Casio EXILIM EX-ZR100 Pro Reviews

The Casio Exilim EX-ZR100 misses out on some travel zoom features of cameras around the £300 mark, such as the built-in GPS facility of the Panasonic DMC-TZ0. That's handy for recording longitude and latitude data with each image file so intrepid types can retrace your travels via image data, but most regular users simply looking for a large-ish zoom in a small-ish camera won’t find this omission a deal breaker. Indeed, being able to get that much closer to your subject without having to shuffle your feet forward is still chiefly the over-riding appeal of the ZR100, over and above the low-resolution slow motion video modes and artsy HDR stills. Like most cameras of its ilk you will get soft shots and visible wobble if attempting handheld images at the telephoto end of the zoom, but the Casio is capable of presenting bright and colourful results. Though there is little that’s all that exciting or a technical revolution here, if you do manage to pick up the EX-ZR100 for under £200 there is equally little chance you will be disappointed.

The ZR100 is indeed a step forward in Casio's portfolio. While the company seems to have spent much of its promotional time talking about the HDR Art mode - something we, quite frankly, don't care for even one little bit - there are loads more top features here that ought to be given far more credit. Although the menu systems are a bit clunky and some options are a little too tucked away, there are far more positives to speak of... The back-illuminated CMOS sensor produces great images from ISO 100-400 and close-up macro works a treat. Although ISO 800 through to ISO 3200 are much softer the results are better than a number of competitor compacts out there. The ZR100's autofocus system is also generally very on the ball and the AF Area modes know which areas of interest to focus on. Add to this manual controls, a reasonable (if not over-compressed) Full HD mode that can utilise all of the 24-300mm (12.5x) optical zoom in real time during recording and there's very little missing from this release. If you're looking to buy a decent compact with a wide ranging zoom for £300 then the Casio ZR100 certainly doesn't do a bad job and would be worthy of a place on your shortlist.

Whilst lacking a GPS facility to make it a fully rounded travel zoom like the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ20 or its Leica companion in the V-Lux 30, or new fangled software enhanced 3D shooting gimmickry, the Casio EX-ZR100 is cheaper than both (if going by the latest £179 street pricing) and will appeal to anyone looking for the one snapshot camera that nearly does it all. Like most compact cameras with a broader than average zoom range, sharpness suffers when used handheld at maximum telephoto setting without the aid of a tripod or supportive surface, but then again this is a humble snapshot that will slip easily into a pocket, so we're not expecting perfection at every turn.

The EX-ZR100 isn’t perfect, and the absence of standard pre-sets and offsetting in-camera interface made us occasionally scratch our heads and ask “Why?” But these aren’t the types of features that make or break a camera’s overall performance. Instead, Casio seemed to focus on the technology behind the EX-ZR100 and not the gimmicks: The point-and-shoot’s speed, low-light performance, and superior build do enough to justify its $300 price tag and just might bump it into the same realm as competitor cameras from Canon and Nikon, names more often associated with high-quality point-and-shoots.

We're witnessing some pretty heavy competition in the advanced compact camera market these days, and the ZR100 distinguishes itself with its high-speed shooting modes. Given its moderate price point, strong feature set, superb battery life, and long-zoom lens, it offers a lot of versatility for the dollar.

We're witnessing some pretty heavy competition in the advanced compact camera market these days, and the ZR100 distinguishes itself with its high-speed shooting modes. Given its moderate price point, strong feature set, superb battery life, and long-zoom lens, it offers a lot of versatility for your money.

Casio's Exilim EX-ZR100 has a lot to offer for a camera with a price tag of $299 US or less. This compact powerhouse offers pleasing 12-megapixel image quality, an excellent layout of controls, a higher-end zooming capability, a super clear 3.0-inch LCD, HDR technology, 360°+ panorama, extreme High Speed shooting in still and video mode, and much more. Its shooting performance is unmatched in this price range, and even rivals that of much more expensive "Prosumer" models, not to mention it has some of the most robust burst mode capabilities offered in a camera of this size. While we had a few pet peeves, along with some unwanted CA in the majority of our photos, the EX-ZR100 comes highly recommended from the staff here at Steve's if you're one who demands SPEED!

The Casio Exilim EX-ZR100 is a speed demon that shoots excellent photos and video, but its high price tag, and quirks with zooming and autofocus, hold it back somewhat.

Really, there’s nothing close to the Casio ZR100 except other Casio cameras. Where it really tells though, is in the uses Casio has put the high speed processing to and here the HDR, anti-shake, low light, panorama and pet capture modes are all huge fun and work amazingly well. Yes, the handling could be better and it’s tiresome to have lots of photographic features hidden in menus, but the ZR100 is bursting with features and tricks. With decent results and super-fast speeds the ZR100 is versatile and lots of fun to use.

Unfortunately the Casio Exilim ZR100 we had a look at is still running on a pre-production firmware, so we are unable to provide a full review at this time. However, from first impressions, the camera's abundance of features, high speed modes, and new HDR mode makes it an interesting camera, and one we look forward to reviewing. Once we have the Casio Exilim ZR100 in for review we will update this page with the full review.