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Casio Exilim EX-S3 3MP Digital Camera and Docking Station

Casio Exilim EX-S3 3MP Digital Camera and Docking Station

List Price: $369.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Camera actually records video with sound...
Review: ...though it has no audio playback on the camera, the clips have audio once downloaded to your computer. The review above incorrectly states that there is no sound.

Best camera that you will always have with you because it is so small and shoots quickly.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: There are two kinds of photo ops:
Review: 1) when you know it's going to be special and you have your camera with you
2) when it happens on the spot and you don't!

I bought this camera because my nikon coolpix 880, while it takes great pictures, is too bulky for me to carry everywhere. The ZX-S3 is smaller than my wallet and fits comfortably in the back pocket of my jeans. It is definitely "wearable", as Casio calls it.

HOWEVER it takes terrible photos, and my assessment is that their 3.2M pixel rating is a bald-faced lie. Not having optical zoom in a camera of this size is to be expected, but I figured that the high resoltion would make up for it because I could zoom and crop later. WRONG.

Take a photo with the ZX-S3, open it in photoshop, and set zoom to 100% (i.e. 1 screen pixel per file pixel). It is PIXELATED (about 4:1) AT 1:1 ZOOM!! The image is not merely bad, but terrible. Even when just viewing them on-screen the quality is unacceptable.

The image was SO bad using the camera's default settings that I was sure I'd done something wrong, so I spent some more time fiddling with it to see if there were any tweaks I should make. It was already at max resolution - I tried changing the quality from "normal" to "fine" but it made no difference.

I'm willing to compromise on picture quality to get a smaller camera, but not this much!! I'm going to return it tomorrow and order a Canon S400 instead. A friend of mine has one of their older elph models, and while not quite as tiny as the casio, it takes great pics.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Small, great pictures and easy to use
Review: Before I bought this camera I never took pictures. Now I take photos all the time. The camera is so small I keep it in my pocket all the time. I read some of the other reviews where the picture quality is criticized but I and my friends have been suprised how good the photos look. When I first showed this camera to people they thought it incredibly cool and at least 3 of my friends also bought it. The cradle the camera comes with makes it easy to transfer photos to your computer. I love this camera.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Night Portrait Flash Mode
Review: great camera, the best feature that I found out about this camera which set it way above other 3MP digital camera is the Night Portrait Flash mode, it makes your night photos almost perfect

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Works OK for a while, get something else
Review: Great small size, picture quality good for its size, but not for the price. You can get better pics from disposable cameras.

LCD is poorly designed. There is no case, and no protection. The frame is thin and weak and flexes easily so the LCD is designed to break, it is just a matter of how often you use it. The LCD on mine cracked when I pressed the MENU button, which is too close to the LCD.

Not worth repairing -$200 to repair. What a joke.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I didn't believe it
Review: I am a backpacker--I didn't believe this camera would be able to capture the quality I wanted in a 4 oz package... Boy was I wrong--Just came in off a 1000 mile hike on the Pacific Crest Trail and the camera did wonderfully! I bought several backup batteries and shipped them to myself--the only hitch was the INTERNAL battery (not the rechargable one) which goes out in about a month and the camera shuts down even with a fresh rechargable inserted (which I eventually remedied by sending the recharger to myself every three weeks). OTHERWISE THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE CAMERA--and better than the heavier bigger-megapixel model of Casio's--and lighter... my pictures are stupendous and can be run off as 9X12's even. I have had more than a dozen cameras and never found an ideal one for backpacking until this one.. (And to boot, as a college professor-I find myself carrying it everywhere I go and snapping pictures. Best $300 I ever spent on camera equipment!

Dr. Keith Drury

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Poor quality all around
Review: I bought 2 of these cameras for my daughters. One camera failed about an hour after being opened on Christmas Day, with the dreaded "SYSTEM ERROR" display (this means that the internal software is corrupted). We were on vacation and I had my guarantee, but without the original receipt (which I hadn't brought) this isn't accepted by the service department and is effectively useless on it's own. In any event, with this type of failure I was advised that it had to be returned to the factory.

