Casio Exilim EX-S2 2MP Digital Camera
By: Casio Average Rating: 4.5 Total Reviews: 42
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 On: 2008-01-08
Served me for about two years, then slowly stopped working.
I have already replaced this with a camera with optical zoom digital, but first the screen stopped working correctly, the shudder sometimes would not close when off, and I got a lot of error messages at start up.
I have not dropped it, but I carried it around in my shirt and jacket pockets a lot without the case.
 On: 2006-09-27
Casio has a history of poor service after the sale. This camera will work for a while, but dont expect to much more than give it a toss if it malfunctions. I bought one of these Casio Exilim models 3 years ago. Since that time, the viewer cracked and the cost of the repair was 90% of the cameras price. Then the software began to malfunction, intermittently, by that time out of warranty. I find Casio has great features on paper but after the sale service not at all satisfactory. Now I have a very simple 5MP Kodak Easyshare. And judging from user reviews, Kodak will turn around a broken camera in 48 hours. Ill take that over a bunch of bells and whistles anyday.
 On: 2005-02-19
I got my Exilim for taking pictures while traveling, mainly around Europe for three months. The best feature is the small size, small enough to slip unnoticeably in my pocket T-shirt pocket. Pick pockets are abound in Europe, tho violent crime is far less. Being able to carry my camera unnoticeably was great. If you want to make large prints of your travels, a camera with 5 or more mega pixels should be the choice, but the postcard size 4 X 6" prints I made of the trip were excellent and comparable to the 35mm point and shoot cameras I have used. There are many options, such as setting the white balance, which is very useful, that you wouldnt expect on such small camera. Pictures taken in very low light conditions, such as in a darkened night club, are not good, but you do get severely grainy, off color images if its necessary to take a picture. The 30 second video clips are much lower resolution than 2MP but can be fun to use. I cannot complain about the 3500 pictures I took in Europe and more than that in the US in the first six months of ownership. The battery allowed my chip limit of 120 or so pictures, as long as I could keep from constantly checking to see how the days shots were working. Do all the editing at the end of the day. I did have my laptop with me to download the days pictures. It takes 483 pictures with my new 512MP chip. Enough that my trip to SE Asia for a month later held most of what I took, with no laptop to download to. No more wishing I had a camera on hand if that special moment occurs.
On: 2005-02-14
I can snap away at those precious shots that we normally lose due to slow shutter speeds. Just be careful, this thing is so small and convenient that I have taken too many pictures. Hopefully I will print most of them before they get lost. The clarity of 2 MegaPixels is amazing... =).
One the negative side: Flash is a bit weak so taking group photos in low light is not a good idea.
 On: 2005-01-13
I absolutely LOVE this camera. I would label myself as an "advanced" photographer, having done studio work, shows, and used various formats, but i never forget my roots in why i began liking photography- SNAPSHOTS!!! Nothing is better than coming back from that fun night of dancing and having hiliarious shots of you and your friends busting a move. Or remembering that you have a camera in your pocket when you run into an old friend or some other unique situation. This camera is so tiny, you can shove it in your pocket even when wearing tight clothes, and its barely noticable. Its also extremely durable. Being the klutz that i am, i have dropped this camera a billion times and even spilled POP on it, and it still works perfectly. Also, i have never even purchased a memory card for it. The ten megs of internal memory is good enough if you are just takign shots for the web/online photo albums. I set my resolution lower and i can usually get about 60-80 pics out of the 10 megs. I have even tried printing some of those pictures, and they actually came out pretty decent.
I wouldnt recommend this camera to someone who is taking precious shots of their baby and they want to print them and put into an album, but i would recommend it to anyone who wants fun snapshots on the go, has always been bogged down by the inconvenience of NOT having a pocket-size camera, and views most of their photos online. This thing is fun, hip, and extremely convenient for the spontaneous snap-shotter.
On: 2004-06-16
I bought this camera around Christmas time and I have absolutely loved it. I needed a point and shoot digital that I wouldnt have to think about adjusting, and this camera is perfect. It has the little signs of being designed well: really fast start up time, very quick shutter response, it retains settings on shutdown (my first camera chraged the flash all the time and ate batteries like there was no tomorrow), and the list goes on. It has the feel of a well thought-out product, the way something like an ipod does. I highly recommend it!
On: 2003-12-17
My husband bought this for me for Mothers Day, and I love it.
Ive used it more times than I can remember, probably have a few thousand pics on the computer so far (!)...
