Casio Exilim EX-Z1200 Review

The Casio Exilim EX-Z1200 is a typical, pocket sized digital camera. It has 12 megapixels and a 3x zoom lens. Casio have gone for ease of use over features with the Exilim EX-Z1200 and you should find the camera pretty straightforward. It is likely to appeal to anyone who is looking for a fairly standard compact camera, that is easy to use and will slip into a pocket.

Outdoor 1 (Medium Zoom)
With the sun shining down at an awkward angle at this time of year there is the inevitable loss of detail where the sun strikes the boats. The most noticeable point though is just how sharp the image is. This is true of the bricks on the building and also as you move towards the edges. In terms of sharpness this is much better than a number of cameras I have tested recently.

Outdoor 2 (No Zoom)
Not surprisingly the camera finds it difficult to produce a really pin sharp image with parts of the scene so far away. On the whole though focusing is again above average and my impression is of a photo that is far better overall than I am used to seeing.

Outdoor 3 (Maximum Zoom)
There is a degree of lost detail owing to sun glare, but I would say that focusing is some way above average. It is especially noteworthy for a 3x zoom lens as with a standard lens like this one this scene can be a bit distant.

Outdoor Portrait
The outdoor portrait works well, although I would like to see a bit more brightness in the shot. Colours have been boosted by the use of the shady, white balance setting.

Indoor Portrait without Flash
I'm not sure what happened here. Focusing looks good, but the Exilim EX-Z1200 is unable to cope with lighting that is not really all that bad.

Indoor Portrait with Flash
This is another decent photo. There is a touch of red eye and the fact that the photo is darker than I am used to seeing suggests that the flash unit may not be tremendously powerful.

Colours
I think the colours work well on the whole. They are a fair reflection of each scene on the day and there is enough colour in each shot without going overboard.

Macro
The macro shot is a good effort. The shot is bright, clear and focusing is above average. There is just a hint of purple creeping in on the watch face. This will not be a problem if you are planning to use the macro mode for close up of nature subjects and other similar objects.

ISO 400
Increasing the ISO level always affects picture quality, but the Exilim EX-Z1200 produces a much better shot than most cameras manage.

Overall
If I leave to one side the indoor portrait without flash then I am impressed by the overall quality of the photos produced by the Exilim EX-Z1200. I like sharp photos and this is an area where the camera outperforms a lot of others. I also like the colours the camera produces.

I found the Exilim EX-Z1200 to be a bit inconsistent during my tests. The times I recorded were 0.35 seconds for a single shot and 17.79 seconds for 5 shots. From time to time the camera did have a tendency to go slow and take longer over a shot. The time taken for 5 shots is also on the slow side. With the flash on it took 1.61 seconds for a single shot and 28.59 seconds for 5 shots. These are disappointingly slow times.

You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.

In my view the Exilim EX-Z1200 is about as standard as you can get in terms of looks. It is a simple rectangle with rounded edges and corners. It is available in black and silver.

93.3 x 58.5 x 22.4mm

152g

Lithium ion (NP-40). Casio suggest you should be able to take around 340 shots between recharges.

11.4mb of storage has been built into the camera. I was able to take 4 photos before the storage was full. The camera is also compatible with SD cards.

Click here to save money on SD cards.

The camera is pretty straightforward. You can choose different LCD screen displays. One shows key menu options and can help to speed up the process of changing settings.

Simplicity - simple design - sharpness of photos

Variable shutter lag - shutter lag with flash - can take dark photos in lower light

I would describe the Casio Exilim EX-Z1200 as simple, but effective. The photos it takes are sharp and clear and it stands up well against its rivals. There are some concerns about shutter delay, especially when it comes to taking more than one photo at a time.

Front View

Back View

Top View

Sample Menus

Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this site, please make sure you double check the feature set and specification at the point of purchase.

Casio Exilim EX-Z1200