The second one is still working(!), but has been disappointing in terms of quality. Obviously compromises have to be made to achieve the small size, but the lens quality is abysmal. Zoom-less cameras still perform - but only if the fixed lens is of sufficient quality to allow cropping to take place. Not the case here.

In terms of build quality, the battery cover pops open when you don't want it to, and it is too easy to hit the on-off switch when wanting to take a picture. In addition, the strap hook is tiny and is next to impossible to get a cord through. Makes the "wearable" tag difficult to achieve. As an additional point, with the "surviving" camera, the official Casio leather case I purchased came apart within a day.

The lack of any form of additional memory is astonishing. There is 10 mbs of built-in memory, but it's only accessible via the USB link and you lose anything on it if you get the "SYSTEM ERROR" above. It also only holds 3 or 4 pictures at the highest quality level. At least using the additional card I purchased I managed to get the pictures my daughter had already taken before the camera failed completely.

Overall, the "size" and "wow" factors are hopelessly outweighed by the lack of actual picture taking ability of this camera.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Wow that many people really like this camera?
Review: I bought this camera in a pinch. I was about to get on a cruise and my Fuji digital busted. I paid way too much for it but I expected that I was in Times Square. I took several pictures with the camera prior to getting on the boat. I was pleased with the size and weight. I was not pleased with ummmmm the rest of it. The picture quality is terrible at best in most situations. I took several different types of pictures as we ran into several types of weather/lighting conditions. The camera just performed poorly. My 1.5 mp camera took better pictures than this. It is sad when you realize that you could have bought a disposable camera for way less money and better results. I have recently purchased the Minolta Dimage G500 and I am absolutely THRILLED with it. If you are looking for a great small footprint point and shoot look no further. As for the Casio Exilim EX-S3 the only advice I can give is: If you are looking for a conversation starter you have found it. Other than that I found it keeps my 6-year-old cousin entertained.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Does exactly what I intended
Review: I bought this camera to take with me when I went on a military deployment. Often, I need a camera that is not obvious and that can be switched on, and a picture taken quickly, then stowed. This camera fits in my pocket (with Casio's case for cover) and I can pull it out, point and shoot in a matter of ten seconds. The pictures are fine if all you want are snapshots, and I have also had luck with 8 x 10s. The camera will take great pictures in low light situations. It has a powerful flash that I liken to a blast of light - sometimes I wish there could be a happy medium between natural light (when it's a little dark) and the flash (too bright). But if you need to throw some light at a distance it won't let you down. Setting the various modes for the type of shot you want (landscape, portrait, night scene, sepia, black and white and others) is intuitive. It even has a mode that will take a picture of a background, then on the next shot will place a subject in that shot. However, it's easy to confuse the on and the shutter buttons, and I have had a really hard time getting the mode to switch out of "record" and back to snapshot. That is my biggest frustration with this camera, and it isn't that bad. All in all, if you want an easy, portable camera with great battery life, this is the right one. If you are an "artiste" with a camera, look into a Canon or an Olympus. Incidentally, buy the recharger case from Casio and forget the docking station if you don't have much space when traveling. The tiny recharger fits the battery (so it's smaller than the camera itself). I bought an additional battery but I have never had the one run down. The SD card that I purchased for extra memory can be read by any standard card reader, so if you don't want any more photo software on you home computer, don't worry, just download the photos from the card and bypass the Kodak software disk. Either way, Casio has made this camera so easy to use that even if all you buy is a case and an SD card, you will be just fine. Highly recommended.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Truly Amazing!
Review: I can't get over all of the fun and useful features packed into this tiny camera...seriously, it weighs 2.5 ounces! Before I bought the Casio Exilim , I had a bulky and basic 2mp Kodak EasyShare Camera. My Kodak took nice pictures, but didn't offer much more. And it was way too big to tuck into my purse. The Casio can fit in my smallest evening bag & has tons of extras, like sepia and black and white pix, the ability to take two pictures and merge them into one, take short video clip with audio and the list goes on! If only it had optical zoom....but with all the other features this camera has, it is great anyway!!!


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