Casio Exilim EX-Z750 Digital Camera

Overall good camera

Posted Jun 29, 2006 - Before making a trip to China and Japan I made a reasonable amount of research on this item and decided to buy it in spite of the "lens error" notice. Well, two days after I started using it that message appeared, but turning it off and on was enough to move on. The quality of the pictures is to my perception really good. I don't think I need to search for anything else in this area. In terms of speed, it is not as fast as I expected (shutter speed) and charging the flash is also a slow process; however, once you get to know the camera you just get used to it and act accordingly. Video is very good, better than my Sony Handycam digital video(using a Pro Duo card), but once you start the video you can not zoom in or out One thing is that now I am getting too frequently an error on files but apparently it is due to the SD Card (I bought a very cheap 2 GB card). When I used its internal memory (very small BTW, just 8MB) instead of the card the problem was gone Regarding battery life, I usually charged every two other days, taking many pictures and videos, and yes, you need to carry the base to charge it. One thing here, I have noticed several reviews for downloading pics. My preferred way is just to take out the SD card and plug it into my lap-top. I haven't even installed the software CD as I just find it so easy to download pics this way. If you don't have one SD reader integrated to your lap-top or desk-top then less than $25 will solve that issue for you. One note on the SD card, get a good quality one and ensure it is a fast one. Notice that in the video mode this camera has a writting speed of around 11MB/second or so (please double-check this number); therefore your SD card must be capable of saving data at least at this same rate Finally, there is a good amount of "modes" and user settings so if you want something to play this can provide you with some fun.

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Solution for Charging Batteries WITHOUT the CRADLE

Posted Mar 16, 2007 - My sixth digital camera in 10 years... I have always bought Sony but gave this CASIO a try. A fabulous camera for all the reasons others have stated. One of the last that still offers an OPTICAL viewfinder. Do not upgrade to a newer model CASIO, they are now over simplified and do not offer the flexibility and creative control that you get only with the Exilim 750. Find it and buy it. It's worth it. * AS NO ONE HAS MENTIONED THIS SOLUTION, LET ME SHARE THIS: There is no need to lug the cradle around (vacationing, etc.) in order to recharge the battery! Don't risk breaking the cradle, it's expensive to replace. Leave it home! For about $15 on Ebay you can purchase a non-OEM battery WITH a portable charger. You will have a spare battery always at the ready, just think how convenient that will be! And to re-charge the battery you simply remove it from the camera and pop it into the battery charger. The charger comes with 2 plugs, one for the wall outlet, one for your car! It's small, slim, packs easily into your purse or pocket. Buy one, you will be very glad you did.

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Feature packed 7.2 MP Digicam

Posted Aug 16, 2005 - I owned a Canon G3 before this camera. That camera is huge compared to this pocket sized Casio. I decided to switch to a pocket size mainly so that I can always carry my camera with me. It was harder to carry the G3 around. With the Z750, I can carry it in my pocket easily and know that I can take a photo anytime anywhere. All my previous cameras prior to this were Canons (I've had 4 total). I was considering the Canon SD500, but after doing a lot of research, I decided on the Casio. They are almost identical in size and resolution but I liked this camera more because of the bigger 2.5" LCD screen, excellent battery life, 30 fps movie mode at 640x480, and lots of features like "best scene" mode (preselected shooting situations), a (limited) MANUAL mode, and a "live" histogram. The colors are very accurate and photos are sharp. There is also the ability to resize photos in your camera! So why do that? You can take a hi-res 7 MP photo and then have the camera resize it to a "web friendly" 640x480. The original is NOT touched - it makes a smaller sized copy for you. You can then email or upload the smaller sized photo. This is nice feature if you are on vacation and do not have a pc or laptop to do any sizing. Some of the weaknesses I found were: 1) FLASH not too powerful (this is true for almost all pocket sized camers though). To get around this limitation, I used a CAMERABRIGHT accessory (www.camerabright.com) to brighten subjects and help focus in low light situations. 2) High Noise level at ISO 200 and more so at ISO 400. Again all other pocket cams have this limitation. 3) "Burst/continuous mode" only takes about 1 fps - Hardly a burst speed. To me these are not "show stoppers" and I'm sure future generation digicams will improve on these. Overall, I love this camera! I always carry with me wherever I go. I've captured great photos and made great prints - even larger sized. Highly recommended.

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Be careful of the Lens Error

Posted Jan 15, 2006 - I researched and researched before buying this camera. I was impressed by all the good reviews of the features of this camera, but at the same time a little worried about the 'lens error' problems some people were having (search on Casio lens error). I went ahead and bought the camera from Digital Foto Club in hopes that I would get one without the 'lens error' problem. No such luck. Within two days of receiving it, the lens error started happening. I don't believe mine was caused by having the camera in a case and inadvertantly hitting the ON button because I was simply switching between taking movies and pictures when it happened the first time. I'm going to exchange mine and hope that I get a "good one" this time. If not, I'll have to find something else which is disappointing because I really like the camera otherwise.