I find the samll size to be a practical advantage, and not so much of a "gizmo-wow factor"...unlike our old clunky 35mm, and
the various other point-and-shoot cameras weve had, this one lends itself so well for spontanious, important moments.
Concerning image quality, etc., I cant be very objective, due to the fact my hasband is a graphic artist and runs everything though Photoshop before the world sees them!
Im sure there are many similar cameras, and they all offer similar performance at at similar price. Bit this little Casio is what I have, and its great.
On: 2003-10-22
This is a great camera for still pictures. It has a few filters such as monochrome, retro, twilight, and more. It also has the ability to creat short video clips, although they are almost too short to be of any use. The built in memory will hold about 60 economy photos. That brings me to another point, you can switch between photo quality to save space, which is a great feature. Pros:
-The LCD display is kind of small, yet adequate
-Great quality photos
-SUPER SMALL
-Strong and durable
-Selectable photo quality Cons:
-No audio for videos
-30 second video clips only!
-Not that long battery life
by: Anonymous On: 2003-09-27
I bought this camera few month ago, because I love to travel and it would not take any space.
It has a lot of nice features and they are easy to set. I bought a 256 memory card and in fine resolution can hold around 300+ pictures.
But remember, this it not a proffesional camera, it is a cool gadget. The only drawback is the picture quality that it is not as good as other cameras with same amount of megapixels.Dont get me wrong it takes good pictures.
I will recomended to any of you.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-08-03
very very easy to use
small small small
only negatives are no audio with movie clips and no optical zoom but still gives very nice closeups
On: 2003-06-03
I bought this for the small size. It was better than expected but the upgrade has all the features I was missing on this one: larger LCD, easier control button, higher MP. It is a great conversation starter. A lack of zoom did not bother me, I just zoom in on Photoshop.Pros: Very small & light
Good quality pictures
A lot of useful features
Good price Cons: Short battey life
Small LCD screen, better on upgrade
Control button is better on upgrade
Small size makes it easy to lose...but that is why I bought it! Otherwise is a great ultra-compact camera.
I would recomend the upgraded version though.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-03-17
I use a digital camera entirely for electronic viewing and for e-mailing photos, so I dont need huge megapixel resolution. I have had other digital cameras, but the features I really like about this one are, in order of importance to me:1. FAST shutter response - due to the fixed focus lens, there is almost no delay between pressing the shutter release and getting the shot. Some cameras take so long to focus and capture that you miss the shot you were after. 2. Very small and lightweight - I usually have it in my pocket or briefcase. The slim size and flush lens keeps it from getting hung up in your pocket. 3. Fast power-up and down. Also, no waiting for a lens to extend or retract. 4. Good battery life - especially long, since I mostly use the optical finder. It has a menu feature that allows you to reduce the size of a stored image for e-mailing. This saves you from having to run it through Photoshop to reduce the size. The stand/charger works flawlessly. Set it in, press the "On" button, and the camera appears on you desktop. Very convenient to have it connect and charge without extra cables. The SD cards hold plenty of pictures and are reasonably priced . I recently ordered a 128-meg card for [money]. Drawbacks? -
The main drawback for me is that the only way to charge the battery is inside the camera, in its cradle. It would be nice to have a way to charge the battery only, so an extra can be charging while the camera is in use. If a separate charger doesnt come along, I might try making one.
 On: 2003-03-08
Dont get me wrong, its a decent camara but no more then that. Think about why you are buying a camara before you pay [$$] for this one. I would think the most important thing would be picture quality, with this camara you really dont get that. The pictures are not very good when compaired to other camaras in its price range. Also think about how since the lens is fixed you cannot take a closeup picture of anything. It says in the owners manual that you the closest you can get is 1M. Think if it as you cant take a picture of text and read it as it will be too blury. The flash is also very weak as other people are saying. Dont get sucked in because of the "cool" factor of the camaras small size. I had one for a month then bought a Canon S200 to replace it. Its slightly more then double the size but there is no comparison in picture quality.
