
Digital Camera Review by: Michael Gazzola
Building on Casio's success with the EX-P600 is the new higher resolution EX-P700. The main difference between the two models is the capture capacity, increasing the capture from 6 mega-pixels to 7 mega-pixels, now producing images at A3 size with every click.
Like any camera with more grunt, the photographer is going to need at least a 256mb capture card, just to keep from running out of space after a hand full of shots. The inbuilt memory is far too small at just 9.8mb, which has not been upgraded, but as everyone these days shoots and captures onto a memory card this is a non issue.
Our tests in the studio of various products produced images almost as sharp as they come. We really were quite surprised at the results, which would give many higher end digital cameras a run for their money. The colour balancing options are also worth mentioning, as they performed well under different testing conditions.
The sync lead plug on the body for a studio flash is a nice touch. The camera tested in full manual mode within a studio envioroment passed easily, eventhough the EX-P700's main functionality is based around 'auto' shooting - producing equally as good results for general digital photography.
Casio have persisted with using the same Canon lens as the EX-P600, which is a wise move as the clarity of the results speak for themselves.
The option to use easily manageable jpeg size files, or the addition of the workable Tiff format that uploads to your PC fairly quickly was also a marked improvement. The EX-P700 also uses the Photoloader software (included), which, as mentioned in previous Casio reviews is fantastic and very user-friendly. Scrolling through uploaded images, browsing thumbnails or viewing data about the settings applied to any given shot makes the experience of shooting in digital that little bit more interesting.
The EX-P700 body size is exactly the same dimensions as the EX-P600, but with a new paint job, finished it in a very dark chocolate, still with a stainless steel body and the original hints of chrome from its predecessor. I still stand by my thoughts [re: EX-P600 review] that the body design will not win any design awards, but it's now most definitely getting more attention and may be partly due to it's different industrial type look.
Like the P700's younger brother, again I liked this camera and its improvements, and had fun experimenting with it.
Appearance rating |
4 stars |
Functionality rating |
4.5 stars |
Image quality rating
|
4 stars |
Value for money |
4 stars |
RRP (AUD)
|
|
 |
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Effective Pixels |
7 Million |
Image Sizes |
6 Sizes / 3 quality modes and TIFF |
Lens - zoom wide [mm] |
7.1mm (35mm equivalent of 33mm) |
Lens -zoom tele [mm] |
28.4mm (35mm equivalent of 132mm) |
Resolution Settings |
From 640x480 to 3072x2304 |
Quality Modes |
5 Individual. Plus auto and manual |
Manual Focus |
No |
Auto Focus |
Yes |
Focus Range [cm] |
10cm to infinity |
Aperture Range |
Auto / F2.8 - F11.1 |
Aperture Priority |
Yes |
Macro |
Yes |
Macro Range [cm] |
10cm |
Shutter Speeds |
Bulb, 60 to- 1/2000 |
Shutter Priority |
Yes |
ISO |
4 Options. 64, 160, 320, 640. Plus auto. |
LCD Monitor |
Yes |
LCD Size |
2.0-inch digital interface TFT color LCD |
Viewfinder |
Yes. Optical real-image zoom viewfinder |
Flash |
Built In. 3 mode options. Plus auto. |
Hot Shoe |
Yes |
White balance |
7 options. Plus auto and manual. |
Self Timer |
Yes. 2 or 10 Seconds. |
Auto Power Off |
Yes. 2min or 5min. |
Sleep |
Yes. 30sec / 1min / 2min / Off |
Movie Options |
Yes. Only limited by card size and battery. |
Audio Options |
Yes. Only limited by card size and battery. |
Video Out |
Yes. |
Storage Type |
SD / MMC Cards |
Storage Included |
9.7Mb Internal. |
Image / Audio Formats |
Jpeg / AVI / Wave |
Connectivity |
USB. |
Power Source |
Rechargeable battery and AC adaptor included. |
Dimensions |
97.5mm x 67.5mm x 45.1mm |
Weight |
225 Without batteries |
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