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Casio introduces today the slim Exilim Zoom EX-Z280 and EX-Z33. The Z280 offers more of the fancy stuff, like 720p video and sensor-shift image stabilization, and the back-to-basics Z33 features a 10.1 megapixel CCD and Casio's tried and true YouTube video recording mode. Both feature beginner-friendly "Easy" modes. Full review
The Casio EXILIM EX-FS10 comes on the heels of the groundbreaking EX-F1, which records up to 1,200 fps slow-motion video and 60 fps burst mode stills at 6 megapixels. The EX-FS10 is different in terms of its smaller size and price point ($350 compared to the $999 price tag of the EX-F1). Still, the EX-FS10 is a new family member of this revolutionary high-speed imaging technology introduced with the EX-F1 a few years ago. The FS10 provides the photographer with a 9.1 megapixel CMOS sensor, 30 fps stills captured at 6 megapixels, high speed movies at 1,000 fps for extreme slow-motion clips, and HD movie at 1280x720 resolution.
Casio has found a niche in the market with no competition; nothing can even touch the frame rates of their High Speed EXILIM family (the fastest DSLRs include the Canon EOS-1D Mark III with 10 fps, and the Nikon D3 at 9 fps). However, making that comparison is like comparing apples and oranges. These two DSLRs are pro models that aren't meant to be combo slow-motion video cameras with burst modes like the EX-FS10 or EX-F1, and they also have much larger sensors than these two cameras.
With that clarification being drawn, the EX-FS10 is a compact with some serious features in a camera body no bigger than a pack of playing cards. The EX-FS10 was announced along with its older brother, the slightly higher-class EX-FC100. The FC100 is differentiated by a 5x optical zoom and a CMOS anti-shake stabilization system that moves the sensor to compensate for shake, two features that the EX-FS10 lacks.
FEATURES OVERVIEW The Casio EX-FS10 comes equipped with a 1/2.3 inch high-speed 9.1 megapixel CMOS sensor, 3X optical zoom, 2.5 inch high-performance Super Clear LCD, HD movie capture, 30 fps burst mode, and up to 1,000 fps video for ultra slow-motion capture.
Here's a list of some its most notable features:
High Speed Still Capture: The EX-FS10 shoots a burst mode of up to 30 frames per second, but also has different capture rates of 15, 10, 5, 3 or auto. Also, you can set the amount of shots you want to capture in these burst modes, including 30, 20, 10 or 5 total frames at 6 megapixels each. Another unique function is the Prerecord CS that lets you shoot 25 images before you fully press the shutter so you never miss a shot.
High Speed Movies: The real strength of the EX-FS10 is it ability to capture high-speed movies. The highest frame rate you can push the camera to is 1,000 fps at a resolution of 224x64. The frame rates also include 420 fps or 210 fps, or a variable setting that lets you choose between 30-210 fps.
Lag Correction: Shutter lag is a point of contention for many camera users, often a more annoying issue when using a point-and-shoot that seems to take a long time to capture a shot when you press the shutter. This function is a cool tool and works by temporarily storing images that were captured during a pre-record mode, which then saves that image that is captured by the camera before the shutter is depressed.
High-Speed Anti-Shake: The EX-FS10 uses a digital image stabilization technique that it calls High-Speed Anti-Shake in which the camera compensates for shake by changing the shutter speed and ISO in order to get a shot that's blur free.
HD Movies: Pretty much a standard feature of cameras, both DSLRs and point-and-shoots, is the ability to capture HD video. The EX-FS10 captures 720p (1280x720) videos at 30 fps. While shooting videos you can still capture still images by pressing the dedicated photo button, but with only a max of 6-megapixels.
Best Shot Modes: Casio's Best Shot scene modes make it easy for the user to find their specific shooting scenario and choose a Best Shot mode to make it easy to shoot. The EX-FS10 has 20 different modes, including High Speed Night Scene for a low-light scenario. It works by detecting if you're shooting handheld or on a tripod. If it detects handheld, it will take a series of image and stack them together in-camera, but if you're on a tripod, the camera will take a longer exposure. There are also standards like Landscape, Portrait, Sundown, and an interesting one called YouTube mode that captures video that can be directly uploaded to the site.