On: 2003-02-27
its small, nice, slick, and eye-catching! however, casio is pretty new to camera business therefore, the quality of the lens may not be up to those like sony, cannon, nikon,etc. The Ex-S2 is nice, allowing users to manually operate the camera on flash and shutter sensitivity. The joy-stick is a little too small but bearable, not too many functions (menu wise) but moderate for those who doesnt consider themselves - professionals. Then this would be fine, excellent portability, download is easy; the cradle does all the work and the program actually sited for users (arrangement) on which date and keeps track of how many times u download pictures and etc. after all i think this product is worth the money and its more like a TOY to keep those out there to be happy with:slickness, James bond perhaps. Definitely a must-try product. highly reccommended.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-02-25
I am having fun with my new camera. Bought it after I saw a friends. However, trying to find an extra NP-20 battery is impossible. Does anyone know from where or from whom I might find an EXTRA rechargeable lithium NP-20 battery???? Sure dont want to miss pictures after being out with the camera all day because of a dead battery!
On: 2003-02-24
I carry this camera everywhere I go. Im amazed how often I use it to take pictures that I would have missed otherwise. It is well designed, easy enough to use that others can use it with minimal instruction, and has the features that I use most often such as background flash and red eye reduction. In addition, it takes the photo instantaneously and displays it within a second or so. My only complaints are its inability to take close-up shots and its relatively weak flash.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-01-30
When I first got this camera, I thought, "oooh, this camera looks really cool!" and thats all I thought... until I started messing around with it. One thing that I discovered was the Best Shot mode... just give the little joystick a couple of clicks and you could take anywhere from twilight shots to landscape shots to scenery shots and.. best of all... people shots! for those wanting the vintage look, this camera also includes a sepia and monochrome mode you could take shots with.... this is pretty funny... see, I thought that with a two megapixel camera, I wouldnt be receiving decent pictures... well, I asked a couple of my friends how the pictures I took looked. Aparently, this camera takes better pictures than most of the other big cameras out there - even those with more pixels! HA! I have so much fun with this camera.. the best part about it is its size... you could walk by people and take pics of them without them even noticing... you could feel like james bond! Lets see what else... Oh yeah, the camera loads up SUPER fast - even WITH a 128mb SD card in there. The flash works great too... I could take pictures in a pitch black room and my tiny little exilim will illuminate whatever its taking a picture of... its great... also, the battery charging time.... the box SAYS 2 hours... NOPE.... more like 1.5 hours which is a big difference for some busy people like me. well... the only negative comment i have to give is that theres no OPTICAL zoom... but... Im not much of a landscape person anyway... one may think that Im making excuses for the lack of zoom; however, if youre one of those point and shoot people like me (and not one of those "wait... a little more to the left" kinda people) you will have more fun taking pictures than you wouldve ever imagined. Its amazing how such a tiny little camera (thats bigger than my front pocket wallet) can be so important to someone. I take my camera with me EVERYWHERE! Im TOTALLY satisfied with this purchase!
On: 2003-01-28
Ive been using this camera for a little over two months now and I have to say I love it. Its extremely easy to use and takes great quaility pictures.pros.
very fast startup time - you can start shooting within about 1 second after hitting the power button. very quick review time for recents pictures - easily scan through your photos quickly and delete on the fly. thumbstick is easy to use, very intuitive - i never once picked up the manual. just used the menu button or moved the thumbstick to control all features. upgradable - i added a 64 meg sd ram card in addition to the 12 meg onboard. requires no software - just plug it in the cradle and turn it on and windows will instantly see it as another drive! LIGHT AND SMALL!!! - its the size of a credit card!! fits in a shirt pocket with tugging down on your shirt. so small, the wow factor on this thing is great! great screen quality - a generous 1.5" screen on a camera this small. OVERALL - just an excellent camera well worth the money!! overall - well worth the investment for web and family and fun photos. will take up to a 1600x1200 image with no problem. fun camera all around great battery life - no joke, i took over 150 pictures with flash each time before i got low on the battery. it charges quickly too! and you can turn off the screen if you dont want to waste battery life. cons
no optical zoom...the digital zoom is worthless but who cares. its tiny! must use cradle to charge - which is kind of a hassle but the battery life is good so its not a big deal.
On: 2003-01-22
The value of this camera is its size and convenience. It does not take great photos, but for the most part, outdoor pix are not too bad. I compared exact shots from my olympus 2 and 3 megapixel, and the colors from the casio were a little washed out- not true to color. Indoor shots with low light are bad, as the flash is so small it does not produce very good photos. These are the drawbacks. I got this camera to have when I dont want to carry my larger camera and to take places that I would not otherwise have taken the other. It is cool and will draw a crowd. You will need to get an additional SD card if you want to take any number of pix, but they are cheap now. Final note, the usb/charging cradle that came with it is very nice and works well- I did not install any of their software as Win XP immediatley picked up and installed the driver.
