Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
The 14 - megapixel , 10X - optic - rapid climb CasioExilim EX - H20Gis a large small travel familiar , thanks to well - implemented in - television camera mapping and GPS feature article that make it a near - perfect pocket megazoom camera for your holiday .
Although it performs well overall , a few key feature film are neglect : It lacks manual controls , it omits a burst - shoot mode , and it does n’t blast the sharp photos in low light . All in all , however , the EX - H20 G offers a set more to like than to kick about , and its battery life and its in - camera Global Positioning System features are among the best we ’ve seen to escort .
Hardware and design
At 1.13 inches deep , 4.0 inch wide , and 2.7 inches high-pitched , the Exilim EX - H20 G is a bit bigger than your middling pocket television camera . It ’s still small enough for roomier pelage pockets or cargo pants , though .
The photographic camera has a 14 - megapixel CCD sensor ( sized at 1/2.3 in ) behind its 10X - optical - zoom lens , which reaches from a very wide - angle 24 millimeter to a telephoto remnant of 240 mm . An additional 5X digital soar is uncommitted beyond the telephoto conclusion of the rapid growth range , but figure timbre gets downright rough once you dip into the digital zoom .
maximal aperture preferences lay out from F3.2 at the wide-eyed - slant end to F5.7 at the telephotograph remainder , but the deficiency of manual controller and an aperture - anteriority mood mean that you do n’t have direct dominance over its width . Shutter speeds are variable only through use of the photographic camera ’s extensive array of scene modes ; setting options such as Soft Flowing Water , and Fireworks , for example , use slower shutter speed , while modes such as Pets , and sportsman practice faster unity .
Like most item - and - shoot cameras these day , the EX - H20 G has no opthalmic finder . A 3 - column inch LCD on the back of the camera serves as your only viewfinder , but it in general does a good caper of staying visible in most lighting condition .
Due to the absence of manual options , the television camera ’s controls are simple and aboveboard . On the back of the camera is a dedicated video record button , a dedicated Auto style clit , a playback button , a Menu button , and a BS button that takes you to the photographic camera ’s Best Shot menu of conniption - way offerings . A round directional control pad surrounds a selector button for navigating in - camera menus .
On the top of the camera are the on / off release , the shutter release fence by a rapid growth control , and the photographic camera ’s slightly pop GPS antenna . Two more buttons on the top provide quick access to the camera ’s mapping and GPS features : One clitoris , which has a graphic of a Fisher - Mary Leontyne Price - like person , centers the tv camera ’s map on your current localisation . The other release , which has a globe - alike picture , expose the shots you ’ve taken on a map user interface ( as well as the itinerary you ’ve traveled with your camera in hand ) .
Shooting modes and features
Although you ca n’t set the aperture and shutter speeds directly , the Exilim EX - H20 G go a longsighted way toward making up for that with 28 dissimilar scene modes ( which Casio dub Best Shot selections in the camera ’s menus ) .
In add-on to the usual cast of fictional character , such as Sunset , Night Portrait , and Fireworks way , a few unique manner join the admixture . You get a Slide Panorama modality , which lets you take a 360 - level panoramic buck just by pressing the shutter and tear apart the camera horizontally ; Soft Flowing Water , which use a tedious shutter swiftness to dampen up images of moving piddle ; an Autumn Leaves musical mode , which boosts red hue and enhances demarcation ; and self - portrait modes for one or two multitude . The camera also provide inside information about what each scene option does to the in - camera setting , which is a overnice touch . In accession , you get a ready to hand selection of color filter that you may overlie on your shots as you take them , a lot like working with flash bulb gels .
The wild feature film by far is the camera ’s active Photo setting , which lets you overlie animated animate being , schoolbook , or other cartoony art over your images . you may overlie vitality and preview them right in the photographic camera , and Casio offers a Dynamic Photo Manager as a costless ( but separate ) download that lets you make renovate GIFs or moving picture from your Creation on your computer . Click the icon at right to see the form of madcap jinks Dynamic Photo is capable of .
The Casio Exilim EX - H20 G is emphatically gear more toward fun and futuristic features than it is toward traditional meat - and - potatoes public presentation . In some respects this is a sorry thing : The photographic camera ’s startup - to - first - shooter metre is slow , as it take around 2 second to power on and get ready to fritter away , and it has no burst mood at all , which is especially surprising given Casio ’s range of High - Speed Exilim cameras .
A few focusing pick are in the mix , but celebrated functioning consequence affect some of them . The EX - H20 G ’s autofocus generally do well , and a movement - tracking autofocus mode is available to assist keep fast - motivate objective in needlelike opinion . However , the photographic camera ’s macro capability are average at beneficial ( you could get only about 4 inch from a subject without producing a fuzzy shot ) and its manual focussing needs a bit of work , as well .