FORM, FIT, AND FEEL
Styling and Build Quality Ultra-slim, ultra-stylish is how this small 4.2 oz. camera can be described. The EX-FS10 is a pocket camera that fits well into a pair of pants or just toting it around in your hand, and comes in three attractive colors: gray, the color of our test model, blue and red.
The EX-FS10 is no larger than a pack of playing cards, and made from a nice alloy body. It is a sleek digital camera with a brushed finish, complete with a tripod collar, battery trap door that holds the lithium-ion battery, and an SD/SDHC memory card slot. Also on the right is the USB/AV port where you can connect up your camera to your computer or TV. With all things measured, the body is certainly well-built and ready to be put into a pocket and taken out into the field.
Ergonomics and Interface The button layout on the camera exceeds more than 10 buttons, some of which have specific applications. There are essentially two shutter systems, one for stills, and a red record button that starts and stops any sort of video you shoot with the EX-FS10.
Other unique buttons include a 30 fps and SLOW button on the top of the camera. The SLOW button turns the LCD monitor into a slow motion view, while the 30 fps buttons helps you to toggle between high-speed shooting and single shot quickly.
There is also a Movie Mode switch that lets you toggle between High Speed movies and HD movies. As far as typical digital camera button layouts go, on the EX-FS10 you have your shutter and zoom lever coupled on top, a Playback button and a Rec. button that moves you between image and video review back to the shooting process, a four-way dial that lets you navigate through the menus, and a Menu button to get you there. Also there is a Best Shot mode on bottom that gets you right to the scene modes without having to go through the menu system.
The Menu system can be called up by pressing the button and using the four-way controller to navigate through the REC/Quality/Set Up menus, and work in the typical fashion that most digital cameras are based on, allowing you to get to exposure modes, Autofocus, and other areas of control. Although it is mostly straight forward while shooting, the camera can take some getting used to, especially the slow-motion video capture and playback.
Display/Viewfinder The EX-FS10 uses a 2.5 inch TFT LCD screen that has 230,400 dots (960x240), and has no viewfinder. The 2.5 inch screen on the back is smaller than most digital cameras, but for the size and shape of the Casio EX-FS10, it makes sense. Overall, it is sufficient for playing back images as accurately on the LCD as it is on the computer.
PERFORMANCE
Timings and Shutter Lag
Shutter Lag (press-to-capture, pre-focused)
Camera
Time (seconds)
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T700
0.02
Nikon Coolpix S230
0.02
Canon PowerShot SD960 IS
0.04
Casio Exilim EX-FS10
0.05
Pentax Optio P70
0.05
AF Acquisition (press-to-capture, no pre-focus)
Camera
Time (seconds)
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T700
0.23
Casio Exilim EX-FS10
0.33
Canon PowerShot SD960 IS
0.47
Nikon Coolpix S230
0.51
Pentax Optio P70
0.87
The EX-FS10 earns Casio a "most improved" rating in our timings tests, providing significant improvements in the area of AF speed in particular compared to previous Casio ultracompacts.
Continuous Shooting
Camera
Frames*
Framerate*
Casio Exilim EX-FS10
30
30.0 fps†
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX37
3
3.6 fps
Nikon Coolpix S230
2
2.2 fps
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T700
10
1.6 fps
Canon PowerShot SD960 IS
∞
0.9 fps
* Note: Continuous shooting framerates are based on the camera's fastest full-resolution JPEG continuous shooting mode, using the fastest media type available (300x CF, SDHC, etc.). "Frames" notes the number of captures recorded per burst before the camera stops/slows to clear the buffer.
† Note: The Casio Exilim EX-FS10 has no continuous shooting capabilities at full resolution. It is, however, capable of shooting at 30 fps at a reduced 6 megapixels. Given this relatively high resolution, we have included the FS10's continuous shooting numbers in our comparison.
As promised, the FS10 delivered full 30 fps performance in our timings tests, albeit at a reduced 6 megapixel capture.
Auto Focus There are five focusing modes on the EX-FS10 and three AF Areas you can specify through the menu. Focusing modes include Auto Focus, Macro that lets you to shoot between 10-50 cm away for close up shots, Pan Focus for honing in on a fixed focal point, Fixed that will give you an area of focusing for even distant subjects and Manual focus that lets you choose your area of focus.