On: 2003-01-20
I bought this camera because of the high rating the other reviewers gave it. But when I actually took pictures and enlarged them the detail quickly disappeared. My Olympus D-450 Zoom with 1.3 megapixels takes much sharper pictures. You cant beat the Casio for size and convenience at a party or family event but for greater detail go for the Canon powershot S200 digital elph. The price is the same but it is twice as thick. A small concession for quality pictures.
On: 2003-01-17
This camera is outstanding!Great features, size,and quality pictures.Ive own many cameras , but this camera says it all ,no disappointments all value.
On: 2003-01-15
This little little little camera is so fun and gorgeous and swonderful. VERY easy to use, VERY fun to use, and VERY portable. in fact, I keep it in my backpack, purse, pocket everywhere I go. The fact that its only 2.11MP doesnt mean that it doesnt get beautiful photos. I keep it at 640x480, and the pix all come out beautifully-people marvel at the quality. Another thing that is important to some people is that can be fairly manual too: white balance, flash, etc can be controlled.Also, I keep my camera in an empty box of playing cards. This will give you an idea of how small and gorgeous this camera is, as well as a storing idea! Reviews talk about how people will be fascinated with yer camera and how everybody will want to try it out, etc. This was something I didnt want to have to face, but the camera is so small that most people dont even notice! ps, Im a first time digital camera owner, and I know nothing about digital cameras or 35mms either, but I know when a product is quality, and this one is! my only complaint is that the camera is [ more than I would have liked it to be]. My luck, the price will drop in one month and one day from the day I bought it!
by: Anonymous On: 2003-01-04
This is my first digital camera and I love it! It is amazingly small - smaller than youll be able to appreciate through the photo - but still has a lot of features. Everywhere I go people ask me about it and want one! It is also very easy to use - dummy-proof!
The only thing that is not as comparable to other larger cameras is the zoom - it has no optical zoom - but I dont use it for long distance shots, so it is not a problem for me.
I strongly recommend this camera!
by: Anonymous On: 2003-01-02
I wrote the other review of this camera "Debating?" and want to add something.The carrying cases, made especially for the Exilim, are available at casio.com/exilim. They make a pure leather and a green imitation case. Both are stylish and tiny to fit the Exilim.
On: 2002-12-28
hey guys,Can anyone tell me where i can buy the carry case for this camera?
Most web site either out of stock or not coming yet.
Write me back to ...
Thanks Hang
by: Anonymous On: 2002-12-28
I bought this visa-card size camera one month ago at a Radio Shack store and the camera is just great, if you can overlook one tiny trade-off: there is no auto focus. This is to tell future buyers that they can save the extra 27 dollars they would have to spend for the leather case. Instead, I suggest you to go buy a set of playing cards with soft plastic case that you can find at any Borders store and use the case for storing your new camera.
by: Anonymous On: 2002-12-27
There are some people who take one glance at the digital camera section in the electronics store and one minute later say "that one." However, if you are like me, there are some people who do lots of research. They agonize over every little detail, every word in the reviews and tech specs, and a month later hold there breath and make a decision.With such a wide variety of digital cameras out there, I narrowed down on the tiny ones, only becuase the whole point of taking pictures is to capture a little moment that would be otherwise forgotten. Who wants a large clunky camera to lug in a camera bag everywhere???? The second someone says "Where is the camera" some people would be unclipping there carrying cases, opening up the pop-up lens, finding the right mode, waiting for it to start up, get it into focus and by then the moment is gone. But for me and all other Exilim/ tiny digital camera owners,this slick Casio powers up in seconds time and one more second to take the picture with flash. It is that simple. The design is very intuitive and the menus are extremely simple and friendly. Two modes; play or record. A shutter. A power button. A menu button and the little dial. That is it. The camera is so light you can put the strap over your hand to control it and use the other to instruct your posers. Image quality is not supreme, but the difference between this and higher resolution cameras (to me, an amateur) doesnt seem dramatically significant. Most of the my pictures will be printed no larger than 5x7 or emailed and Adobe Photoshop or Elements can change your photos to make them look so much better that (to me) to quality is good enough for me. Plus I am not going to hang my photos on the wall...maybe a little 4x6 here and there. The battery life is absolutely wonderful! Not once have I ever ran out of juice. The cradle is convienient and the little usb cover was lost on the sixth day. Flash is ok, and the manual controls are right there for you to use with ease. Best shot mode is great to get the perfect shot without tinkering with manual settings for ten minutes. Zoom, well, there is not one. Digital is so horrible it neednt be mentioned. But you can just as easily move a few feet and get the same results if not better of a camera just zooming from one location. I generally like to be farther away so I can crop (the exact same thing as zoom, just more precise and better quality) on the the computer. Overall, this camera is made of quality, looks like quality, pictures are OK quality. If you still want tiny, but want more of a resolution, I cannot recomend enough the Konica Revio model enough. However, at [$$] more, still a good price for there type, wasnt worth it for me. Buy for your needs and tastes! For me, this camera is perfect for my needs and taste. If you value size/ease of use/portability and looks over genral image quality and features, this camera is for you. Sorry
to be so extensive. But this camera rocks!
