Casio Exilim EX-G1 Is Tough, but Its Images May Look Rough

Exilim EX-G1 Review, by Sarah Jacobsson May 5, 2010

Snowboarders, snorkelers, and rock climbers, listen up: The ruggedized Casio Exilim EX-G1 point-and-shoot digital camera is a worthy companion for your next outdoor adventure. That's assuming, of course, you don't snowboard in weather colder than 14 degrees Fahrenheit, you don't snorkel in water over 10 feet deep, you don't climb rocks higher than 7 feet, and you can live with middling image quality while you're on the move.

The key phrase here is "while you're on the move." The 12.1-megapixel Exilim EX-G1 performed extremely well in our lab-based imaging tests, producing very sharp images with good color accuracy and a lack of distortion. In PCWorld Labs' subjective testing, our jury of evaluators rated the EX-G1's image quality as Very Good.

But you'll rarely have a tripod with you on a mountain hike or snowboard trip, and that will have a negative impact on this camera's image quality in the wild. In my hands-on, real-world tests, its still images were, at best, decent. The EX-G1 offers ISO equivalency settings up to ISO 3200, but my images above ISO 400 started showing a lot of noise when zoomed in at 100 percent. Images looked sharp enough when viewed at smaller sizes, but noise, artifacts, and color issues were evident at ISO equivalencies above 800 and at larger sizes. Though the camera offers a Macro mode (in the REC menu under the Auto mode), the EX-G1 had trouble focusing on objects as close as 4 inches away from the lens.

The EX-G1 also has no real image stabilization other than a digital "Anti-Shake" option, which is off by default and disabled automatically when you use a flash. You have to dive into the camera's "REC" menu to turn it on, and it does little to combat shaky hands or darting subjects. Instead, it increases ISO sensitivity--leaving you with, well, a number of artifacts and a somewhat shaky picture.

The Exilim EX-G1 features a 3X-optical-zoom lens (38mm to 114mm), a 2.5-inch LCD screen, and a variety of preset "Best Shot" modes. It's delightfully tiny at just 5.4 ounces and 0.78 inches thick--Casio says it's the slimmest shockproof camera on the market (the upcoming Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX5, which measures less than 0.75 inches thick, might have something to say about that soon). The EX-G1 takes MicroSD and MicroSDHC cards, and it's available in black or red for $300 (as of 5/5/2010).

It is indeed rugged. The camera is shockproof to falls as far as 7 feet, waterproof down to 10 feet (and it does sink, so use that wrist strap), freezeproof down to 14 degrees Fahrenheit (though using the camera at this temperature significantly decreases your battery life), and dustproof. I tested everything except the dust, and the EX-G1 powered through like a champion--though the LCD screen did suffer a scratch or two.

from www.pcworld.com