The AF Areas that can be set up are Spot, Free and tracking. Spot is best used when you want to keep focus on the center of the frame, and is the default setting for the EX-FS10, or can be used with the focus lock to single out a subject in the center of the frame. Free is also interesting, it allows you to find your point of focus by using the four-way controller to specify a specific area of focus.
But probably the most useful AF area that I found was Tracking, because it works great when you are using the 30 fps burst rate. By depressing the shutter halfway, you can track a subject that is moving rapidly. I was able to do this on the beach when a kiteboard surfer was launching his chute and I was able to keep my focus on it moving erratically without ever losing my focus.
Lens and Zoom The EX-FS10 has a 3x optical zoom lens that gives you an effective focal range of 38-114mm, which is standard for this level of camera, neither making it exceptional nor ahead of its class.
Wide Angle
Telephoto
The aperture speeds are f/3.9 wide to f/5.4 telephoto. The lens is a trap door lens that doesn't extend from the body, instead the diaphragm of the EX-FS10 stays in and quiet while moving from wide to telephoto lengths. Overall, edge-to-edge sharpness was good on both tele and wide ends. Zoom speed is relatively fast, but by no means a speed demon. With such a small camera design there was a lot sacrificed with the lens, making it no better than an average camera with a 3x zoom range.
Battery The power performance of the lithium-ion battery is pretty dismal, and I found myself recharging at least 3 times during one day after using the high speed video modes, HD video and burst modes for stills, making it lackluster.
IMAGE QUALITY The basic image default settings provide a neutral exposure, but the FS10 also comes with color filters, sepia, black and white, and also control the sharpness, saturation and contrast in two steps. The image quality at default settings is somewhat subdued and plain unless you do something like change the filter or the saturation, which is easily done through the Quality tab in the menu system.
High Contrast and Brightness
Low Contrast and Brightness
The biggest issue with the EX-FS10 is noise, which is apparent in most shots where available light is limited, including indoors and sunsets. This is an inherent problem with point-and-shoot cameras because of the size of the image sensor, though some camera companies have been able to subdue noise through more powerful image processors. In the case of the EX-FS10, noise is very apparent.
Video Quality The real prize of the EX-FS10 is high-speed video capture. This little camera is capable of capturing extremely slow video at 1,000 fps, though it's at an extremely low resolution (224x64). Shooting at 1,000 fps in low-light will render unusable footage, while shooting in available light will still give you extreme noise. The camera creates a tiny window almost like a pinhole area that you use to line up your shot, once you are ready to shoot you press the red record button.
While I found the 1,000 fps shooting to be useful for only a handful of situations, the frame rates of 210 and 420 fps were really the most interesting and rendered the best of this slow-motion capability. The 420 setting has a resolution of 224x168; while 210 records at 480x360. Both produced better video quality than the 1,000 fps setting. While the 420 mode is in the same ballpark resolution wise with 1,000, it gives you a wider shooting area and better low-light quality, mainly due to its slower speed. But the best slow-mo recording mode was the 210 setting, giving back video with very little degradation, and the cool effect of slow-motion that doesn't look mashed up or muddy.
It's important to note that the EX-FS10 in high speed movie capture does not capture audio, but why would it? Slow-mo is intended to be a visual capture, not a super slow-mo sound recording. Also, you cannot zoom in or out during slow motion capture.
The EX-FS10 also records HD video at 30 fps at a resolution of 1280x720. The recording time of HD movies are 10 minutes, and you cannot zoom during this capture either. There is also a monaural microphone that does an adequate job of capturing audio during HD video recording.
All video from the EX-FS10 is captured into .AVI files, and the high-speed movies do not take up much space at all, which is nice, seeing as how you're getting a slow-mo without killing your memory card's capacity. Shooting HD video, however, will quickly eat memory space.
The HD video quality is on par with most of the compacts with HD video, creating consistent output with nice color reproduction and very little of the color casts that I've been seeing in some cameras I've recently shot with. The high speed movies are great if that's what you're looking for, but are by no means a way to create a cinematic masterpiece. It is a niche being filled by Casio for the consumer who wants this unique feature, but is mostly for a wow factor to show your friends.