While using manual focal point , we found it laborious to get a sharp shot of skinny - up subjects , and we could really hear its inner gears churn while we were manually focusing the television camera .
ISO options range up to 3200 , but you get going seeing a mint of noise around ISO 800 . The camera has a dedicated modest - light scene mode called Candlelight Portrait , but its low - light image are n’t nearly as sharp as those we ’ve determine from a lot of current cameras in the same price range .
The Exilim EX - H20 G shoots 720p video at 30 frames per 2d ( as well as stock - definition 640 - by-480 - pixel telecasting at 30 fps ) , and an HDMI - out port is available on the side of the camera for viewing clips on an HDTV . Unfortunately , you ca n’t apply the camera ’s optic zoom while take ; the soar is digital - only in video manner , and you see a definite downgrade in video quality if you practice that zoom while filming .
Performance, image quality, and video quality
As long as you ’re shooting in daylight or other well - illume situations , the camera ’s motorcar modality does an admirable business of capture crisp , colored images and TV .
The Exilim EX - H20 G performed well across the board in our lab ’s immanent tests for effigy and video recording quality , earning an overall performance score that rivaled those of high - end point - and - shoot cameras such as the CanonPowerShot S95 ( ) and the Nikon Coolpix P7000 ( ) .
The EX - H20 G earned scores of Very in effect for each of our imaging family ( vulnerability timber , vividness truth , bite , and deficiency of torture ) , and the camera received a score of Good for video quality and audio timber .
electric battery life is outstanding ( and that ’s an understatement ) . The Exilim EX - H20 G ’s rechargeable Li ion barrage has a rating of 600 shots per charge with the photographic camera ’s Global Positioning System functionality turn off , and 480 shots with GPS turn on . Most cameras in its course of study are rated for 300 to 400 shots per charge , so the EX - H20 G ’s story of energy efficiency is rightfully rare .
Click the thumbnail at go out to see the full - size of it test injection that the science laboratory used in subjective tests for pic character , colour accuracy , bite , and lack of distortion .
you’re able to view the sample clipping that the lab used in subjective tests for bright - unclouded video and low-toned - light video below . Select720pfrom the drop - down menu in the lower - correct corner of each player for the highest - solution TV clips .
GPS and mapping features
The EX - H20 G also has some of the best in - camera GPS lineament we ’ve ever check , thanks to its intuitive map interface , points - of - interest database , real - world location names ( not just raw latitude and longitude datum ) , and easy integration with the chromosome mapping services in Flickr , Google Earth , and Picasa .
Establishing a GPS connexion for the first prison term requires being out of doors with a clean view of the sky , and linking up to the satellite take about 2 to 3 minutes for the initial connecter . After that , it ’s quiet sailing , and the photographic camera ’s intragroup autonomic positioning system can log your travels from there , even while you ’re indoors .
Pressing the globe - picture button on the top of the camera bring up the single-valued function user interface , while pressing the individual - icon button centers the map on your current position ; the latter feature film performed quickly and accurately during my hands - on tests , with a margin of error of about one city closure .
As long as you have the camera ’s Global Positioning System functionality turned on , the in - camera mapping interface shows where you ’ve been wandering with a trail of scarlet Zen . It also displays downhearted dots that you hover over with the photographic camera ’s directional - pad controls to view photos study at each location .
When you ’re take a photo with the GPS characteristic powered on , the LCD shows the figure of nearby points of sake on the single-valued function . If you bend on ‘ Place Stamp ’ in the photographic camera menu , you also see a drop - down menu at the bottom of the showing that let you overlay the name of each location in the bottom - right quoin of each photograph . Around theMacworldoffices in San Francisco ’s South of Market district , the camera listed many appropriate points of involvement ( South Park , AT&T Park , China Basin , Hills Plaza ) .
Once you offload your prototype to a computer , the geotagging integrates absolutely with Flickr , Google Earth , and Picasa . The longitude and latitude information is n’t explicitly visible in each image ’s EXIF data , but the shots show up in precisely the right office of each platform ’s mapping user interface .
unluckily , my supervisors did n’t respond to my repeated request to go on an all - expenses - paid around - the - worldly concern vacation to test the tv camera ’s Global Positioning System skills across the Earth , but the precise positioning - base information and map of shot I took in San Francisco are good indicators of how well the television camera ’s GPS functionality performs in a big urban center .
Macworld’s buying advice
If you ’re looking for a photographic camera that ’s all about fun , battery longevity , and locomotion - well-disposed feature article , the Casio Exilim EX - H20 G is in a league of its own . Its long - zoom lens , long - hold out battery , array of scene modes , very good effigy quality , in - camera pic - editing functions , and first-class GPS integration are standout feature for casual snapshooters and young photographer . Advanced photographers will miss the manual controls and low - light shot capability , however , and anyone look to charge a lot of video with their camera may be disappoint by the digital - only rapid growth when record .
