Overview
The Casio Exilim EX-Z250 is a 9 megapixel digital camera. Its attractions include its small size, a larger than standard 3 inch LCD screen and a wide angle 4x optical zoom lens. It is available in a choice of six colours. The Casio Exilim EX-Z250 is a 9 megapixel digital camera with a 4x wide angle lens. It has a 3 inch LCD screen and image stabilisation.
Why Buy The Casio Exilim EX-Z250
This camera is aimed at someone who is looking for a simple point and shoot camera. It is small enough to fit into most pockets and the larger LCD screen is a plus point.
Main Features
Megapixels:
Zoom:
LCD Screen:
Dimensions:
Weight:
10
4x
3 inches
96.7 x 57.3 x 19.9mm
119g
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
The Exilim EX-Z250 does quite well when it comes to handling the glare from the sun and bringing out detail in the lighter areas of the shot. It is not quite so good with darker areas and some of the foliage and bushes in the photo lack definition. This is not a big problem with 7 x 5 inch prints, but if you print any larger this problem will start to become more apparent. This is a bright photo compared to those produced by other cameras.
Even when looking at a thumbnail of this shot I could see darkness in the corners of the shot. This can be a problem with other digital cameras too, but I am not used to it being as obvious as it is with the Exilim EX-Z250. This is likely to affect photos taken when the lens is zoomed all the way out. Focusing drops away as you move away from the centre of the shot.
This is the best effort so far. For a camera with a 3x optical zoom lens there is a lot of detail showing in the shot. Sharpness levels are impressive too.
This is another photo that borders on being too bright for my liking. This shot also appears to have fooled the focusing system too, as the front part of the building is in much sharper focus than the side.
Portraits
This picture works quite well. My only concern is that when I enlarge the photo to 8 x 11 inches I can see more clearly some extra pink that the camera has added to the skin tones at the expense of detail.
The amount of light produced by the flash unit is overpowering. This leads to a very bright photo with some of the colour bleached out of the shot. In order to reduce the magnitude of the problem you could try reducing the intensity of the flash or consider how close you stand to your subject when taking this type of photo. The range of the flash is not that large and you may find it difficult to position yourself in the perfect place to stand.
Considering the amount of light available for this shot the Exilim EX-Z250 does well in terms of the sharpness of the photo. It is not pin sharp, but the camera does better than many others in this test.
Macro, Colours and Noise
You need to have the Exilim EX-Z250 15cm away from the subject before it can focus. This is quite a distance and it makes true close ups difficult to achieve. This is not really the camera to buy if you are looking to take a lot of macro shots.
The colours produced by the Exilim EX-Z250 and some other Casio digital cameras are a bit different to those produced by other brands. They are a warmer and not as vivid. Colour is a matter of personal choice, so the colours this camera produces may appeal more to you than those from other cameras or they may not.
At higher ISO levels the camera holds its own against many cameras, including some more expensive models. Although there is the inevitable noise the colours remain true apart from in the darkest areas of the shot.
Summary
All digital cameras have good and bad points, but I found the Exilim EX-Z250 to be more inconsistent than most. I would be wary of blowing up any shots much above 7 x 5 inches.
Style
This camera has a standard look. It is has rounded ends, is quite plain and unfussy. The camera is available in six colours silver, black, red, blue, gold and pink
Shutter Lag Times
Single Shot
Five Shots
Single Shot With Flash
Five Shots With Flash
Turn on Time
0.42 seconds
15.19 seconds
0.56 seconds
16.13 seconds
4.47 seconds
Ease of Use
There is nothing especially complicated about the Exilim EX-Z250. You will find that some of the options normally controlled through buttons on the back of the camera have been included within the menu system.
Points I Like
Options displayed on the right hand side of LCD screen - movie options
Where it Could Improve
Overall picture quality - closer macro mode
Verdict
Not every digital camera can get top marks. I found the picture quality struggled to match the better cameras and the price of the Casio Exilim EX-Z250 is not low enough to compensate for this.
Product Shots
Front View
Back View
Top View
Sample Menus
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Related Pages
Casio Exilim EX-Z250 Review Casio Exilim EX-Z250 Specification Casio Exilim EX-Z250 Sample Images Casio Exilim EX-Z250 Features
Review Date
November 2008
