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Casio Exilim EX-F1

Author	Cliff Smith
Published	3rd Jun 2008
Manufacturer	Casio
Price	£565.22 (Exc VAT)
as reviewed	£650.00 (Inc VAT)
Latest Price

Build Quality
Features
Image Quality
Value
Overall

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One downside to the mass of powerful electronics and software powering the EX-F1 is that, like a computer, it takes a long time to start up, in fact just over four seconds. Fortunately the other aspects of the camera's performance match its shooting speed. The autofocus system is as fast as in most Casio cameras, which is to say very fast indeed, and its low-light capabilities are also good. The camera focuses quickly and reliably in a dimly-lit room, and thanks its bright green AF assist lamp it can focus in darkness at a range of at least three metres. Naturally the single-shot mode performance is impressively quick, maintaining well over a frame a second with focusing between shots.

One concern with such a strange camera is its image quality, especially considering its relatively low resolution. However it wasn't so long ago that most professional DSLRs were only six megapixels, and it is certainly big enough for decent sized prints. The EX-F1 has a RAW mode to get the best out of its sensor, although this is of course not available in high-speed mode.

The lens performs extremely well, and there is virtually no barrel distortion in JPEG shots, although comparing RAW shots indicates that there is some cheating going on. The camera removes some barrel distortion during processing, which could be a problem if you shoot in Raw at wide angle. The distortion isn't great, and can be ignored on many subjects.

Rather more worrying is the camera's high-ISO noise. Shots as low as 400 ISO show a great deal of image noise, and the 1600 ISO maximum id very bad indeed. Other than that however, the image quality was very good, with excellent dynamic range, good exposure and colour rendition and plenty of fine detail.

So far then the EX-F1 is looking very interesting, however there is one major drawback. It currently costs £650, considerably more than a good entry-level DSLR with a couple of lenses. For all its unique abilities, can it really survive at such a high price?

Verdict
The Casio Exilim EX-F1 is a unique camera, and one which may herald a new generation of hybrid still/video cameras. It has several unique abilities which some users will find extremely useful, however it also has some problems. Its still image quality, while good, is no match for the best of the current high spec super-zooms, and its alarmingly high price will also discourage potential buyers. It's a brave attempt by Casio to break the status quo of the current digital camera market, but one I fear that may not succeed.

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ChrisH said on 23rd June 2008

Thanks Cliff;

Good review, but in a world of limited time noone can be expected to catch everything. A few comments/updates from an owner of an EX-F1:

1. Startup time is halved to 2 secs at most by installing the latest firmware (v. 1.02).

2. You do get 60 shots in a sequence. But you are not limited to having them all in one or two seconds. You can have them at 60, 30, 20, 15, 10 or less shots/second, so for instance at 10 shots per second you have 6 seconds of shhoting time. (You can also shoot at about 2 shots per second indefinitely using AUTO-N).

3. You say "of course" you can't save a burst of RAW images. You can't, but it's not "of course". The camera buffers raw images in its 512mb internal memory, and converts them to jpeg on save. Technically, you could save the raw images ... but it would take about 5 minutes, so I suspect Casio simply disallowed it as an option.

4. You don't really mention the precapture mode. This allows one to half-press the shutter. Images are now written to the internal buffer, cyclically. So, if for example you chose 20 shots per second and a 40 shot buffer, at any point in time you have the last 2 seconds of shooting in the buffer. Pressing the shutter fully saves 2 seconds of shots from before you pressed the shutter, and 1 second after.

So, if for example you're shooting your child's soccer match, all you have to do is stand near the goal, track the action, and when the ball goes in, press the shutter. You -know- you've got all the action as you have the 2 seconds before you pressed.

5. The video isn't full 1080p. It's 1080i, 60 fields per second. Of course, that could be de-interlaced to 1080p/30. As most TVs do 1080p/24, in some ways it's a pity that isn't offered as an option. It does do 720p/60, and pretty good video too.

6. For some reason, many people get upset over the fact that there is no sound with the slow motion videos. A moment's thought will prove of course that on replay at normal speed the sound would be slowed down 10 times (or more for the faster ones) and so be incomprehensible.

7. The movement-sensor feature is pretty clever. You can set the camera up pointing at an area of interest (say a flower), press the shutter, and walk away. When a bird visits the flower, the camera detects the movement, and shoots. Hey presto, 60 high speed shots of the action.

8. Conclusion: Value for money? If you don't actually want all those features, poor. Apart from impressing the neighbors, a Ferrari is an absolute waste of money if you don't want to drive fast. If you DO want the special features the camera has ... there's no alternative on the market. Some DSLRs can get good speed - the D40 will do 7 shots/second. But it's more expensive once you start buying lenses, and doesn't do video. For me, its - the Casio EX-F1: $1,200 in Australia. Catching my son in the air with his hands held high and a smile on his face as the ball goes into the net: priceless. 1/10th of a second either side of that shot, you can't see his face, or he's blocked by another player.

Thanks Cliff;

Good review, but in a world of limited time noone can be expected to catch everything. A few comments/updates from an owner of an EX-F1:

... more

Ed said on 16th July 2008

Wow, missed this one first time round. This looks like 80 per cent of my dream camera - super high speed shooting, HD video, and versatile lens all in one package. If only the lens... more

pete coleshaw said on 6th October 2008

some people expect a lot! - when is one fixed lens camera going to satisfy an enthusiast's every needs? seems to me that it does things no other camera does, and it doesnt cos... more

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