Casio EX-Z1050 Review

Following in the footsteps of last year's EX-Z1000 model, the Casio EXILIM ZOOM EX-Z1050 packs most of the same feature set into a camera that's a full $100 cheaper than its predecessor. Priced at $299.99 and available from March 2007 availability, the Casio EX-Z1050 couples a ten megapixel imager with an EXILIM-branded 3x optical zoom lens, housed in a body that's a little lighter than (but stylistically similar to) the previous model, shaving a scant millimeter off the height and width, while adding a couple of millimeters to the thickness. The weight reduction likely comes in part thanks to a switch to a smaller 2.6" LCD display with half the resolution of the 2.8" display panel found in the Z1000.

Other changes include twice as much built-in memory (15.4MB vs. 8MB), the addition of SDHC card compatibility, slightly reduced flash range, a macro mode that doesn't focus quite as close, a minimum shutter speed of 1/1000 second (instead of 1/2000 second in the Z1000), and a minimum sensitivity of ISO 80 instead of ISO 50. One further change of note is that the high sensitivity mode now has a maximum of ISO 1600, rather more realistic for a ten megapixel sensor than the ISO 3200 offered on the earlier camera.