Casio Exilim Zoom · announced January 2007
The Casio Exilim EX-Z1050: the cheaper ten-megapixel Exilim, and five reviews that contradict each other
We found no other regional name for it: Casio's release, Imaging Resource and all five reviews use EX-Z1050.12
In January 2007 Casio followed its first ten-megapixel Exilim with a cheaper one: a 1/1.75-inch sensor, a smaller screen, no real stabiliser and a battery rated for 370 shots. Five reviewers used it and disagreed about the noise, the screen and the autofocus.
- Launched
- March 2007
- Sensor
- 10.1 MP CCD
- Lens
- 38–114 mm, 3×
- Card
- SD, SDHC, MultiMediaCard
- Battery
- NP-40
Casio Exilim EX-Z1050 specs: sensor, lens, battery, memory card and cable
Launched in March 2007 at $299.99, the Casio Exilim EX-Z1050 is a 10.1 MP CCD compact with a 38–114 mm (35 mm equivalent) 3× zoom lens. Inside: it runs on the NP-40 battery. Sources
- Sensor
- CCD, 1/1.75", 10.1 MP source
- Lens
- 38–114 mm equivalent, 3× zoom source
- Memory card
- SD, SDHC, MultiMediaCard source
- Battery
- NP-40 source
- USB / A/V cable
- See our Casio cable page
Meet the camera
It is a small aluminium compact. Trusted Reviews gave its size as 91.1 by 57.2 by 24.2 millimetres and its weight as 125 grams, and said it was very compact and light by the standard of anything but another Casio.4 The same outlet called the control layout simple and uncluttered, with a zoom ring around the shutter button.4 ePHOTOzine thought the design a little bland but the build first rate, apart from an on/off button that was tiny and recessed.3
Casio announced it in London on 30 January 2007 as the second model in its 10.1-megapixel line, after the EX-Z1000, with a UK suggested price of £229.99.1 Imaging Resource lists it as available from 31 March 2007 at a retail price of $299.99.2 Reviewed.com said it retailed for $299 in March 2007 and that Casio later cut the price to $269.5 For comparison, our EX-Z1000 page gives that camera's planned US price as $399.99. Reviewed.com called the 7.2-megapixel EX-Z75 a budget model released alongside the Z1050.5
Why this one was interesting
Seven shots a second, at two megapixels
Casio's headline was a burst of up to seven frames a second until the card was full, limited to 2.0 megapixels and needing a High Speed SD card, plus motion analysis that picked ISO and shutter speed for a moving subject.1 ePHOTOzine called seven frames a second phenomenal for a compact and the 2-megapixel limit feeble; at full size it managed two frames in its ten-second test.3 Trusted Reviews counted six a second at 1600 by 1200 and about one a second at full resolution, and Popular Photography and Digital Trends also found about one a second.476 Reviewed.com timed 1.6 seconds between full-size shots, though its text elsewhere says nearly three, and found that the tracking autofocus disabled the burst. In its drive-mode section it said the High Speed mode took four shots in the first second and then about two a second, short of Casio's seven, although its timing section gave 0.15 seconds between 2-megapixel shots.5
The menu on the side
Casio put a strip of icons down the right of the screen for size, quality, flash, focus mode, timer, Anti-Shake, ISO, white balance and exposure compensation. Trusted Reviews said it made routine changes quick and easy.4 Digital Trends called it really smart thinking, and Reviewed.com agreed it was helpful while finding the full menus long and slow to search.65 The BS button opened the Best Shot scene modes: Trusted Reviews, Digital Trends and Popular Photography counted 38, and Reviewed.com used 36 in one section and 38 in another, among them an Auto Framing mode that Trusted Reviews believed unique to this camera and an eBay mode that, Popular Photography noted, shrinks the image to 2 megapixels.4675
Cheaper, and different from the Z1000
Popular Photography found the Z1050 almost indistinguishable from the Z1000 at first glance, with better noise control but a screen cut from 230,400 to 114,900 pixels, and judged that Z1000 owners had no compelling reason to upgrade.7 Reviewed.com noted that the Z1000 had a port for a cradle and adapter while the Z1050 does not, and that Casio sold no power adapter for it.5 On our Z1000 review page the boosted ISO reaches 3200; here the top setting, in a Best Shot mode, is 1600.25 Against the Z75, Reviewed.com found a longer ISO range (80 to 800 against 50 to 400), a bigger battery (370 shots against 230) and the same 115,000-pixel screen.5
