Casio z1000

[scubarhod]

Anyone used while wet?

[Gaynor]

I'm thinking of getting one. Here's a review by Peter Rowland. Sounds great, and good value for money - if you can go shopping in the US.


Let’s start with the camera. The Casio EX-Z1000 is a 10.1 Megapixel camera, from the EXILIM ZOOM line of Casio products. In general, these cameras are stylish, small and sport huge digital displays. The EX-Z1000 is no exception. It’s best feature is the gargantuan 2.8″ LCD display (230,400 pixels), that allows the diver to compose shots from arm’s length instead of inches from the mask. Of all the cameras I’ve used or tested, this LCD is the biggest and brightest by quite a margin. I love being able to actually see the detail in the shots I’m about to take or am reviewing on the surface. The camera comes in stealthy black or shiny silver. It’s compact and light, weighing in at only 139 grams (w/o battery).
The next strongest offering of this camera is the battery life. As I noted in my previous review of the Canon SD500, the biggest drawback was the lack of longevity when it came to battery life. The Canon typically yielded 2 dives per recharge, turning the camera on and off during the dive. I’ve gotten a maximum of six dives out of a single charge with the Casio, but it typically lasts around four, with the camera on (in sleep mode) during the dives. This makes a huge difference. No matter how sophisticated your camera is, if your juice is low and you’ve got the opportunity to shoot some amazing subjects, you’re essentially dead in the water (from a photography standpoint).
Of course, the next big ‘wow factor’ is the high resolution the Casio is capable of cramming into such a small body. With a newly-designed 1/1.8 inch, 10.1 MP CCD, the EX-Z1000 takes incredibly crisp and vibrant shots. Many say that cameras with resolution beyond 6 or 7MP offer diminishing returns, and to some degree they are correct. The additional capacity needed to store those photos is sometimes prohibitive, and the speed at which the images are processed can also act as a bottleneck when trying to shoot photos in rapid succession. Of course, you can always dial down the resolution if this is the case. Still, you’ll probably want at least a 1 GB SD card at a decent read/write speed to optimize the functionality of your EX-Z1000, and to take advantage of the ‘rapid flash’ function - which allows you to take up to three shots per second. I find the additional MP to be of great use, since many of my shots employ both the use of macro and are cropped in the end (I love the micro-aquatic subjects).
The user interface is very friendly on the surface*, and everything is right where you’d expect it. The menus are so simple, in fact, that at first pass I thought functions were missing when they were actually just so well placed that it takes a few moments to realize they’re right where they should be. Manual white balance is easy to find, for shooting w/o flash in clear(er) waters. With Casio electronics mated with Pentax optics, the Casio EXILIM line of cameras have taken compact digitals to a new level. As you may already know, I’m a big fan of the Pentax Optio line as well, the cousins to the EXILIMs of which I’ve had three models in the past.
The EX-Z1000 is also faster than any other camera I’ve used. The camera is ready to shoot just 1.3 seconds after switching on and has a shutter lag time of .002 seconds. This translates into capturing those elusive fish that are gone in a blink of an eye. Even the image playback is incredibly fast.
High resolution video is also a major plus offered by this camera. At VGA 640X480 pixels and 25 frames per second, the Casio can capture some great motion. Add to this the digital image stabilization and you’ve got a decent movie of the seals zooming around at Cove 2.
The Casio EX-Z1000 takes great closeups, with a macro focus distance of 6cm - 50cm. It also employs a 9-point Multi AF function, designed for shooting subjects with multiple focus points. I’ve found this to be less reliable than that of the Canon, and I generally leave it on center-focus, which has its own drawbacks. This is one of the few shortcomings of the camera. Another feature I have yet to use is the ‘Zoom Continuous Shutter’ mode, which essentially allows the photographer to compare a wide angle and a telephoto shot in the same display and to take both shots simultaneously with one press of the shutter. Of course, there is little need for this feature underwater, but it sounds cool, eh?
The Housing - EWC-80
I’ve always been a big fan of OEM housings, figuring that the designers of the camera itself probably have a better idea of what a housing needs to have than an aftermarket manufacturer that has to wait for the camera to be release, or decides to make guesses to time the market. The Casio EWC-80 falls right in line with the Pentax housings I used to love. It is simple and thoughtfully designed.
The EWC-80 is slightly negatively buoyant (w00t!), as it should be for convenience - unlike some other housings which require you to add additional weight for proper buoyancy. The housing is small; makes good use of space. Clear polycarbonate and high-density orange plastic make up the bulk of the housing.
I very much appreciate the soft internal padding provided which keeps the camera from being scratched and provides some extra cushion, needed when you’re trudging across the beach and the camera takes a few bumps. Another thoughtful element of the design is a small cut-out from the housing’s inner lip, provided for easy removal of the o-ring. None of the other OEM housings I’ve used had this, and it actually is very helpful, as you don’t have to find something to slip under the o-ring for removal and cleaning.
The housing is good down to a recommended 40 meters/130 feet (by no coincidence, the limit of recreational diving), and comes with a diffuser that snaps onto the lens window. The lens port itself is single-paned (as opposed to double-paned with the WP-DC70), but I haven’t noticed any problems with fogging.
The primary shortcomings of the housing have to do with usability. For one, the shutter button is designed as a lever, which is great on the surface (where you won’t be needing a housing) since it provides an very easy depression. Yet underwater, wearing gloves, this can result in the camera being extremely trigger-happy in the beginning. I have grown somewhat accustomed to it after much practice, but I still like having a bit more resistance so that you can actually feel the difference between halfway (for focusing and light metering) and full depression (taking the shot). This is just a result of the lever design, and you can get better at it by pressing more directly over the joined end of the lever (thus reducing the lever-arm effect). Also, the central button cluster on the LCD side of the housing is, well…. clustered. The buttons are so close together that I oftentimes hit the wrong one. This is an annoyance more than anything else.
Bottom Line & Pricing
In all, the benefits far outweigh the negatives, and with a little use the shortcomings can be compensated for. Mated together, the EX-Z1000 and the EWC-80 provide a balanced, compact and user-friendly package. The powerful, variable-strength internal flash and the high resolution CCD allow for crisp and vibrant images without the need for an external strobe (at least in these waters). In my opinion, this is the best, most powerful compact camera/housing pair on the market right now, and at under $500 for the complete setup (at the time of this article) - it’s a terrific value as well.