Overview
The Casio Exilim EX-V7 is very compact digital camera with a long zoom lens. The lens offers you seven times zoom. The Exilim EX-V7 also has seven megapixels. Aside from the zoom the camera also has some basic manual exposure controls. When taking the zoom and the controls together this means it is likely to appeal to anyone who is looking for a camera that is a step up form a typical point and shoot compact digital camera.
Image Quality - See Sample Images Below
I felt skeptical before I tested the Exilim EX-V7. Small cameras with a long lens do not always offer the best results in terms of picture quality. Although this camera is not perfect my test results produced a series of above average photos.
Looking at the first outdoor photo there are a number of checkpoints that the camera handled well. In this photo I like the colours and I felt the camera handled the glare from the sun better than a number of other models I have tested recently. One area where it is less than perfect is in the levels of sharpness in the photo. They are not bad, but looking at areas such as the brick work on the building the overall sharpness does not quite match up to many other digital cameras.
The second photo is a fairly standard effort. I felt there could have been a little more colour in the sky and there is also a hint of purple fringing around the tree on the right hand side of the shot.
When the zoom lens is fully zoomed in you can see the Exilim EX-V7 has a tendency to lose colour from the sky. This is something a lot of cameras do, but if you compare the second and third shots you should be able to see that the sky should be a lot bluer.
My specific colour test shows that in the right situation the camera is capable of producing quite vivid colours. In this test the blue background is very strong indeed.
The outdoor portrait works well. It was taken in the shade with the white balance setting set to shady. The skin tones in this shot are an accurate reflection of the true skin colours. Even so I would have liked to have seen a bit more life in the shot.
The indoor portrait is sharply focused and bright enough too. The problem here is with the amount of red eye showing in the shot. Looking at the design of the camera with the lens placed just above the lens I am not surprised by the amount of light that has been reflected straight back into the lens from the eye. I think there is a good chance of red eye being a real bugbear with the Exilim EX-V7.
My other indoor test comes out well. There is a bit of darkness creeping into the corners of the shot, but focusing is good considering how dark it is when the shot is taken.
For close up shots the nearest the camera can focus is from 10cm. Therefore I have needed to crop this photo more than I normally have to. Sharpness levels are good without matching up with the best.
Testing for higher ISO I produced a standard result. Picture quality is starting to suffer at ISO 400 and by ISO 800 the camera is in trouble.
Style
The addition of the sliding lens cover makes this camera a shade too large to fit easily into a pocket. It can be done, but there are smaller cameras around. It is a very plain model with very few buttons. The Exilim EX-V7 is available in silver and black.
Shutter Lag Times
Single Shot
Five Shots
Single Shot With Flash
Five Shots With Flash
0.23 seconds
10.38 seconds
0.58 seconds
13.29 seconds
Ease of Use
There are a few options such as the self timer tucked away in the menu system. This means that you will need to search out one or two options. Although this camera offers manual exposure options Casio have avoided over complicating the camera.
Points I Like
LCD screen - screen layout - indoor photos - widescreen movies
Where it Could Improve
Red eye likely to be a big problem - short flash range
Verdict
Digital cameras in this category with a long zoom lens are few and far between. Although not perfect the test photos I took with the Casio Exilim EX-V7 were above average and if you are looking for a simple enough camera with some extra zoom I can see no harm in taking a look at this one.
Product Shots
Front View
Back View
Top View
Sample Menus
Top Rated Cameras in this Category
Panasonic DMC FS30 Rating 85/100
I really like this camera. It offers some extra zoom and takes excellent snaps. I found it easy to use and struggled to find anything I did not like about it. If you are looking for a smaller compact camera with some extra zoom then this one is a good choice.
Read Review: Panasonic DMC FS30 Review
Pentax Optio i-10 Rating 79/100
The Optio i-10 looks radically different to other digital cameras. It has a design based on vintage SLRs. In my tests I found more distant shots lacked sharpness. Aside from the design the features included in this camera are fairly standard.
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Related Pages
Casio Exilim EX-V7 Review Casio Exilim EX-V7 Specification Casio Exilim EX-V7 Sample Images Casio Exilim EX-V7 Features
Review Date
June 2007
