Casio Exilim EX-FC100
Digital Camera Review
Jun 26, 2009
- By Tim Barribeau
3.8
Casio has managed to squeeze the extremely high-speed photography and slow-motion video into the EX-FC100, which takes 9-megapixel images (or 6 megapixels at 30 frames per second) and records video at up to 1000 frames per second. While it had some issues with image quality, the high speeds are a powerful draw.
| Top Point & Shoot Cameras |
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Noise (10.11)
The image noise levels on the EX-FC100 were good at ISO 800 and below, but above that proved to be problematic. Image noise is a speckling static-like effect that becomes increasingly apparent at higher ISOs. We test this by photographing the X-Rite ColorChecker chart at every full ISO setting, under 3000 and 60 lux of illumination. We use Imatest to measure the image noise at each ISO. Click here for more on how we test noise.
| Light Level Noise Comparison |
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The chart above shows the different levels of noise under 60 lux and 3000 lux. Ideally, you want these lines to be as close to one another as possible, but the Casio had noticeably worse noise under low-light illumination.
| Noise Comparisons |
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Compared to the other cameras, the Casio performs very well at ISO 800 and belo. However, at ISO 1600 the image noise jumps, though not quite as badly as it does on the Fujifilm F200EXR.
The chart below shows the different noise levels at a range of ISOs, under both 60 and 3000 lux. The fact that the noise looks so soft and fuzzy at ISO 1600 is due to some attempt at noise reduction processing by the camera.
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ISO 100 |
ISO 400 |
ISO 800 |
ISO 1600 |
| 60 Lux |
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| 3000 Lux |
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Compared to the other cameras we reviewed, the Casio has slightly better noise performance than the Canon and Fuji, and noticeably better than the Sony T900, when the entire range of ISOs is taken into consideration.
| Noise Score Comparison |
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ISO (5.00)
The Casio EX-FC100 can shoot ISOs ranging from 100-1600, all at full size, lacking the ISO 3200 setting increasingly common even in compact cameras. This chart shows provides same-size crops to show how each camera's photos look at the different ISO settings. There is some color disparity between them, due to the fact they were photographed using automatic white balance.
NOTE: The images above are not used in our testing or scoring, but are included here to show real-world examples of the differences between cameras at the various ISO settings.