Exposure, Processing, and Color The EX-FS10 has three exposure reading modes including Multi, Center Weighted and Spot metering. As usual, the Multi metering is the default setting, and works well for your general purpose shooting. It does a good job of metering light throughout the entire frame, but in low-light tends to be very noisy.
Multi
Use of the Center Weighted metering worked well in available light, and was the best performer in low-light conditions.
Center Weighted
Spot metering was also a good low-light performer, and did well for measuring the light in a well-lit scene.
Spot
White Balance Auto White Balance worked sufficiently in the field, but the studio shots taken under incandescent light were warm and left a sort of orange cast over the foreground subjects.
Auto White Balance, 3200K incandescent light
Field shooting under different lighting conditions produced satisfactory images as well.
Sensitivity and Noise Noise is one of the biggest issues of the EX-FS10, mainly in low-light situations. Noise starts creeping into the frame when you push the camera past ISO 200, but in available light it works fine. In the studio lab tests, ISO 100 and 200 show decent images, but from 400 to 1600 you start to see noise. The EX-FS10 is certainly not the camera you want to take out at night without flash, but the camera is competent enough to produce a decent image.
ISO 100
ISO 100, 100% Crop
ISO 200
ISO 200, 100% Crop
ISO 400
ISO 400, 100% Crop
ISO 800
ISO 800, 100% Crop
ISO 1600
ISO 1600, 100% Crop
Additional Sample Images
CONCLUSIONS The truth is that Casio has set themselves at the top of the high speed market and can't even be touched by the competition. The EX-FS10 has a remarkable technology behind it, much like the EX-F1, minus the hefty price tag. Although it does have its quirks and limitations, the high-speed movie modes are enough to draw in someone looking for this effect.
If you're just shooting casually, this camera will provide you with sufficient image quality and performance. But if you're looking to catch the action, the 30 fps mode is impressive and works great, allowing you to slow down the action and always get the shot. With the combination of slow-mo video, HD video and extremely fast burst rate for stills, this camera is for the photographer who needs all this in one body.
Casio took the theory of high speed digital cameras to the extreme with its 6 megapixel EX-F1 with blazing 60 frames per second continuous shooting and 1200 fps high speed movie mode. Following in the F1's footsteps is the smaller, lighter, and less expensive 9 megapixel Casio Exilim EX-FH20.
Although not quite as fast as its older sibling, the FH20 still offers mind-boggling velocity at 40 frames per second continuous shooting and 1000 fps high speed movie mode. At the same time, with its 20x optical zoom the FH20 easily fits into the highly-competitive ultrazoom category. But is the FH20 a one-trick pony, or can the camera hold its own when the high speed factor is removed from the equation?
FEATURES OVERVIEW At its core, the 9.1 megapixel, CMOS-sensor equipped EX-FH20 meets or exceeds the definition of an ultrazoom camera. Its 20x optical zoom lens starts at what is becoming the wide-angle norm of 26mm and extends to 520mm (35mm-equivalent). Sensor-shift image stabilization helps avoid blur when shooting telephoto. And, like other ultrazooms, the FH20 offers a wide range of manual and automatic settings so experienced-and not so experienced-photographers can easily take advantage of this camera's zoom and speed capabilities.
The FH20 has four basic manual shooting modes, as well as a full auto setting and a unique Best Shot mode.
Program AE: The camera sets the shutter speed and aperture but the user has the option to set a full range of camera settings.
Shutter Priority (Tv): Shutter speed is set by the user; aperture set by the camera
Aperture Priority (Av): Aperture is set by the user; shutter speed set by the camera.
Manual: Both shutter speed and aperture are set by the user
Auto: All but a few settings are selected by the camera.
Best Shot: The camera chooses settings according to one of the 18 scene options selected by the user, including standards such as Portrait, Scenery, and Night Scene Portrait as well as specialties such as Multi-image Motion.
The FH20's Best Shot mode has several functions that go beyond a basic "scene" position. The aforementioned Multi-image Motion option, for instance, captures continuous action images and combines them into one photograph, which is great for capturing the step-by-step swing and hit of your child's homerun or his or her gymnastic moves. You can also create your own Best Shot mode, saving your favorite settings for focus, white balance, flash, ISO metering, dynamic range, color filter and more. Just be aware that since this information is saved on the camera, it will be deleted if/when you format the internal memory.
