Casio Exilim EX-Z1050

Model Design / Appearance (7.25)
The Casio Exilim Z1050 is the flagship of a long line of compact digital cameras designed to be slim and stylish. The Z1050 comes in black, silver, pink, and blue – we reviewed the blue model, though I think it looks more like periwinkle. The digital camera’s aluminum body is small and lightweight, but goes a bit overboard with logos and brand names. The Casio Z1050 isn’t hot-to-trot; it looks like every other Exilim point-and-shoot digital camera, but it comes in four colors.

Size / Portability (7.75)
The Casio Z1050 doesn’t aim to be ultra-slim but still wants to be compact and stylish. The camera measures 3.6 x 2.3 x 0.95 inches and is 0.81 inches at its thinnest point. It is still small enough to stash in pockets and purses and just about anywhere else. Weighing only 4.4 ounces without the card and battery, the Z1050 almost feels cheap. The camera doesn’t feel incredibly sturdy, so if you’re storing it in a backpack often you may want to purchase a carrying case to protect it.   

Handling Ability (5.0)
This is another one of those point-and-shoot digital cameras that handle like a, um, box. There isn’t a hand grip or even a finger grip on the front. The only handling feature on the camera is a thumb grip composed of eight plastic bumps in the upper right corner of the back. These bumps are sharp; they feel fine when your thumb is simply resting upon it, but sliding the thumb across will exfoliate your skin. All in all, the Casio Z1050 isn’t very comfortable to handle but is made for only occasional out-of-pocket handling anyway.

Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size (5.25)
The control buttons on the Casio Exilim Z1050 are tiny. The shutter release button is the biggest and most comfortable, but nothing else comes close. The zoom ring surrounding the shutter release has a tiny knob that has to be pushed right and left and causes some finger cramps. The power button is smaller than some ants. The buttons on the back of the camera are also incredibly tiny. Most of them are properly labeled, especially if users are familiar with Casio digital cameras. Exilims have a button labeled "BS" that may not make sense to unfamiliar consumers. It stands for "Best Shot," Casio’s label for scene modes. It would be more intuitive if labeled "SCN" or "Mode." Besides that little glitch, the labeling is intuitive but the buttons are incredibly tiny. If you have big fingers or arthritis, you will hate this camera.

Menu (7.75)
The Casio Exilim Z1050 has a regular menu system that is supplemented by a sort of "function menu." Many manufacturers have a separate menu that accesses the more frequently used settings. Canon accesses it with a "Func." button, Fujifilm marks it with an "F" button. Casio’s can be found as the "panel display," which can be turned on and off in the setup menu. It is helpful to have this menu activated as the view is otherwise blocked with black bars because of the oddly formatted 14:9 LCD screen. The menu shows up as icons on the right edge of the screen and can be accessed by pushing the Set button. Once the button is pushed, the menu lights up and options appear to the left of the selected item. Users can then navigate normally using the multi-selector. The panel display includes these features.

Image Size	10M, 3:2, 16:9, 5M, 3M, 2M, VGA
Flash Mode	Auto, Off, On, Soft, Red-eye Reduction
Focus Mode	AF, Macro, Infinity, MF
Self-Timer	10 sec, 2 sec, x3, Off
Anti-Shake	Off, Auto
ISO Sensitivity	Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800
White Balance	Auto, Daylight, Overcast, Shade, Day White Fluorescent, Daylight Fluorescent, Tungsten, Manual WB
Exposure Compensation	+/- 2 in 1/3 increments
Display	Time, Date

All of these features are repeated in the standard menu system in case users deactivate the panel display. The standard menus are found with the tiny but well-labeled Menu button and are navigated through with the typical multi-selector setup. The menu shown below is organized into three tabs, which show up at the top of the LCD screen.

Focus	AF, Macro, Infinity, MF
Continuous	Normal Speed, High Speed, Flash Cont., Zoom Cont., Off
Self-Timer	10 sec, 2 sec, x3, Off
Anti-Shake	Auto, Off
AF Area	Spot, Multi, Tracking
AF Assist Light	On, Off
L/R Key	Off, Metering, EV Shift, White Balance, ISO, Self-Timer
Quick Shutter	On, Off
Audio Snap	On, Off
Grid	On, Off
Digital Zoom	On, Off
Review	On, Off
Icon Help	On, Off
Memory	Best Shot, Flash, Focus, White Balance, ISO, AF Area, Metering, Self-Timer, Flash Intensity, Digital Zoom, MF Position, Zoom Position (all with On and Off choices)
Quality
Size	10M, 3:2, 16:9, 5M, 3M, 2M, VGA
Quality	Fine, Normal, Economy
Movie Quality	HQ, Normal, LP
EV Shift	+/- 2 in 1/3 increments
White Balance	Auto, Daylight, Overcast, Shade, Day White Fluorescent, Daylight Fluorescent, Tungsten, Manual WB
ISO	Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800
Metering	Multi, Center-Weighted, Spot
Dynamic Range	Expand +2, Expand +1, Off
Portrait Refiner	Noise Filter +2, Noise Filter +1, Off
Color Filter	Off, B/W, Sepia, Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, Pink, Purple
Sharpness	+/- 2 in full steps
Saturation	+/- 2 in full steps
Contrast	+/- 2 in full steps
Flash Intensity	+/- 2 in full steps
Flash Assist	Auto, Off
Set Up
Panel	On, Off
Playback Display	Wide, 4:3
Screen	Auto 2, Auto 1, +2, +1, 0
Sounds	Startup, Half Shutter, Shutter, Operation (all with Sounds 1-5 and Off), Operation Volume (1-7), Playback Volume (1-7)
Startup	On, Off
File No.	Continue, Reset
World Time	Select Home and World time zones from world map
Time Stamp	Date, Date & Time, Off
Adjust	Set date and time
Date Style	YY/MM/DD, DD/MM/YY, MM/DD/YY
Language	English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese
Sleep	30 sec, 1 min, 2 min, Off
Auto Power Off	1 min, 2 min, 5 min
Rec/Play	Power On, Power On/Off, Disable
USB	Mass Storage (USB Direct Print), PTP (PictBridge)
Video Out	NTSC 4:3, NTSC 16:9, PAL 4:3, PAL 16:9
Format	Format, Cancel
Reset	Reset, Cancel

The lists are long and there’s no simple way to tell where you are in the menu: no page numbers or scrolling bar or anything. Just long lists. The menus are in an archaic font similar to other Casio digital cameras. At least the menus are mostly text rather than icons though. Overall, the menu system is intuitive with the text and organization but the lengthy menus make finding a specific setting a time-consuming process.

Ease of Use (7.25)
The Casio Exilim EX-Z1050 aims to be one of the easiest-to-use digital cameras on the market. It has a simple interface, albeit small, that is clearly labeled. Beginners may get confused by the "BS" button that represents the "Best Shot" modes. This is the access point to all the shooting modes on the camera – and there are plenty. Casio tries to make things easy for its users by tailoring scene modes to every situation possible: Soft Flowing Water and Natural Green are two examples of the ultra-specific scenes. This might be nice for beginners who are new to digital photography and aren’t sure what settings make what situations look best, but having 38 modes crammed onto a menu makes finding a specific mode unpleasant. The experience is similar in the recording menu too: it’s lengthy, so finding a setting is tough. Is the Casio Z1050 easy to use? As long as you don’t have to change the mode or enter the menu, yes.