Rating: 
Summary: Slick little camera with a big screen
Review: BENEFITS (my opinion):
Even though the Z4U does not have movie or AV cables, it's a nice camera because of the many neat features as well as being ultra small.
1) Camera SIZE & LCD - as advertised, this little camera is very compact. Go to the Casio Exilim site to view the demo. The size of the camera shown in the demo is exactly the same as the actual camera. The LCD, though lower in resolution, is still a plus. No more squinting at a tiny LCD.
2) BUTTON PLACEMENT - Before buying, I held and handled the Minolta Dimage 3.2mp, the Pentax Optio 3.2mp, and the Canon Powershot S400. Of the four cameras, the Exilim Z4 'felt' the best to me. I liked how all of the buttons were placed on one side of the camera (rather than all around) and the large LCD was placed on the other side. I can hold the Exilim comfortably in one hand (with camera strap on) and press the
buttons while someone else is viewing the pics. My big thumb doesn't get in anyone's way. It works the same when I'm taking pics; I can press the buttons for options I need without blocking the LCD.
3) NO rotating "WHEEL" - Thankfully, the Exilim has no wheel button to rotate for optional features. In a big camera, it's not as bad, but for an ultra compact camera, I found the wheel to be a nuisance. If you have big fingers, you have to use your fingernails (if you have any) to rotate the wheel.
4) LOOKS - Of the four cameras I looked at, the Dimage looked the plainest. The Dimage has similar zoom features, but there is no physical telescoping lens-- all of the zoom is done with its special optical non-telescoping lens technology.
5) PICTURE QUALITY - The Powershot S400 appeared to be the best in all low light situations; the Dimage the worst. The Exilim, if used correctly, will take good photos in low light with less purplish 'noise'. DON'T use the digital zoom in low light situations because it enhances the noise factor. On the other hand, the Exilim takes excellent outdoor photos. I guess the downside of an ultra compact camera is that photos in low light situations do not turn out the way you expect in some cases.
4) BESTSHOT mode - The Bestshot templates (21 of them) are excellent. Examples: B&W, Sepia, Coupling shots (split screen 'ghost' image), Pre-shot (background 'ghost' image), Night Scene, Twilight, Sundown, Natural Green, Collection (for toy photos).. and more. Besides Coupling and Preshot, you really don't need to use the templates because the camera does a great job without them.
5) SELF TIMER - 10sec, 2sec, and x3. I found the x3 function VERY helpful. In group shots, the camera takes three consecutive photos without having to run back and forth to the camera. The first delay is 10sec and the remaining two shots have a ~5sec delay. This feature helped me pick out nice shots. Also, the large LCD screen makes it a snap to position and center a group shot on a tripod.
6) Power Saving Mode - The sleep mode and power off mode are handy in saving battery power.
7) AUTO FOCUS - The time it takes for the camera to focus in Autofocus mode is very quick. However, Exilim doesn't take close-up shots in Auto Focus mode very well, so use Macro mode and the close-up photos come out great. Make sure to press the button halfway to focus before fully depressing to snap the shot.
8) ISO - The Exilim does an excellent job in selecting the proper ISO (in auto ISO mode) versus if you set it yourself manually.
9) BATTERY LIFE & CHARGE TIME - On a two week trip, I did not have to charge the battery the entire time. Charge time itself took a couple of hours.CONS:
The learning curve on the Exilim Z4 may be high if this is your first digital camera. I already have an older digital camera, but I needed to play around with options/functions for a couple of weeks before I started taking serious photos with it. However, once I got the hang of it, I can use the Exilim with ease.
1) DELETING FILES - In the delete menu, 'delete' and delete all files' are on the same screen, so it is easy to accidentally delete all of your pics if you are pressing buttons very fast. This happened the first time I fiddled with the camera.
2) INSTRUCTION MANUAL - The contents of the Exilim box contains a 'brief' camera manual pamplet. You will need to refer to the PDF manual on the CD-rom or print it out in order to read full instructions.
3) CAMERA CASE - There isn't any...
4) BLURRY SHOTS - Easily avoided if you hold the camera steady, but a nuisance if you have never used a digital camera before. I learned to take shots with a steady hand when I first bought my old digital camera, so this was not much of a problem with me.. but my spouse is still getting used to it.
