Overview
The Casio Exilim EX-H5 offers 10x zoom in a compact body. This type of digital camera has become popular with people who are planning a holiday as although the Exilim EX-H5 is not quite pocket sized it offers plenty of zoom and general flexibility while remaining fairly compact. The main attraction is therefore the combination of size and length of lens.
Casio have made three colour options available with models in black red and silver.
Why Buy The Casio Exilim EX-H5
Compared with other cameras of a similar size with this much zoon the Exilim EX-H5 comes in as a cheaper option. This may be because of a lack of truly advanced features, but if all you are looking for is a digital camera that you can turn on and snap away with this means you will not be paying for features you never use.
Picture quality is very impressive too.
Main Features
Megapixels:
Zoom:
LCD Screen:
Dimensions:
Weight:
12
10x
2.7 inches
103.5 x 59.4 x 29.1mm
174g
Macro:
HD Movies:
Manual Controls:
Batteries:
Memory Cards:
7cm
Yes
None
Lithium Ion
SD/SDHC
Features
One of the reasons the lens is such a big attraction is the flexibility it offers. As well as the more obvious telephoto qualities it also has wide angle capabilities. This will come in handy if you are looking to shoot wide scenes such as landscapes or buildings.
Rather than travelling with a camcorder and a digital camera it is more convenient to have a digital camera that is also able to shoot the occasional movie clip. The Exilim EX-H5 is capable of shooting High Definition movies. The maximum movie resolution is 1280 x 720 pixels.
Focusing options allow you to set the focusing area so that you can determine how much of the shot is in sharp focus. You also have the option of using manual focusing. As with other Casio digital cameras you can choose from a wide range of predefined scene modes. In fact I'm not aware of another brand offering this much choice in this area. The scene modes allow you to match the type of photo you are about to take (i.e. portrait, landscape) against the available scene types. The Exilim EX-H5 will then use what it believes to be the optimum settings for the shot.
Looking through the menu system there are not a great deal of settings you can change. If you are looking for something a little different you do have access to some colour filters. Other than that you just get standard features such as ISO, exposure compensation and white balance.
Handling
On the whole I found the Exilim EX-H5 to be well thought through by Casio. There was one area where I found a minor problem though. The button you press to start recording a movie is placed on the back of the camera in the top right hand corner. This is more or less exactly where my thumb rests when taking a picture. So while testing the camera I found myself shooting the occasional unplanned movie.
The top of the camera layout is pretty standard. As well as the power button you have the shutter button encompassed by a ring for zooming in and out. Although it's a matter of personal choice I find the inclusion of a zoom ring as opposed to buttons on the back of the cameras easier to use and also frees up room elsewhere.
As with other Casio digital cameras buttons on the back are kept to a minimum. There is the previously mentioned movie button, a button to review photos and one to return the camera ready to take pictures when in review mode. There are also buttons to change the LCD screen display, one to delete images and one to access flash options. Finally there is a button to access the menu system. This doubles up so that it can also confirm any changes you make to settings.
I like the way the menu is displayed. Features you are likely to change more often such as the self timer and auto focus mode are displayed as icons on the right hand side of the screen. At the bottom of the icons you can access the main menu system. The layout of the menu options is quite straightforward and it should not take you long to find your way around.
Personally I like this size of camera. It is big enough to get a good hold of, but small enough not to be a problem carrying around.
Image Quality - See Sample Images Below
Outdoor Scenic Shot 1
The Exilim EX-H5 gets off to a very good start. In fact I would say I was pleasantly surprised. This test was carried out in autumn when the sun gets lower in the sky. This can create a lot of sun glare on the boats and cause a loss of detail. This camera handled the test very well indeed. I am also happy with the sharpness of the shot.
Outdoor Scenic Shot 2
I am pleasantly surprised again by the result here. This can be a tough shot and I am not used to seeing this level of sharpness shown by a camera in this price bracket. There is a slight hint of over sharpening to the shot, but I would much rather have that than the soft focusing to this shot that many cameras produce. There is also a faint sign of darkness creeping into the corners of this shot.
Outdoor Scenic Shot 3
As with my first two shots the quality is very good. There is a slight slippage of focusing on the more distant, right hand side of the shot, but over all this is another impressive effort. It is also almost impossible to detect any purple fringing. That is another plus point. Based on this result you would struggle to see any fringing at all with small sized prints.
Outdoor Building
Compared with the three other digital cameras I tested at the same time the Exilim EX-H5 adds an extra touch of brightness to its shots. This is something I feel works well. Once again sharpness is some way above average and the colours work well too.
Outdoor Portrait
Looking at this shot the first thing to strike me are the colours. They have a natural look to them, but also have a touch of warmth. Moving in closer gives no problems when it comes to focusing and sharpness.
Indoor Portrait With Flash
Plenty of light is produced by the flash unit. Some people may look at this picture and say the light is overdone, but I would prefer a camera to produce a little too much light and brighten up the scene then produce a dull portrait.
Indoor Portrait Without Flash
If you are taking pictures indoors without using flash then you are pushing a compact camera quite hard. In this instance the camera does well. The shot is quite bright and the level of detail is also good.
Macro
The macro shot is another success. Levels of detail are very good and it is only once you reach the pencil on the outside of the line that you can see any loss of detail. Even then the shot has to be blown up to full size before you notice the loss of sharpness.
Colours
I like the colours the Exilim EX-H5 produced. To my eye they had just about the right amount of strength. The photos are also very bright. In the main this is something I prefer to darker images.
Noise
I detected very little noise in any of my test shots. In fact all my photos were very clear and showed good levels of clarity.
Picture Quality Summary
I am never quite such what to expect from a Casio digital camera. When it comes to picture quality I am very impressed by this model. The pictures are sharp, bright and colourful. That is exactly what I look for in a straightforward snapshot camera.
Shutter Lag Times
Single Shot
Five Shots
Single Shot With Flash
Five Shots With Flash
Turn on Time
0.84 seconds
11.73 seconds
1.19 seconds
15.19 seconds
2.61 seconds
Ease of Use
Finding my way round the Exilim EX-H5 was straightforward. Apart from the positioning of the movie button I had no problems operating the camera. Someone with little knowledge of operating a camera should soon feel at ease with this model.
Points I Like
Picture quality - value for money - ease of use
Where it Could Improve
Movie button position
Verdict
The Casio Exilim EX-H5 is a surprising package. Taking picture quality and ease if use into account I would say Casio have produced a very good camera. Looking at the price tag I would also say it offers excellent value for money.
Where to Buy - Casio Exilim EX-H5
Test Shots
Product Shots
Front View
Back View
Top View
Sample Menus
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Related Pages
Casio Exilim EX-H5 Review Casio Exilim EX-H5 Specification Casio Exilim EX-H5 Sample Images
Review Date
October 2010