Other Features Of course, the main attraction of this camera is its speedy continuous shooting and movie modes. The former presents a great opportunity for grabbing a series of images that, upon close inspection, reveal the minutest differences in a subject's movement from one frame to the next. My first encounter with this feature was at a Casio press conference with three hockey players running some drills on a public ice skating rink.
Shooting with the FH20 was exhilarating but, in some ways, overwhelming since the camera is capturing images so quickly and it's easy to feel like you have no control. And, in some ways you don't have any control since the flash is off, the zoom doesn't work (which really doesn't matter because you won't have the time to operate the lens once you start shooting) and, at 40fps, the resolution is lowered to 7 megapixels. If 40fps is faster than you need, you can adjust the speed in the camera menu and, at about 1-30fps, increase the resolution to 8 megapixels.
After you finish shooting at high speed, you can choose to save all the images shot in a single sequence or pick and choose the ones you want to keep. The latter process is a little time-consuming (as is the time it takes for the camera to write all the images to the SD/SDHC card) but you can also arrange the images into groups that make sorting through them a lot easier. And, for fun, these images can be played back like a short animation.
Another method of capturing sequential action-and to make sure you don't miss the key shot-is the FH20's pre-record shooting mode. Essentially, the camera continuously captures the scene and keeps up to 5 seconds of the latest action in the buffer. When you press the record button, the camera saves the previous 5 seconds and continues to shoot and save images in real time. This feature is not new but it's useful when you're anticipating that something important will happen, i.e. your child is running up the field towards the goal and you want to make sure you get the shot(s) if he or she scores.
Move In CS and Move Out CS options are kind of interesting. Similar to the pre-recording mode, Move In CS automatically captures the scene immediately before and after the subject moves into a shot. Move Out CS works the same way except that it's triggered when a subject moves out of a shot.
The camera also offers continuous shooting with flash. Just pop up the flash, choose if you want 1, 3 or 6 fps image capture and shoot away. You can also set the camera to record up to 10 images in this mode, keeping in mind that the reach of the flash decreases as the number of shots captured increases.
Several movie mode options are also available, including high definition, standard shooting and high speed. There's also a YouTube mode that records movies with a choice of sizes and speed ideal for YouTube. (Casio includes a YouTube uploader application with the camera but the software only works with Windows; Mac users will have to use another method of uploading – not a big deal, though.)
But the high speed movie mode is what really sets this camera apart. You can change the fps count from 30 to 1000fps. Obviously, the 30fps isn't high speed but the other options are. What's so cool about high speed movie recording is that it plays back in slow motion. For example, a 10 second clip shot at 210fps will take about 70 seconds to play back. The only drawbacks are that the higher the speed, the smaller the file size. For example, shooting at 1000fps delivers a 224x56 pixel clip – a very narrow (as though it were letterbox) low resolution video that's good for the web but not for much else. And, there's no audio recording in this mode so you'll have to add your own soundtrack or watch a silent movie. Still, it was fun to record and play NYC traffic in motion, with cabs moving at a fraction of the speed they normally do.
Some of the other notable features on this camera include DNG (a type of RAW file), on-board help, face detection, built-in color filters (b&w, sepia, red, green, blue, yellow, pink, purple) and a myriad of adjustment options. For example, the dynamic range can be adjusted in high contrast shots to help maintain shadow and highlight details and saturation, sharpness and contrast can be tweaked in record mode. If you're not happy with your images, playback mode also allows you to adjust the white balance and brightness and saves a separate file of the corrected image.
For a detailed listing of specifications and features, please refer to the specifications table found at the bottom of the review.
FORM, FIT AND FEEL
Styling and Build Quality It's no surprise that the FH20, like many ultrazooms, has the look and feel of a small digital SLR.
Although it's smaller and lighter than the EX-F1, the FH20 is pretty hefty. The body measures 4.83x3.20x3.3 inches and weighs a little more than a pound-without the four AA batteries it needs for power.
Ergonomics and Interface Featuring a nice-sized grip, the FH20 is comfortable to hold and feels pretty solid in the hand. Even with the camera's anti-shake mechanism, it's important to have a substantial size and weight to counterbalance its long zoom and the FH20 provides enough of a grip and weight to help steady the camera when shooting.
