Casio Exilim EX-FH20 Digital Camera Review

Casio Exilim EX-FH20

First Impressions Review

Sep 23, 2008 - By Mark Brezinski
2.2 The Casio Exilim EX-FH20 is an advanced point-and-shoot that looks and feels a lot like a digital SLR. As with its predecessor, the groundbreaking EX-F1, the main selling point here is pure, blistering speed. The EX-FH20 is capable of capturing 40 high-resolution frames per second. While this isn't quite as fast as the EX-F1's 60 fps, but it is still an extraordinary achievement when compared to the 3-5 fps we typically see. The camera is also capable of high-speed video. While it can capture at a maximum of 1000 frames per second, the resolution has to drop incredibly low in order to do so. Again, while slower than the EX-F1's 1200 fps, the EX-FH20 still outperforms the overwhelming majority of point-and-shoots. Further, the EX-FH20 manages to usurp the EX-F1 in terms of effective resolution, mustering 9.1 megapixels compared to the EX-F1's 6 megapixels. The EX-FH20 is also priced much lower, at $599.99 compared to the EX-F1's $999.99.
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Auto Mode
The Casio Exilim EX-FH20's auto mode does not fully automate camera operations, one of the reasons we feel this isn't the best camera choice for beginners. If the auto mode stretched to include settings for automatic white balance, ISO and metering options, it would be a lot more user-friendly for point-and-shooters stepping up to heavier hardware horsepower. Even if the users is aware and knowledgeable of all these settings, it's a bit of a pain to flip them all to automatic should they hand the camera off to someone less savvy.

Movie Mode
The EX-FH20 has quite the movie mode. It's capable of capturing a resolution of 1280 x 720 at 30 fps, 640 x 480 at 30 fps, 320 x 240 at 30 fps, and 224 x 168 at 420 fps. If you're willing to reduce the resolution to a mere 224 x 56 resolution, you can capture high-speed video at 1000 fps.



On the high-definition side of the equation, the EX-FH20 falls short of its predecessor, which could not only capture video at 1920 x 1080, but also had an HDMI port so you could connect directly to an HDTV set and watch in full high-def. The new camera does offer the lower-resolution flavor of high-definition, but to enjoy even that level of resolution you have to watch it on a computer screen, since there's no high-def output from the camera.

There is also a special capture mode for YouTube videos, so the entirety of the Internet can see the high-speed videos of you hurling fruit against a brick wall.

Drive / Burst Mode
One of the main selling points of the EX-FH20 is its burst mode. The camera is capable of capturing about 40 frames per second. We were actually able to test this with a stopwatch, and found the figure to be accurate (at least to the tenth of a second). You can opt to pick and choose which captured frames are actually saved to your camera.

Playback Mode
There are a few views for playback mode, which you can shuffle between with the display button. The first only contains the image's name, size, and date taken. The second will also highlight overexposed areas. The third will display more information, such as white balance, ISO, shutter and aperture settings, along with a small histogram. The final view displays the captured image alone. 

Custom Image Presets
The BS button on the back of the camera will shortcut to the Best Shot menu, otherwise known as a library of scene modes. The scene modes on the EX-FH20 are identical to those on the EX-F1: portrait, scenery, portrait with scenery, children, sports, candlelight portrait, party, pet, flower, natural green, autumn leaves, soft flowing water, splashing water, sundown, night scene, night scene portrait, fireworks, food, text, collection, auction, digital anti shake, digital panning, move out CS (starts shooting when subject wanders off frame), move in CS (starts shooting when subject moves into frame), and YouTube mode. Not only is this list expansive, but most of these scene modes simply aren't found elsewhere.

Design / Layout Page 5 of 8 Control Options
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