5) LCD SCRATCHES - to avoid scratches on the rather large LCD, I cut to size and stuck on a clear plastic overlay (used for PDA screens).
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing Picture Quality
Review: I just got my new CASIO digital camera last night. I was so excited. After conducting lots of research, I chose this model because of its small size, sleek design and ..hey.. 4 M pixels..! The price was competitive too. The design, menu options, ease to use, large 2'' screen are all very impressive. However, I was so disappointed with the picture quality. You cannot imagine! I don't know how the advertise 4 M Pixels...I don't see them anywhere. At the begining I thought it was just the screen, but when I transferred the pictures to the computer, the quality was still poor. Bottom line: I AM RETURNING THE CAMERA TODAY. Casio has never been known for building quality cameras. They still have a long way to go.... I am going back to the traditional: CANON.
Rating: 
Summary: Buyer Beware! - Decent camera, bad service & false warranty
Review: The LCD screen began manfunctioning within the fourth month of light use. CASIO support now states that "lens and screens" are not covered by their warranty despite what is stated in their products and their website.
Rating: 
Summary: i love this camera
Review: i bought this camera in october last year and i've taken approximately 4,000 pictures with it since then, and i've been really happy with most of the pictures. sometimes in low light with the flash off (yes, it's possible), a good shot can be hit or miss, but occasionally there are some really stunning results...often entirely unexpectedly. i take a lot of night shots, and i prefer the softness of no flash, when the lighting is just right people have been amazed at what this camera can do. i also take a lot of pictures of live bands, and with no flash and stage lighting you can achieve some beautiful results. also, by not using the flash i can take 150+ pictures in an evening without recharging the battery (with the flash it's about half that). my one criticism is that it can take quite awhile for pictures to "develop" and sometimes an even longer time to take the next shot. you will definitely need a bigger memory card, the fun of digital photography is often the sheer quantity of photos you can take and play with; buy it when you buy the camera.
Rating:
Summary: Great value for your money
Review: This is my third camera (second digital) and I think you should grab this one for the price.
This camera has a lot of options, so it may take a while to get used to it. Don't give up, patiently try out the options and once you get used to it, you'll appreciate each of the options. I'll first talk about the plusses. The obvious ones are 4M pixels and 3x optical zoom, ultra sleek design (by far the best looking camera I've seen), dock availability, super fast startup and capture time. Here's a brief mention of other features. 1) Large LCD screen for its size. This really helps for focus and also for previewing the pictures. 2) Best shots mode: Though it takes a while to get used to different modes to figure out the best possible setting, once you remember that, you're in tune to take great pics. I got fantastic pics of my campus on a cloudy day. The scenary mode allows you to capture intricate landscape details even in the borders. 3) Long exposure: You can take night pics with the long exposure mode (upto 4 seconds), the picture quality was awesome. 4) Fits in my shirt/coat pocket, no bulky stuff to carry around, can travel with your hands free. 5) The superimposing feature, where you and your buddy can take pics of each other with a scenary and merge the pic with both of you in it, sounds like a cool feature (if you're not an Adobe pro). I haven't had a chance to try it though. After mentioning the coolness factor, please read this also. For indoor pics, the flash is not powerful enough for objects that are say about 10ft away, but for closer objects it's good, or if the room is well-lit also, its good. Make sure you choose the correct white balance. OK, this is a feature you'll have to test out if you're not a pro. Especially, if your room has fluorescent lamps, there is a special setting and I did not get good quality pics with the default setting. The US version of the camera does NOT have MOVIE mode. I don't care for it, if you do, you should look for other cameras. There are cameras which have movie mode for this price. And yes, if you're planning a long trip you have to carry the dock for recharging (you save on battery costs though). The 10M memory bundled is inadequate, additional memory is a must, I bought a 256M SD card which costed me about 80 dollars.