The dark: its weak point
Noise is where the five split. Popular Photography's tests rated noise very low at ISO 80 and 100, low at 200 and 400 and moderate at ISO 800 (its summary box says "moderately low"), each better than the Z1000's score, though resolution fell from 2000 at ISO 80 to 1600 at ISO 800 as the noise filter blurred detail.7 Trusted Reviews said noise was no higher than a good 7-megapixel camera would show, with very low levels to ISO 200, some at 400 and significant noise at 800.4 Reviewed.com measured less noise than similar 10-megapixel compacts, but in dim light colour accuracy slipped and the camera could not expose properly at 5 lux.5 ePHOTOzine disagreed with the tidy picture: it saw softening and purple patches in a grey card from ISO 100, green and purple at 200, and very evident purple noise at 400.3
Real photographs taken with this camera. The sensitivity shown is recorded in each file's own EXIF data; Imaging Resource lists ISO 1600 only through the High Sensitivity Best Shot mode, which Popular Photography did not test.27
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The little wins
Fringing
Trusted Reviews said purple fringing was all but eliminated, a big advantage over most other ten-megapixel compacts, and ePHOTOzine found it well controlled at the optical zoom.43 Reviewed.com saw purple lining around a sunbeam in one shot.5
Controls that bend
ePHOTOzine liked that left and right on the joypad could be set to change ISO or exposure compensation, and that a live histogram was on offer.3
How it drew the picture
Trusted Reviews called picture quality outstanding, with files averaging about 5 MB, good edge sharpness and excellent colour, though the limited dynamic range burned out a sky.4 Digital Trends called the image quality solid, with natural colour and pretty good 8.5 by 11 inch full-bleed prints.6 Reviewed.com measured 1934 line widths per picture height vertically and 2099 horizontally, called it a very good result for large prints, and rated colour accuracy poor.5 Popular Photography called colour accuracy excellent (average Delta E 6.37),7 and ePHOTOzine found reds oversaturated, with a rose losing detail.3 Popular Photography added that in the field, shots at 114 mm at low ISO were often blurry, and advised raising the ISO at the long end, where the lens closes to f/5.1.7
Photos taken with this camera, from Wikimedia Commons, credited under each picture.
Same camera, different findings
| Question | What the sources said |
|---|---|
| Is the screen usable outdoors? | Casio claimed 1,000 cd/m² peak brightness.1 Popular Photography found it easily viewable in daylight at default brightness; Reviewed.com found viewing in bright sun nearly impossible; Digital Trends did not address daylight; its objection was that the screen was poor and made focus hard to judge, which it called the deal breaker.756 |
| Does it focus well? | ePHOTOzine found general focusing quite fast and accurate, and Popular Photography found it fast in most conditions; Trusted Reviews called focusing quick and accurate in its macro shot;374 Reviewed.com said it focused quickly but not effectively, the sort of camera from which you delete most pictures as blurry;5 Digital Trends' files were in focus even when the screen made them look soft.6 |
| How fast does it start? | Just over one second (Trusted Reviews), under two (Digital Trends), 1.9 seconds timed (Reviewed.com), about three (ePHOTOzine).4653 |
| What is Anti-Shake? | Casio: higher shutter speed and sensitivity, with electronic compensation for movies.1 Popular Photography: an ISO booster, unlike sensor-shift stabilisers.7 Trusted Reviews: a CCD-shift system combined with higher ISO.4 Imaging Resource lists no optical or sensor-shift stabilisation.2 |
| What is in the box for power? | Imaging Resource lists a camera cradle as included;2 Casio's release and Digital Trends say only that a charger is included;16 Reviewed.com described a BC-31L external charger and said earlier Exilims, not this one, came with cradles.5 |
| How heavy is it? | 125 g (Trusted Reviews, Imaging Resource; Casio's release says without battery); about 6.0 oz with battery and card (Popular Photography); 5.4 oz with battery and card (Digital Trends); 4.4 oz without card and battery (Reviewed.com).421765 |
| What is the lowest ISO? | Imaging Resource's table starts at 50; Casio's release, the four reviews that give a range and the EXIF of the photos here say 80.213457 |
