Casio Exilim EX-Z600

Ultra compact cameras are usually considered under-performers. While compact cameras are the ones with all the great features like manual focus/exposure, more shot settings and better zooms, the ultra-compacts usually end up cutting out on some of these features due to space constraint. The Exilim EX-Z600 breaks that myth and proves that size truly doesn’t matter.

Build
As expected from a brand that makes ultra-compact digital cameras, the Z600 is small and slim enough to fit in any pocket without looking obnoxious. The black metallic body (also available in other colors), looked great on the model we received. Much like Kodak’s V series of digicams, this one too doesn’t sport any form of a hand grip, but I guess that’s the price one pays for the size advantage.

Z600 goes for the minimal design with the few and well separated buttons. Though the buttons on the back of the camera are a bit sunk in, there never was a time when I had to rely on my fingernails to get a response out of them. Even the top of the camera is minimal with the power button, the shutter release and the zoom switch.

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The 2.7 inch screen takes up a generous amount of space at the back, but that’s excellent considering that even with the size, there never is a slowdown in the screens refresh rate. Moreover, when I tested the camera in bright sunlight, the screen stayed visible enough for me to get a very good idea of the picture’s framing.

The camera lens is folded deep into the body itself, and protrudes out as soon as you switch it on. Works a lot better than having a lens constantly sticking out of the slim body.

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Features
This is where the camera really excels. Besides the 6 megapixel resolution and the 3x optical zoom, it offers you all the essential features that you’d want from a consumer digital camera.

To begin with, the best shot mode makes an excellent interface for a scene mode menu, complete with photographic examples of the kind of shots you can take in that particular mode. It’s effective to the extent that I rarely had to refer to the textual captions to select the right mode. Even the video recording mode is included in the best shot mode, which is kind of weird, as I would rather have that in an option I can select with a simple flick of a switch.

Overall, the camera interface was highly responsive. Just a simple press of a button could make the action happen at high speeds, which is the way it should be. There’s absolutely no delay in navigation so scene selection and going through options never really seem as a chore.

Even the manual feature on the Z600 is top notch. Besides the responsiveness, the manual focus option makes the most of its big screen, by giving you a full screen digital zoom to help you get a better focus. It’s not the most accurate, but its a lot better than the windowed zoom preview that most other cameras give you.

You don’t have control over the shutter speed or the aperture size, but you do have exposure compensation to mess around with, if you think the camera’s not getting the right exposure.
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Performance
Image sharpness was not consistent in the results. On one hand the close-ups and portrait shots showed good detail all throughout the image, the landscape mode left the sharpness level at its peak only towards the center of the image. The edges in the landscape shots seemed duller than the center of the image, which is not a good thing, especially considering that it’s the landscape shots where edge-to-edge sharpness is mainly required.

With that out of the way, the Z600 performed amicably in all our tests. All colors were accurately reproduced, right up to the subtle gradients in our flower macro shots. Even though the camera doesn’t boast any facial recognition technology, the focus was spot on, in most instances.

I especially loved the camera’s performance in low light. When I took the shot below in night portrait mode (no flash, using a tripod), the Z600 made the most of the available light and the result showed a room that was a lot brighter than what it really was. That too with minimal overall quality deterioration.

I’ve already mentioned the camera’s fast response time, which even extends to its shooting speeds. Just a second to start up and a second to shut down seems impressive enough, but when the shot to shot time (without flash) took a mere second, it was nothing short of unbelievable.

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Conclusion
The overall performance of the Z600 was impressive to say the least. It did have its share of negative points, but the overall performance far exceeds most other ultra-compact cameras available in the market today. Spending Rs. 17,995 (MRP) for a 6 megapixel camera may not be appealing to everyone, but I always advise buyers to concentrate more on the quality of the camera’s image sensor and the optics than the resolution. Highly Recommended!

Casio Exilim EX-Z600