When I first unpacked the FH20, there was a huge surprise, though. The mode dial – which usually provides access to shooting options like Auto, Aperture-priority, Shutter-speed priority and Manual – was pretty bare. There are five icons on the mode dial: Single Shot, High Speed Continuous Shooting, Flash CS, High Speed Movie, and HighDef/Standard Movie.
There are a number of dedicated controls scattered on the camera's surface including Display, Best Shot (scene mod) Menu, Set, and LCD/EVF (a button to switch between viewing on the LCD and the Electronic Viewfinder), as well as a green Playback button and a red Record button that, in addition to the standard power button, also can start up the camera. Macro and AE lock buttons are located on the lens barrel.
Most functions, however, are accessed via camera menus. For the most commonly changed settings, all you have to do is turn on the camera's Panel-a vertical, on-screen menu that is operated by the four-way controller and Set button. For example, you can easily change the shooting mode (i.e., Auto, Aperture-priority, etc.), the file size/ format, ISO, white balance, exposure compensation, metering, AF area (spot, selectable, tracking) and flash modes. If you'd rather have the full LCD view with no menu, all you have to do is press the up arrow on the four-way controller to quickly open the Panel.
If you're used to having the main shooting modes on the main dial, this method of changing modes might take a little adjustment on your part but Casio has made it quite easy to work with the camera's Panel menu system.
Display/Viewfinder Like all ultrazooms, the FH20 is equipped with both an LCD and an EVF (electronic viewfinder). The high resolution (230,400 dots) 3.0 inch LCD is clearly visible under most lighting conditions. My only complaint is that it really didn't gain up under low light.
The EVF is a little small but otherwise works well and is good alternative to the LCD under very bright conditions. Additionally, holding the camera up to your eye provides an extra level of insurance against blurry pictures since you'll have a firmer grip on the camera. While the FH20's sensor-shift stabilization works well, a little extra help keeping the camera steady is a good idea when shooting telephoto.
PERFORMANCE
Timings and Shutter Lag Obviously, the FH20 is a speed demon when it comes to continuous shooting, although the highest resolution you can attain in burst mode is 8 megapixels. But that's fine, especially when you consider the camera can attain a speed of 30fps at that resolution. The camera will capture up to 40 frames at that speed, which is just a little over a second, but you'd be surprised at how long a second really is considering how much action you can capture in that time.
Shutter Lag (press-to-capture, pre-focused)
Camera
Time (seconds)
Casio Exilim EX-FH20
0.02
Olympus SP-565 UZ
0.03
Fujifilm FinePix S100FS
0.04
Canon PowerShot SX10 IS
0.05
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28
0.08
AF Acquisition (press-to-capture, no pre-focus)
Camera
Time (seconds)
Fujifilm FinePix S100FS
0.31
Canon PowerShot SX10 IS
0.56
Casio Exilim EX-FH20
0.59
Olympus SP-565 UZ
0.62
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28
1.25*
* Note: The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28 was measured at 1.25 seconds in its default multi-area AF mode, but was able to achieve a very fast 0.16 seconds in this test in its single-area high speed mode.
Continuous Shooting
Camera
Frames*
Framerate*
Casio Exilim EX-FH20
40
30 fps†
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28
3
3.5 fps
Fujifilm FinePix S100FS
3
1.3 fps
Olympus SP-565 UZ
4
1.2 fps
Canon PowerShot SX200 IS
∞
0.9 fps
* Note: Continuous shooting framerates are based on the camera's fastest full-resolution JPEG continuous shooting mode, using the fastest media type available (300x CF, SDHC, etc.). "Frames" notes the number of captures recorded per burst before the camera stops/slows to clear the buffer.
† Note: The Casio Exilim FH20 has no continuous shooting capabilities at full resolution (9 megapixels). It is, however, capable of shooting at 30 fps at a slightly reduced 8 megapixels. Given this relatively high resolution, we have included the FH20's continuous shooting numbers in our comparison.
How does the FH20 perform otherwise? Pretty well, actually. Overall the camera is responsive and, when prefocused, has barely perceptible shutter lag. Start-up time felt about average for a camera of its class: slower than standard point-and-shoot models, but about the same as ultrazooms. If you want to be ready to capture action, don't turn the camera off since you'll have to wait 2-3 seconds for the FH20 to power on and extend the lens.
