Casio Exilim EX-Z75

Model Design / Appearance (6.0)
Marsha. Marsha. Marsha. The EX-Z75 is the Jan Brady of the Zoom line; it’s not as eye-catching as its bigger sister, the Z1000, but it still resembles the good-looking Casio family. The camera looks sleek and its aluminum alloy exterior is solid. They can’t all be Marsha Brady. Overall, the camera possesses an attractive layout for the price point. The camera comes in four stylish color options: pink, blue, black, and silver.

Size / Portability (7.75)
The camera’s thinness is one of its biggest selling points. With a pancake-like design, the Casio EX-Z75 measures 3.75 x 0.77 x 2.38 inches. The base, the thinnest part of the camera, measures 0.63 inches deep and can fit comfortably in any pocket. Consistent with Casio’s trademark for making ultra-thin cameras, the EX-Z75 lends itself to portability. The camera weighs a mere 4.3 ounces, excluding accessory weight. Users will find the camera easy to carry for a night on the town. The lightweight construction of the camera, however, may not survive a rough trip stuffed in a backpack.

Handling Ability (5.0)
With dimensions comparable to a deck of cards, the Casio EX-Z75 is undoubtedly a portable camera. Handling, however, is a different thing. The camera may look good, but its all-too-flat design will leave consumers with cramped hands after an extended shoot. The camera lacks any type of rubber, hand grip, or additional space for the left hand to stabilize the camera.

For the ever-popular narcissistic one-handed self-portrait, users can handle the camera vertically, much like a voice recorder or walkie talkie. Horizontal self-portraits require a little more effort since the user needs both hands to stabilize the camera. Because the shutter button has a weak depression, users may need to hit the shutter more than once for the camera to actually take a photo when shooting.

Handling is often a gripe for tiny point-and-shooters, and the Casio EX-Z75 continues the trend.



Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size (4.75)
The Casio EX-Z75’s controls are not its strong suit. Casio could have taken advantage of the extra space on the back to increase button size, or moved some of the controls to the top of the camera. The camera has tiny, sliver-like buttons. On the top of the camera is the capsule-shaped power button and shutter control, a function that is typically offered as a larger circular disc for easy access. On the back of the camera are itty bitty controls for Zooming, Playback, Record mode, Menu, and Best Shot mode. Users may find themselves using the tips of their nails to play back an image or access the Record mode. The four-way controller is the only button of ample size to easily navigate through menus.

Overall, navigating the controls is irritating. In this way, the Casio EX-Z75 failed in what should have been top priority in digital camera design: making it easy to use.

Menu (7.75)
The Casio EX-Z75’s menu system is the camera’s saving grace for usability. The Main menu is accessed through the menu button on the back control panel. The menu is divided into three sections, marked by red tabs and clearly labeled text: "REC" for focus and zoom functions, "Quality" for image size and incremental controls, and "Set Up" for items such as time stamps and sounds.

The menu is set against a live preview in Record mode. Each item is spelled out with white text against gray bars and opens up into submenus with more options. The interface is pleasing to the eye and offers enough options without overwhelming the user.

The Record menu includes the following:

Record Menu
Focus	AF, Macro, PF, Infinity (icon), MF
Continuous	On, Off
Self-Timer	10 seconds, 2 seconds, x3, Off
Anti Shake	Auto, Off
AF Area	Spot, Multi
Easy Mode	On, Off
L/R Key	Metering, EV Shift, White Balance, ISO, Self-timer, Off
Quick Shutter	On, Off
Audio Snap	On, Off
Grid	On, Off
Digital Zoom	On, Off
Review	On, Off
Icon Help	On, Off
Memory	BESTSHOT, Flash, Focus, White Balance, ISO, AF Area, Metering, Self-timer, Flash Intensity, Digital Zoom, MF Position, Zoom Position

The Quality menu includes image size and compression controls, as expected. It also includes controls such as ISO and white balance, normally reserved for the Record menu since these controls are likely to be accessed more frequently than compression control. Although the menu settings do not follow the traditional logical order, they shouldn’t distract the user too much.

Quality Menu
Size	7M, 3:2, 16:9, 5M, 3M, 2M, VGA
Quality	Fine, Normal, Economy
Quality	HQ, Normal, LP
EV Shift	+/- 0.3, 0.7, 1.0, 1.3, 1.7, 2.0
White Balance	Auto, Daylight, Overcast, Shade, DayWhite Fluorescent N, Daylight Fluorescent D, Tungsten, Manual
ISO	Auto, ISO 50, 100, 200, 400
Metering	Multi, Center Weighted, Spot
Filter	Off, B/W, Sepia, Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, Pink, Purple
Sharpness	+2, +1, 0, -1, -2
Saturation	+2, +1, 0, -1, -2
Contrast	+2, +1, 0, -1, -2
Flash Intensity	+2, +1, 0, -1, -2
Flash Assist	Auto, Off

The Set Up menu holds standard features such as Display and Sleep mode.

Set Up Menu
Panel	On, Off
Display	Wide, 4:3
Sounds	Startup, Half Shutter, Shutter, Operation, Operation (volume), Play (volume)
Startup	On, Off
File No.	Continue, Reset
World Time	Home, World
Timestamp	Date, Date & Time, Off
Adjust	(Date and Time fields)
Date Style	YY/MM/DD, DD/MM/YY, MM/DD/YY
Language	English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese Traditional, Chinese Simplified, Korean
Sleep	30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, Off
Auto Power Off	1 minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes
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

Although some of the items do not follow the menu order of other manufacturers, they are still pretty easy to use.

Ease of Use (7.25)
The Casio Exilim EX-Z75 has a sufficient menu system and LCD live preview for many options, which is nice, particularly for users who might not be familiar with photo terms like "EV compensation." The camera aids beginner point-and-shooters with the inclusion of 34 automatic preset Scene modes and a live histogram that displays exposure visually in a graph form. The biggest complaint is the handling and midget-sized buttons that hinder ease of use. Overall, however, the camera isn’t too complicated and is ready to go right out of the box.