Casio Exilim EX-Z700
Digital Camera Review
Nov 22, 2006
- By Emily Raymond
1.7
Announced at the beginning of August and available in September 2006, the Casio Exilim EX-Z700 comes to the market with 7.2 megapixels and all the typical bells and whistles of a Casio camera. It is skinny with a 3x telescoping optical zoom lens on the front and a 2.7-inch LCD screen on the back. This camera adds two more scene modes to the already extensive list for a total of 37 Best Shot modes. The middle-tier Casio Z700 will retail for $299 and is offered in blue, silver, and gray.
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Likes
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- Lots of flash options
- Big LCD
- Pocket sized body
- Hardly any shutter lag
- 3 fps burst
- Rapid flash mode
- Lots of battery power
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Dislikes
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- Not enough included memory
- Manual controls buried in menus
- No optical zoom in movie mode
- Keystone feature doesn't work
- Childish software
- Terrible in low light
- Some of the noisiest pictures we've seen
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Conclusion
The Casio Exilim EX-Z700 has a lot going for it. The digital camera has 7.2 megapixels and still keeps shutter lag to a minimum. It has a lengthy list of interesting scene modes, which some users will find fabulous and others will curse. It takes decent pictures in optimal lighting and its built-in flash has plenty of controls to keep it from whitening foreheads and such. The pocket-sized camera is easy to transport and its battery lasts an incredible 460 shots per charge. The Casio Z700 isn’t all butterflies and fairies though. It produces terrible amounts of noise in pictures, low light photography is nearly impossilbe, its audio recording capabilities are limited to subjects within a few feet of the camera, its mode dial is nonexistent so users have to enter the lengthy menu system for everything, and a glitch in the playback menu makes the camera look a bit unfinished. Still, the price is decent at $299. The Casio Z700 is far from being exceptionally impressive, but it is an average camera that takes average pictures (in optimal lighting, that is) – and you can get it at an average price.