Auto Focus Three auto focus modes are available on the FH20: Spot, Free, and Tracking. Spot AF is pretty self-explanatory – the camera focuses on a small area in the center of the image. Free, also known as selectable AF, allows you to move the focus frame to the area of your choice. Tracking, as its name implies, will track a moving subject throughout the frame; all you have to do is half-press the shutter button and hold it down. Face Detection is also available and, like Tracking AF, it works pretty well in most cases.
But the FH20's auto focus isn't nearly as impressive as its continuous shooting speed. While it can hold its own against much of the ultrazoom competition – and will work for most situations – the FH20 doesn't have the zippiest AF on the market. The exception is probably at full wide angle, when the camera does a good job of quickly locking in focus. Also keep in mind that when shooting in high-speed CS, the camera sets the focus in the first shot and it remains fixed for the remainder of the burst.
Lens and Zoom Like many of its competitors, the FH20 offers a 20x optical zoom with sensor shift stabilization. Starting at 26mm and extending all the way to 520mm, and equipped with macro and super macro options, the FH20's lens meets or exceeds the needs of pretty much all photographers. Those of you who like to photograph close-ups of flowers, insects and other tiny objects will especially appreciate the camera's ability to focus as close as 0.4 inches in super macro mode...you'll need to stay at wider angles for the best macro shots, though.
It's hard to avoid lens distortion when equipping a camera with such an incredible focal range. That said, the FH20 does a pretty good job at keeping barrel distortion (bending outward of straight lines, like a barrel) to a minimum at wide angle. Unfortunately, there's some pin cushion distortion (bending inward of straight lines) at telephoto but in most scenes, you probably won't notice it.
At f/2.8 at wide angle to f/4.5 at telephoto, the lens is relatively fast. Naturally, the camera's sensor-shift stabilization will help if/when you need to shoot at slower-than-average shutter speeds. Use the EVF instead of the LCD to help brace the camera against your eye and body to add a little extra stability under low light conditions.
Flash The on-board flash provides a decent range for most shooting conditions. At wide angle, the flash covers a range from 1.3 feet to 23 feet, which is more than sufficient for illuminating a group of people in a relatively large space. Coverage for telephoto changes to about 4.3 feet to 14.4 feet.
The FH20 doesn't have a hot shoe, but you can adjust the intensity of the flash output by +/-2 EV, which gives you some flexibility.
Image Stabilization Casio has equipped the FH20 with three possible options to combat camera shake. The first, and the most desirable, is sensor-shift IS, where the sensor moves when camera shake is detected and the ISO can be set manually to a reasonable (non-noisy) level.
The second anti-shake option boosts the ISO so you can shoot at a higher shutter speed. And, finally, you can utilize both the sensor-shift IS and high ISO anti-shake.
Obviously, you'll get the least noise when using sensor-shift stabilization and, while it's not the best IS system on the market (you might gain one or two stops, especially at telephoto), it's certainly a better option than the noise-producing anti-shake high ISO modes.
Battery The camera is powered by four AA batteries, and Casio includes a set of AA alkalines with the camera to get you started. However, you're much better off using NiMH rechargeables not only because it's better for the environment vs. using disposable AAs but also because NiMH batteries almost double the number of still images you'll be able to shoot on a single charge to 400. Also be sure to use a high speed, high capacity SDHC card for the optimum performance when shooting since a 1GB card holds only about 4 minutes 22 seconds of HD movies (and only a minute or 2 more in 1000fps mode). I tested the camera with an 8GB SanDisk Extreme III card, which provided more than enough room for a day of still and short movie clips.
IMAGE QUALITY When it comes to image quality, the FH20 won't hit the top of the list as best of show in the ultrazoom market. That's not to say that the camera can't produce some decent pictures-it can-but when push comes to shove, it's the FH20's high speed capture, rather than image quality, that is the camera's strong suit.
Exposure, Processing, and Color On the plus side, the FH20 produces photographs with natural-looking colors. In other words, don't expect hugely vivid colors on the default settings.
Exposure was generally accurate and when highlights overwhelmed the scene, adjusting the dynamic range setting of the camera helped – a little.