Rating:
Summary: Don't buy this camera - go with the Canon S400
Review: I've owned many digital cameras. I keep upgrading. I had a Canon S230 (3 megapixels) - awesome image quality - the only thing I didn't like was the 2 x zoom. Saw the Casio EX-Z4U and purchased it 2 days ago. Excellent view screen, relatively easy control buttons, awful images. Everything comes out blue. Had to double enhance all the images on my MAC and through Adobe Photoshops. The whole point of a subcompact point and shoot is to be able to get out there, take the photos, and then be able to print or email with no additional steps. For a 4 megapixel camera this was a real disappointment. I'm returning it tommorrow and buying the S400 by Canon.
Rating: 
Summary: Horrible camera
Review: I have used many digital cameras and was attracted to this one because of its size and speed. Even at its highest quality settings, however, the pictures are terrible! Everything is out of focus and the color accuracy is aweful. Either the camera I purchased is defective or it is simply a really bad product. I'm returning mine to the Casio to try to determine which it is.
Rating:
Summary: Casio Exilim EX-Z4U - BIG DISAPPOINTMENT !
Review: Pros:
The small size of this camera is excellent. Very nice and easy to carry around in a pocket. Great display size. Very nice! 4 megapixel spec, very nice again. Decent quality with landscape photos. Great cool factor! Nice to hold. Cons:
Awful pictures of close in subjects or indoor scenes. Digital noise is very intrusive in pictures. You would think that a 4MP camera would take good photos, this camera proves otherwise. My 1.6MP and 2 MP Kodak's pictures are much better. Digital noise ruins most pictures from this camera if the subject is close in. Focus is a slight problem also as it seems to slightly not be flat throughout the scene but the noise, what a waste of time spent trying this camera out. All settings were tried to make camera perform well, photos with people in them close up always looked awful. The lighter colors always have digital noise colored sparkles throughout. Before I forget, the digital zoom is so bad in reproducing an image it should be left off (the controls allow you to do this). True garbage. Summary:
The camera is junk. I thought mine was perhaps broken but other reviews agree with my findings. I'm returning it. Buy it if size / cool factor are what matters or if getting the shot is more important then getting a great shot.
Rating:
Summary: DO NOT BUY
Review: I bought this camera, despite all the reviews, for some stupid reason. This must be one of the worst cameras I have used. I figured the quality would be decreased by a little bit because of the size, but MAN! My 1.3 megapixel built-in digital camera in my VIDEO CAMERA takes better pictures than this camera in most situations. That's the thing about this camera, if your lighting isn't perfect, your shot will turn out like crap. This is due to the excessive digital noise in the picture. I bought this camera yesterday and took it back today because i knew that this camera would be a waste of money and a bad investment. If you want a camera that is about as small as this one with the same or better features, buy the Canon PowerShot S410 Digital ELPH. For forty dollars more and a 32 mb compact flash card, it is a much better deal for only about forty dollars more. If you do, you'll be MUCH happier.
Rating:
Summary: don't use the digital zoom
Review: I bought this little diddy for my parents for Christmas. Part of the reason that I chose this one was the ease in using since my parents are not gadget smart. They have taken some really awesome pictures but the main fault that I see is the digital zoom. Once you pass the little red line that indicates the change from optical zoom to the digital zoom, you end up with really grainy pictures. So don't buy this or any camera for the added digital zoom in my opinion. Although I will say that my parents were unable to really notice the grain difference between the optical and digital zoom until I pointed it out. I have borrowed this camera for a vacation and found that if I didn't go into the digital zoom it worked great. I did hand the camera over to a guy to take a picture of my hubby and I and it turned out really grainy. Since I didn't have time to question the man about his technique, I have no idea what happened. It was an indoor picture and over and over I have heard the theme of bad indoor pictures. When using the flash you have to be just perfectly distanced from the subject or you will be under-lit or over-lit. (Dark and grainy or whitewashed and spooky) I have seen a very slight amount of red eye that most people don't really notice when looking at the pictures but that's just me. I love the fact that the Casio doesn't require hours of lessons to start out using it. Otherwise it would have been a horrible camera for my parents. The black and white photos are really incredible too. I grew up with film that was only color and never got accustom to looking at a subject and determining whether the composition would do well in black and white or not. I believe this camera is a great way to experience the best of both color and black and white. In fact I have had some shots in both and the b/w look the best. Since no camera is perfect for everyone I gave this a 4 out of 5 stars, but it is definitely very close to perfect. Add movies to it and I'm sold...again.
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