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A pocket camera for people who appreciate photography

Posted Aug 14, 2005 - Casio is addressing the lens error problem. As mentioned in another review, its best to set camera so it does not start using the record or playback button, this limits the chance for an accedental lens expansion when the camera is in the case. Also, there is a small battery charger available on the casio site that you can plug into the wall that will charge the battery, no need to take the cradle on vacation. camera starts fast, takes great photos, and also takes great videos. For videos I copy files to my PC, use Movie Joiner to join all of the files, then use CuCosoft to convert the file to DVD, and then use Nero to actually burn the DVD. Result is an excellent quality DVD. No longer need to haul the Vidoe camera on vacation anymore! This is a great little camera. Also has Image stablization as one of the best shot modes. My camera has taken hundreds of pics & no lens error yet.

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This is my first Casio camera ever. I feel that Ca ...

Posted Jun 25, 2005 - This is my first Casio camera ever. I feel that Casio has truly stepped up the bar by offering more features than any of their competition. I love the size of this camera, the 7 megapixel resolution, and excellent mpeg-4 movie mode. I compared this with the Canon SD500 and the Casio won in just about every area. I highly recommend this camera.

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EX-Z750 Excellent Buy

Posted Sep 13, 2005 - My Oly Camedia had excellent photo quality, but it was big enough that I missed pictures because I left it home. On the other hand, I would have been torn about which one to tote if I got a low end pocket camera, and in the case of my 35 mm cameras I often found myself packing BOTH for a vacation. The Z750 wasn't cheap but it really solves both problems (size/quality). Get a FAST, big memory card (yes, some cards are faster than others even if the same "size") - mine is an SD 512MB) and get a screen protector, a clear plastic stick on sheet, for your screen, or it will be scratched immediately. I got an extra battery but it really hasn't been necessary, even on my trip to Ireland whe I ndid not take the dock because I did not want to risk using electrical converters. The battery lasts forever. I recently downloaded firmware that is rumored to correct the oversaturation of color in the prints - I had to do that manually with PhotoShop or on my Epson RX 600 printer before. At first i wished I'd bought the Cannon SD series, but now I think this camera is perfect.

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I am pleased with the zoom but I was expecting mor ...

Posted Apr 28, 2005 - I am pleased with the zoom but I was expecting more but 3x Opt Zoom pretty standard for this class. However, with 7.2mp makes enlarging easy. The dock that the camera sits on doesn't feel real stable. Once camera is on right it is ok but sometimes getting it on right is difficult. I had a Kodak Camera before and was probably spoiled. Also, I wish they would have included plugs into the camera for USB and AV outs. In its current form, you have to take the dock everywhere with you. I would much rather be able to transfer pictures with just plugging in the USB cord as opposed to putting it on the dock. This makes it difficult to use in two places (work and home). I am not a very advanced camera user yet so I haven't learned how to use the special features to manipulate pictures. But the extra picture settings that allow you to change the way the pictures are taken are cool. You can choose from black and white, rustic look, pastel color, and many more. It allows even the novice user to act advanced. It also has a cool calender mode that allows you to search for pictures by what day you took them on. Battery life also seems to be really good. I had it out all night showing everyone all the pictures I had taken that day and it wasn't losing battery life. I was expecting it to drain the battery with the huge LCD but now. Pretty awesome. Overall this camera is everything I wanted and more. I was really debating the issue for some time going back in forth between cameras but ultimately I decided on Casio as a brand. It came down to the 750 and the 57. I chose the 750 because I wanted the 7.2 Megapixel camera. What can I say? I am a guy. I need bigger numbers. Thats why I bought a 1GB SD card as well. The smaller one would have worked fine probably but hey, I would have always wondered about the bigger and better one. In conclusion, I knew that I could resell this camera after I bought it and not take a huge hit, if I didn't like it. But I do. It is a wonderful camera. It is small enough to fit into any pocket. It seems pretty durable also. Buy this camera. You won't regret it.

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Casio- Wonderful Camera--- Terrible Company

Posted Sep 17, 2005 - When it works- it is a trmendous camera. But heaven help you if you get a LENS ERROR. You will be on hold for hours before talikng to someone. You will send the camera back and be without it for 2 months (and still waiting); you will be told that the company has not been experiencing any problems like this; and you will be told that they are not going to repair your camera with factory new parts- only reconditioned parts will be used. We bought 2 of these at the same time. One has never been returned from service and the other has intermittent LENS ERROR problems, but I am too afraid to send it to be fixed.

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I traded in my Nikon D70 D-SLR, kit lens and 70-30 ...

Posted Jun 27, 2005 - I traded in my Nikon D70 D-SLR, kit lens and 70-300 lens for this Casio. I do not regret it one bit. My D70 and lenses were gathering dust because it was too big and heavy to take anywhere. When you go on holiday you do not really want to be carrying a heavy bag full of lenses and camera. I decided I wanted a camera I could take anywhere. The Casio powers on and focusses almost as quickly as the D70. The difference for me in terms of photo quality between the D70 and the Casio is minimal. But I am no expert photographer. This camera is very easy to use and the settings are really intuitive. I have not needed to refer to the manual once. The great thing about this camera is that you can just pull out this camera and take a photo very quickly. With the D70 you need to worry about the lens cap and getting it out of your bag etc. Also, when taking a photo with the D70 you draw a bit too much attention to yourself but with the Casio 750 it is much more discreet. This is invaluable for my needs. I would not hesitate to recommend this camera.