Although purple fringing along high contrast edges is fairly common among ultrazoom cameras, the FH20 suffers from a higher-than-average occurrence of this chromatic aberration. Overall, default images didn't look very sharp upon close inspection, which especially affected the camera's fine detail capture capabilities.
White Balance A full complement of white balance options is available on the FH20: auto, daylight, overcast, shade, day white fluorescent, daylight fluorescent, tungsten and manual.
Auto White Balance, 3200K incandescent light
Auto white balance worked well outdoors; whites were rendered correctly and colors were spot on. Indoors, like most cameras, the FH20 produced overly warm images on auto WB under incandescent light. Switch the white balance setting to tungsten and you end up with a photograph that's much more balanced, albeit a touch warm (which is preferable to, for example, the Olympus SP-565UZ's relatively cool, bluish incandescent preset).
Tungsten White Balance, 3200K incandescent light
If the white balance setting didn't work when the image was captured, try adjusting it in playback. The white balance adjustment feature, which does not include a manual option, won't correct extreme deviations but it might help change a too cool (or warm) image to a better level.
Sensitivity and Noise ISO settings range from a manually set low of 100 to a high of 1600, but despite the use of a CMOS sensor (which often delivers lower image noise), the FH20 doesn't do well at higher ISOs.
ISO 100
ISO 100, 100% crop
ISO 200
ISO 200, 100% crop
ISO 400
ISO 400, 100% crop
ISO 800
ISO 800, 100% crop
ISO 1600
ISO 1600, 100% crop
Some image noise is visible even at ISO 200 and increases from there. Along with image noise comes the softening of details from image noise suppression, so your best bet is to keep the ISO at 100 whenever possible, although the light sensitivity settings go up to 1600.
Additional Sample Images
CONCLUSIONS Casio has really pulled ahead of the pack when it comes to high speed shooting with the FH20. This camera is like no other on the market (well, other than the Casio Exilim F1) and, in that regard, is a star.
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Unfortunately, as a high speed camera and as an ultrazoom, the FH20's image quality – both still and video – isn't great. But if capturing action is your thing, then you should definitely check out the FH20.
Pros:
Amazing, and unique, high speed still and movie capture
Full complement of manual and automatic features
Image adjustment, including white balance, available in playback
Generally good shooting performance
High-resolution, 3.0 inch LCD
Natural looking colors
Cons:
Images are relatively soft and image noise creeps in even at mid-ISOs
Purple fringing is noticeable along high contrast edges
Lens distortion at telephoto
Image stabilization offers only slight benefit at full telephoto
SPECIFICATIONS
Sensor
9.1 megapixel (effective), 1/2.3" High Speed CMOS
Zoom
20x (26-520 mm) zoom, f/2.8-4.5
LCD/Viewfinder
3.0", 230K-dot Super Clear TFT LCD
Sensitivity
ISO 100-1600
Shutter Speed
30-1/2000 seconds (1/40,000 max in continuous high-speed mode)
Shooting Modes
Auto, Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual, Best Shot (scene), Movie
Scene Presets
18 presets
White Balance Settings
Auto, Daylight, Overcast, Shade, Day White Fluorescent, Daylight Fluorescent, Tungsten, Manual
Metering Modes
Multi-pattern, Center-weighted, Spot
Focus Modes
Spot, Free, Tracking
Drive Modes
Normal, High-Speed, Self Timer
Flash Modes
Auto, Flash Off, Flash On, Red Eye Reduction
Self Timer Settings
10 seconds, 2 seconds, Triple Self Timer, Off
Memory Formats
SD, SDHC
Internal Memory
31.9 MB
File Formats
JPEG, DNG (raw), AVI
Max. Image Size
3456x2592
Max. Video Size
1280x720, 30 fps
Zoom During Video
No
Battery
AA x 4
Connections
USB 2.0, AV output
Additional Features
Face Detection, Sensor-shift image stabilization, high-speed still shooting at 40 fps, 1000 fps video
Casio introduces today the slim Exilim Zoom EX-Z280 and EX-Z33. The Z280 offers more of the fancy stuff, like 720p video and sensor-shift image stabilization, and the back-to-basics Z33 features a 10.1 megapixel CCD and Casio's tried and true YouTube video recording mode. Both feature beginner-friendly "Easy" modes.