Where it let you down
The 2.6-inch screen has only about 115,000 dots; ePHOTOzine found it underpowered for its size and said it rendered bright reds as a flat mass, and Reviewed.com added a very limited viewing angle.35 Reviewed.com called the buttons tiny and called the printed guide a disappointing 14 pages in English, with the full manual as a PDF on the CD; Digital Trends also noted the 14-page guide and the PDF manual.56 The 10 cm macro range disappointed ePHOTOzine, while Trusted Reviews thought it nothing special but quick and accurate.34 There are no manual aperture or shutter controls, said Popular Photography, Reviewed.com and Digital Trends,756 and Reviewed.com gave the flash range as 10.83 feet at wide angle and 5.91 feet zoomed in (the same figures as Casio's published 3.3 m and 1.8 m) and called it short; ePHOTOzine described the range as 6 metres and decent.531
What the reviewers said
| Outlet | Date | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| ePHOTOzine | 25 Jun 2007 | Simple, well built and detailed at ISO 80; noise from ISO 100 up, modest performance, a disappointing macro mode. Priced about £189.3 |
| Trusted Reviews | 1 May 2007 | Value 9 and image quality 8 in its score box. A good 10 MP compact without the usual noise and fringing; Anti-Shake adds noise. Priced about £175.4 |
| Reviewed.com | No date on page (metadata: 25 Jul 2007) | Value rated 4.0. Low noise but poor screen, autofocus and processing speed; probably not worth $269.5 |
| Digital Trends | Page shows 23 Aug 2019 (metadata: 8 Aug 2007) | Cannot recommend it: good image quality and battery, but a screen that made focus hard to judge.6 |
| Popular Photography | 17 Dec 2008 | An improvement over the Z1000 with usable ISO 80 to 800, no reason for Z1000 owners to upgrade; about $230 street price.7 |
The timeline
- 30 January 2007Casio announces the EX-Z1050 in London, at £229.99.1
- 31 March 2007Imaging Resource lists it as available, at $299.99.2
- 1 May 2007Trusted Reviews publishes its review.4
- 25 June 2007ePHOTOzine publishes its review.3
- 17 December 2008Popular Photography publishes its test.7
Should you buy one now?
Buy one if you want a pocketable CCD compact with a bright sidebar menu, a battery that lasts and good daylight pictures, and you accept a coarse screen that makes focus hard to judge. It launched at $299.99;2 what it sells for now is a question for the sold listings, not for us. Our Exilim EX-ZR100 review covers a later Casio with a different sensor type. Before you bid, check these:
- The battery. It uses an NP-40, the same type our Z1000 page lists;2 a replacement is on Amazon ↗. Sources disagree on whether it came with a cradle or a separate charger, so check what is included.25
- The card. It takes SD, SDHC and MMC cards and has only 15.4 MB built in, enough for about two full-size pictures.25 See our memory card guide.
- The screen. The low resolution is by design, so judge it for dead pixels and damage, and check focus on a computer rather than on the camera.6
- The lens. Check that it extends cleanly and test a shot at full zoom, where Popular Photography found blur.7
- The settings. Digital Trends advised shooting at ISO 400 or below, and Anti-Shake raises the ISO, which Trusted Reviews said adds noise.64
If you are wondering why cameras like this are being hunted down again, we tell that story once, in Pictures that never left the card.
See recent sold prices on eBay ↗Shop on eBay ↗NP-40 battery ↗
Sources
- Casio, “Casio Introduces Second Model in Line of Stylish 10.1 Megapixel Digital Cameras” (press release, London, 30 Jan 2007; copy on DPReview)
- Imaging Resource, Casio EX-Z1050 specification table (retail price $299.99, date available 31 Mar 2007)
- ePHOTOzine, Casio EXILIM EX-Z1050 review by Duncan Evans (25 Jun 2007)
- Trusted Reviews, Casio Exilim EX-Z1050 review by Cliff Smith (1 May 2007)
- Reviewed.com, Casio Exilim EX-Z1050 review by Emily Raymond (page text gives no date; its metadata says 25 Jul 2007)
- Digital Trends, Casio Exilim EX-Z1050 review by David Elrich (page metadata says 8 Aug 2007; the page itself shows 23 Aug 2019)
- Popular Photography, “Camera Test: Casio Exilim EX-Z1050” by Zach Honig (17 Dec 2008)
Sample photographs are credited under each one, via Wikimedia Commons. The product photo is by TTTNIS (public domain). Links to eBay and Amazon are affiliate links.