by: Anonymous On: 2002-12-23
This camera is great!! I use it a lot and I have yet to find any problems!! The LCD is very sharp and clear and the camera is small enough to fit in any pocket!! I suggest u also buy the leather case so you dont scratch the LCD....well hope this reveiw helps...the camera is awesomeeeeeeeeeee i love it
On: 2002-11-16
After extensive research, in October 2002 I found that the Casio Exilim EX-S2 is a wonderful camera. The things that I love about it is that I keep it in an old billfold so I can have it with me all the time. It powers up in about 1 second, and you are ready to take up to about 17 pictures on 1600x1200 resolution without interpolation. If you want to take more, the camera has an expandible memory card slot. The battery lasts for several uses, even with flash on. The zoom feature is not really worth mentioning, and the flash works best in the 3-10 foot range. The cradle is 1x USB. WindowsXP automatically knows when you hook up the camera, and downloads your pictures within seconds. Leave the camera on the cradle to charge. Its that easy!! The absolute best feature of this camera is the viewscreen. Moments after you take your picture, you can view it, and even zoom in to make sure you got the image you wanted. How anyone could use traditional film is beyond me!
On: 2002-11-13
I admit, I bought the thing because of the cool factor. And yes, you will get people gawking at this gadget in public. And I guess I knew going in that it was just for fun pictures, nothing serious.Given that, it performs well. But yes, the shutter slows way down in low light causing more blurry pictures than Id like. And the flash is only good for a few feet (up to 6ft according to the specs). But if you can learn to live with its shortcomings, its a fun little gadget. It has many very useful functions like white balance and exposure compensation, all within its very intuitive menu system. And you can customize the joystick to control a given feature during recording (flash mode, exposure, white balance). I thought the tiny joystick would be a problem with my big thumb, but its not a problem once you get used to it. Digital zoom is fairly useless with a 2 megapixel camera; just blows things up and makes them blurry. The built-in memory wont hold very much, so you pretty much need an extra memory card. All in all, a fun toy that would be a lot more fun at $200. But if you must have it (and I did), go out and get one!
On: 2002-11-13
I admit, I bought the thing because of the cool factor. And yes, you will get people gawking at this gadget in public. And I guess I knew going in that it was just for fun pictures, nothing serious.Given that, it performs well. But yes, the shutter slows way down in low light causing more blurry pictures than Id like. And the flash is only good for a few feet (up to 6ft according to the specs). But if you can learn to live with its shortcomings, its a fun little gadget. It has many very useful functions like white balance and exposure compensation, all within its very intuitive menu system. And you can customize the joystick to control a given feature during recording (flash mode, exposure, white balance). I thought the tiny joystick would be a problem with my big thumb, but its not a problem once you get used to it. Digital zoom is fairly useless with a 2 megapixel camera; just blows things up and makes them blurry. The built-in memory wont hold very much, so you pretty much need an extra memory card. All in all, a fun toy that would be a lot more fun at .... But if you must have it (and I did), go out and get one!
On: 2002-11-13
I bought this camera when it first came out in Japan, (where curiously enough its considerably cheaper) despite heavy competition from a bunch of other ultra-sleek hi-tech japan-only models, and I have to say that Ive never looked back.