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Get a Good Leather Case

Posted Dec 17, 2005 - The LCD screen is only protected by a thin layer of plastic and the glass panel inside is extremely thin - making this 2.5 inch LCD screen very easy to be damaged from even the slightest contact with sharp objects. Repair cost: $272.00, warranty does NOT cover it. You might as well buy a new camera, perhaps a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-M2 for that matter. Also, the Power Button is designed in such a way that even if you put it in a carrying case you could accidentally press it and activate the camera. The first thing the camera does then is to try to extend the telescopic lens, and since the camera is inside a carrying case, the lens has no room to extend, thus damaging the motor and mechanism. This is probably the reason why some users complained about having "lens error" massages. Again, warranty does not cover it. Solution: get a really good hard shell leather case as soon as you purchase the camera (mine is ESC-58BK); and make sure that the "Power Button" and any other buttons CANNOT be pressed from the outside of the carrying case. This is an excellent camera and is definitely worth getting - if you can be careful enough while using it. I hope that Casio can correct the above design errors and make even better cameras in the future. In my opinion, durability is sometimes more important than features. What is the point of making an extremely durable metal body such as the EX-Z750 and at the same time putting on such a fragile LCD screen? How much extra would a piece of thick tampered glass measuring only 2.5 inch cost Casio?

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Greatest compact digital camera

Posted Mar 22, 2006 - I owned five digital cameras so far, and certianly casio z750 is the best. The battery life is very impressive. Last time I took about 2G pictures, and the consumption of energy is only half of a battery! That's amazing! And the manual options are friendly to use. The movie mode is even better! My friend can't believe that I shoot all movie clips by such a small camera! But it sometimes has machenical noise when shoot a movie , while trying to focus at the same time. Mine has Lens Error once, because I accidently block the lens popping out. I turned it off and tried to open again, the problem was gone, and never happen again.

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Beware the fragile (and costly repair) to the LCD

Posted Sep 27, 2005 - I received my Casio Exilim Z750 four weeks ago today. In the six days I shot pictures with the camera, I was impressed by its features and apparent quality; the battery life was impressive, and the photos (with saturation and sharpness settings turned down a bit) were very good indeed. Very impressive for a small, pocketable camera. Exactly one week after receiving the camera, I discovered that its LCD screen had "cracked" overnight, rendering the LCD unusable. Going to forums on the web, I saw that others have had the same problem; Casio blames the customer and refuses to repair the unit under warranty. Since my camera's screen died overnight while sitting on a table in the dark at normal household temperature, humidity and pressure, I refuse to believe that my handling or mishandling of the camera is to blame. Apparently the LCD screens are back-ordered for a month in any case (which suggests that Casio are replacing a lot more of them than they'd anticipated) and despite sending in my Z750 three weeks ago for (hopefully) warranty repair I have heard nothing from Casio since. I am hopeful that they'll do the right thing and fix it for free, but am not optimistic given the forum messages I've read. So, be warned: the camera is lovely, but you may have to throw it away after a week. I have rated the camera Completely unsatisfactory, because it doesn't work. I have owned many (mostly Nikon and Canon) digicams and have never ever had this kind of problem.

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One of the smallest 7MP cameras around

Posted Nov 17, 2005 - This is a great camera overall. But it has one problem that bugs me. Photo Quality: The picture quality is great when view on a computer monitor. Colors are very saturated, which seems to please the typical viewer. Construction: Great solid metal construction. My only complaint is that the lens seems to have "gear-meshing" issues: Very so often I will get "LENS ERROR" message when turning on the camera and the camera lens will immediately retract, turning off the camera by itself automatically! Also, the "LENS ERROR" message will appear every so often when zooming all the way out. Battery Life: Great battery life: I took over 200 picures with one charge using the original Casio Battery supplied. (PS. I bought a non-Casio battery as a spare but that one did not last as long: Only around 160 pictures with the non-Casio branded battery) I'm giving it 3 Stars only because of the LENS ERROR problems I've been having: The camera will NOT focus correctly and the only way is to reset the camera multiple times and later review the pictures each time to ensure the camera is back to "normal". If CASIO fixes the LENS ERROR message, I think this would be a 4 Star cameara.

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Wonderful camera - one of the best!

Posted Aug 2, 2005 - This camera is certainly one of the best available. The pictures that it takes are very good and even large prints are sharp. The screen is vivid and pleasing to the eyes. The many Best Shot modes included enhance the pictures and video that it takes. There is also a variety of manual controls. The movie mode is great because the quality is decent and file sizes are reasonable. The EX-Z750 is nice combination of function and form and is right for both casual and serious users.

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