't even need any driver installation, so this reviewer ended up uninstalling all the software after a brief (and disappointing) trail run. The photo editing suite is generic and the printer software was confusing and cumbersome (and, hopefully, unnecessary. Simply a copy of Photoshop Elements would have been more than satisfactory.

All-in-all, the author believes five stars is completely justified insofar as the only disappointment hasn't anything to do with the camera itself. This product is a completely remarkable camera. Although not a revolution of technology, it still stads out against the competition with it's function-packed portability. With it's elegant styling, and attractive stainless-steel chasis, you will certainly be proud to whip it out in parties!

Reviewed by: alexkakis from IL on Feb 22, 2005
Rating:

Experience: 10 Days

Strengths: i love small compact and powerful product

Weaknesses: i think the price is too litle high for a camer a 3.1

Summary: (Edited March 25th by alexkakis) for me this is the better camera in the market good picture quality small compact and easy for use i dont see in the market a camera with this size