Casio Exilim EX-F1

 

Model Design / Appearance
The Casio EX-F1 looks so much like a DSLR that it fooled just about everyone. Months of Internet buzz have loomed over Casio’s supposed DSLR, but the camera is really an ultra-zoom compact. It has the serious and sophisticated look of a DSLR. It comes in black and is built from a durable magnesium alloy; the same material used to build most DSLRs. The EX-F1 looks and feels serious, a change from previous Exilim Pros. Other models, like the Casio P505, were just too small and had too many chintzy features to be taken seriously.

Size / Portability
The Casio EX-F1’s measurements are ample. It has an ultra-zoom body type, but has the weight and size of most DSLRs. Its official measurements are 5.03 x 3.13 x 5.12 inches (127.7 x 79.6 x 130.1mm), which includes the incredibly long lens. Casio’s press release states the EX-F1 is "surprisingly light," but it didn’t surprise me. On the contrary, I think its 23.67-ounce weight is heavier than it looks. That weight is without the card and battery, too.

A neck strap is included with the EX-F1, but it isn’t anything glamorous. It’s mainly fabric and has a little leather where the neck actually rests. The neck strap will definitely be necessary to carry this little beast around. To really transport it, the EX-F1 will require a camera bag because of its size and heft.

Handling Ability
The Casio Exilim Pro EX-F1 is built for big hands. The camera has a huge hand grip that protrudes out nicely. My fingers wrapped around the front, but didn’t quite reach the valley between the grip and the lens. The hand grip is covered in a textured rubber that feels more smooth than sticky but still grips just as well as anything.

There are a few handling features on the back. There are a few plastic bumps and a small curvy nub where the thumb rests. And on the bottom, the wide base makes a great place for the left hand to support that hefty lens. The lens does seem heavier than the hand grip, so this imbalance could cause some discomfort. This is definitely a camera to be handled with both hands.

Overall, the handling is good. The large hand grip is comfortable and the big base makes a good home for the left hand. Fingers don’t get in the way of components, and most buttons and controls are placed intuitively.

Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size
The controls on the Casio EX-F1 are similar to those on previous Pro models, although there are a few nice updates. The best update is the rotary dial that surrounds the traditional multi-selector; this is perfect for scrolling through those large batches of burst photos and slow motion videos. It also scrolls through options in menus, which can be useful in the incredibly lengthy Setup menu.
The size, placement, and labels on the buttons are just as they should be. Fingers won’t be stumbling over several buttons to find them. Most of the buttons are typical of those on most compact digital cameras.

The Casio EX-F1 offers manual controls, but doesn’t provide an easy jog dial to access them. Everything is done with the multi-selector or rotary dial. There isn’t a jog dial, but there is a dial for the camera’s highly-marketed Burst modes.

Another interesting button on the F1 is the movie button. It is located on the upper right corner of the camera’s back – separate from the shutter release button on top that captures still images. This allows you to take still pictures while recording video – without stopping the video – and record video at a moment’s notice (as opposed to rotating a mode dial or even pushing a Movie mode button before pushing the button again to actually record). This control has the same concept as the MovieSnap button found on the Canon PowerShot S5 IS.

Menu
The menu layout is similar to other Casio Exilim digital cameras – compact and Pro series alike. The LCD screen is nice and large, but the font is small and there are scores of menus to go through. Just about everything on the Casio EX-F1 can be customized. That’s fabulous, but makes for pages of menus that will only be accessed very occasionally. The menus can be navigated through with the rotary dial and the multi-selector.

There is a small Function menu that appears on the right side of the LCD screen.

The Function menu provides a few live views of the exposure compensation and the white balance, and is easily accessible on the LCD. The other menus are available from the menu button. It sounds easy, but there are so many pages of them that it’s almost overwhelming. But if you’ve used Casio Exilim digital cameras before, this isn’t anything new.

Recording Menu
Self Timer	Off, x3, 2 sec, 10 sec
AF assist lamp	On, Off
Anti-Shake	Auto, Camera AS, Image AS, Demo, Off
Face Detection	On, Off
Continuous AF	On, Off
AE/AF Lock	AEL, AFL, AE/AF L
AE Bracketing	3 or 5 copies, +/- 0.3, +/- 0.7, +/- 1
WB Bracketing	3 or 5 copies, +/- 0.3, +/- 0.7, +/- 1
Focus Bracketing	3 or 5 copies, +/- 0.3, +/- 0.7, +/- 1
Ring Setup	CS fps, Zoom, Focus, Off
Save CS Images	Normal (batch), Select and Save, Always Ask
Digital Zoom	On, Off
Quick Shutter	On, Off
Review	On, Off
Grid	On, Off
Icon Help	On, Off
Memory	Flash, Self Timer, Flash Intensity, Digital Zoom, MF Position, Zoom Position
Quality Menu
Still Image Quality	Fine, Normal, Economy
Video Quality	LP, Normal, HQ
HS Video Speed	300 fps, 600 fps, 1200 fps, 60-300 fps
Dynamic Range	Expand +2, Expand +1, Off
Flash Intensity	-2, -1.7, -1.3, -1, -0.7, -0.3, 0, +0.3, +0.7, +1, +1.3, +1.7, +2
Flash Assist	Auto, Off
Color Filter	Off, Black & White, 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
Setup Menu
Screen	Auto 2, Auto 1, +2, +1, 0, -1, -2
EVF Brightness	0, +1, +2
Sounds	Startup, Half Shutter, Shutter, Operation all with 5 sounds and off. Operation and Playback Volume with 8 levels.
File No.	Reset, Continuous
World Time	Home, Away
Time Stamp	Date, Date & Time, Off
Adjust	(set time)
Date Style	YMD, MDY, DMY
Language	English, Japanese (10 languages are expected at production time)
Sleep	30 sec, 1 min, 2 min, Off
Auto Power Off	1, 2, 5 min
Rec/Play	Power On, Power On/Off, Disable
On	LCD Priority, Off
USB	Mass Storage, PTP
Video Out	NSTC 4:3, NTSC 16:9, PAL 4:3, PAL 16:9
HDMI Output	Auto, 1080i, 480p, 576p
Format	Format, Cancel
Reset	Reset, Cancel

There are tabs to jump from the Recording to the Quality and Setup menus, but no way to easily jump through the pages in those individual menus. The menus are easy to find, but the options in them aren’t.

Ease of Use
This isn’t the kind of digital camera a beginner would buy. With that in mind, Casio didn’t include exceptional ease of use features. There isn’t a fully automated mode, there isn’t a help guide to explain functions, and the length of the menus aren’t encouraging for newbies. That said, the Casio EX-F1 still packs in all the Best Shot modes from its compacts, and its menus are the same as other Exilims, so loyal Casio customers will probably find this camera easier to use than most consumers.