The good points:
form factor- you cant believe how small and portable this camera is. bring it out and instantly draw a crowd! It is the best for taking those "spontaneous" shots - I bring it with me wherever i go, and it wont cramp your style either (ever try and go to a party hauling a big clunky camera around..?)battery life- uses a proprietary (lithium ion?) battery - the charge seems to last forever. Ive taken dozens and dozens of pictures with this camera (using flash + LCD on) and still never had the battery run out of juice. menu/features- the menu system is fantastic, yet intuitive, and gives you a wide range of control over things like white balance, etc. the camera recharges *amazingly* quickly after using the flash, and is capable of taking shots in quick succession with almost no lag time. The screen is amazing (plus you can zoom in on the picture youre displaying!), and doesnt chew up batteries either. Plus you can take excellent quality video clips (up to 30 seconds). The not-quite as good:
resolution: this camera is listed on amazon as being 2MP, but my model clearly says 1.82 MP. This is evident if you look at the pictures as well (even on the highest quality setting). Furthermore the 1600x1200 mode *is* interpolated, contrary to what the reviewer below said. I generally take picures in 1280x1024 and then reduce them in photoshop to 800x600, which produces quite nice results. but the end, the pictures it produces cant compare to higher resolution digital cams. digital zoom: like all digital zooms, it bites. well, you cant have it all at this size, and i generally dont find myself missing an optical zoom anyway. software: not the best (nor so bad as to be unuseable) but (under win XP), you can do away with the software completely and just manipulate the camera and files direcly like any other attach USB drive. One final thing - a lot of the specs listed on amazon are completely incorrect - the camera uses SD cards (not type II CF) and certainly doesnt use 4 AAA batteries!! All in all, this is an absolutely fantastic camera which will inspire instant lust in all who gaze upon it. I cant recommend it enough, as long as youre not looking to take ultra-high resolution professional images. Buy this at once!
On: 2002-11-12
Ive been snapping photos for about a week now and have really appreciated this tiny camera. The fact that I could literally carry this camera in my pocket (and forget its there) is what sold me. This is primarily a point-and-shoot camera, and as such the layout of the controls is well designed. With the camera strapped to your wrist, you can easily manipulate all the controls with your thumb and forefinger, without looking. Another thing, this camera is FAST, great for quickly--and discreetly--pulling out and taking a shot. It takes about a second to power up (it has a fixed lens, so nothing needs to zoom into position), immediately releases the shutter when you push the button without any lag time, and is ready for the next shot almost instantly. Interfacing with Mac OS X has been a breeze--nothing to install just place the camera on the base and push the power button and the camera appears on the desktop as a mounted drive and works seamlessly with iPhoto. Battery life got me through about 100+ photos with the LCD constantly on. Speaking of the LCD, its a handsome one. Nice and large and very sharp with good menu layout. Image quality isnt superior, but definitely acceptable for on-screen and 5x7 prints, especially for the camera size. One definite accessory you will want to buy is an SD memory card. Ive found 64MB to be a good companion with the 16MB of built in memory, fitting about 120 images on the card and 25 in internal memory when shooting at 1280x960. If you take this camera out in public, be prepared to share it with everyone--it definitely draws curiousity as it is one of the smallest capable cameras on the scene at the moment.
On: 2002-10-27
If youve ever seen something and thought to yourself, if only I had my camera... youre a candidate for one of these. For once, the phrase "fits your shirt pocket" is true; it really does. So youve no excuse to not have your camera with you.
But this isnt the only tiny camera around. Its not even the smallest. But its the first tiny one Ive seen with decent storage capacity, a two megapixel CCD, a TFT monitor, and the likelihood that it will take some decent pictures.
Cameras that can manage images at 640 x 480 pixels will give you images that look okay on screen but pretty poor on paper. This Casio can manage 1600 x 1200 (and not interpolated, like some others), so you can, at a pinch, print your photos at up to A4 size without any obvious quality problems.
The Exilim does have its limitations, but you can accept them because of the size and ease of use of the camera. The lens is fixed-focus (mainly means in practice that close-ups are out), theres no zoom (unless you count the digital zoom which is pointless), theres no built-in lens cover (a case costs extra), and youre going to lose the minute cover for the USB/power connector within about a week. Shame they dont give you a memory card with the camera too because youll need more than the built in 12MB.
On the other hand, the Exilim is gorgeous to look at and to hold (it inspires instant envy). It has a beautiful TFT monitor, is a doddle to use (though surprisingly sophisticated and customisable), ready to go in a flash so you dont miss those opportunities you bought it to catch, and can take pretty good photos - if you can. And little movies too. Oh, and the battery seems to last for ages.
I found that it was all too ready on a cloudy day to use a very slow shutter speed, so camera-shake is a bit of an issue. The minuscule built in flash is only good for portraits really. But on the whole, the results Ive had mean that as a second camera, its absolutely fine, and the results have surprised a few people. I shall carry it wherever I go.
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