Overview
The Casio Exilim EX-Z19 is a 9 megapixel digital camera. It has a 3x optical zoom lens. Taking its lower price into consideration it has a few extra features over other similarly priced models. These include a YouTube upload mode and the ability to fine tune your photos through setting levels of contrast, saturation and sharpness.
Why Buy The Casio Exilim EX-Z19
The Exilim EX-Z19 is likely to be attractive to anyone who is looking for a cheap, easy to use, pocket sized digital camera.
Main Features
Megapixels:
Zoom:
LCD Screen:
Dimensions:
Weight:
9
3x
2.6 inches
92.5 x 55.0 x 23.2mm
127g
Macro:
HD Movies:
Manual Controls:
Batteries:
Memory Cards:
15cm
No
No
Lithium-ion Rechargeable
SD/SDHC
Image Quality - See Sample Images Below
Outdoor Scenic Shots in Good Light
This is a good start by the Exilim EX-Z19. I can pick out plenty of definition in the brickwork, roof tiles and on the boats too. Glare from the sun is handled well and the colours are about right.
The quality of this picture is good for such an inexpensive digital camera. Focusing is sharper than a lot of digital cameras manage. In the corners of the shot darkness does start to creep in. This highlights the fact you cannot expect too much from a camera in this price range.
As with the second outdoor shot this photo is surprisingly sharp. In fact the Exilim EX-Z19 outperforms a lot of more expensive digital cameras. Sharpness does slide as the photo becomes more distant on the right hand side of the shot, but overall the shot is impressive.
Once again the Exilim EX-Z19 has managed to produce a surprisingly sharp photo and outperform many more expensive rivals in this test. All in all I am very happy with my outdoor scenic type shots.
Portraits
The colours and general use of light come together to produce a very good portrait shot. You should not have a problem reeling off pleasing outdoor portraits in decent light.
The light from the flash has lit up the face, but has not been strong enough to light the photo evenly. There is no problem with sharpness or detail in the shot, apart from where the flash reflects back off the face.
Despite areas of hair being darker than they should be and darker patches creeping into the corners of the shot, this is a good effort. There is less noise showing in the shot than many cameras manage. This has lead to better definition and levels of detail.
Macro, Colours and Noise
This is an area open to improvement. You can't expect to have everything when shopping at the lower end of the market. Casio have set the macro mode to focus from 15cm away from the subject. That is a little distant if you are interested in taking close up shots. My test shot has been cropped for display purposes.
I think there is now less to choose between different camera brands when it comes to colour. I like the colours produced by the Exilim EX-Z19, but they are not that different to those produced by plenty of other digital cameras.
Noise levels are not bad at ISO 400 and colours remain true. At ISO 1600 noise has increased significantly as I would have expected them to.
Summary
Taking the price of the Exilim EX-Z19 into account picture quality is very good indeed.
Style
The Exilim EX-Z19 is a small, unfussy digital camera. It will just about slip into a decent sized pocket. It is available in green, silver, pink, vivid pink and black.
Shutter Lag Times
Single Shot
Five Shots
Single Shot With Flash
Five Shots With Flash
Turn on Time
0.49 seconds
13.35 seconds
1.19 seconds
19.99 seconds
3.19 seconds
Ease of Use
Casio digital cameras are amongst the easiest to use.
Points I Like
Options displayed on the right hand side of LCD screen - overall picture quality
Where it Could Improve
LCD screen quality - closer macro mode
Verdict
I think the Casio Exilim EX-Z19 does a great job as a pocket, snapshot camera. It has a low price tag, but takes a very good snap in most circumstances.
Product Shots
Front View
Back View
Top View
Sample Menus
Top Rated Cameras in this Category
Canon IXUS 310 HS Rating 86/100
The Canon IXUS 310 HS is one of the best touch controlled digital cameras. It has 12 megapixels and a 4.4x wide angle lens. The screen is very responsive to touch. This is due partly to the larger screen size than many touch controlled digital cameras offer. Picture quality is excellent and the build quality is top quality. If you are looking for a touch controlled digital camera the IXUS 310 HS is worth a very close look.
Read Review: Canon IXUS 310 HS Review
Canon IXUS 220 HS Rating 86/100
The Canon IXUS 220 HS is a pocket sized digital camera. It looks good, is well made and can take an impressive snapshot in most situations. It may not have every in vogue feature, but it has an extra touch of all round quality about it
Read Review: Canon IXUS 220 HS Review
Canon IXUS 115 HS Rating 86/100
The Canon IXUS 115 HS is a classy looking, pocket digital camera. It can shoot Full HD movies and has a high quality 3 inch LCD screen. When it comes to picture quality the IXUS 115 HS outclasses many of its direct competitors.
Read Review: Canon IXUS 115 HS Review
Related Pages
Casio Exilim EX-Z19 Review Casio Exilim EX-Z19 Specification Casio Exilim EX-Z19 Sample Images Casio Exilim EX-Z19 Features
Review Date
February 2009
