Casio Exilim EX-S3

Casio’s Exilim series now has two distinct body
styles. There’s the compact (very compact)
zoom model we reviewed last issue, the Z3,
and there’s the even slimmer fixed focal length model
we’re looking at this month.
The Exilim EX-S3 really is astonishingly small and slim.
In this model, the lens is mounted at the very top righthand
corner of the camera. It’s a fixed focal length lens,
so you have to rely on digital zooming to get closer to
your subjects. It’s also a fixed focus optic. This isn’t the
downside you might imagine, since depth of field is not
a problem with the tiny focal lengths and imaging areas
of digital cameras. Everything that is further than a
metre or so away will come out perfectly sharp and, of
course, there’s no autofocus lag to contend with.
Nevertheless, at £300, the EX-S3 is only £50 cheaper
than the much more sophisticated Exilim EX-Z3. As well
as missing out on an optical zoom and autofocus, you
have to sacrifice a macro mode, too.

Simply perfect?

But while the basic specifications of the EX-S3 are just
that – basic – the rest of the camera simply oozes class.
The brushed metal finish is of a high standard, and on
the back there’s a huge 2-inch LCD for composing and
reviewing your shots.
The switchgear is smart and uncomplicated. On the
top there’s a power button and a shutter release; on the
back there’s is a four-way navipad with a positive action
and none of the vagueness that characterises cheaper
versions; and in the centre there’s a separate Set button.
Above the navipad there is a Play/Record switch for
swapping modes, and to the left a Menu button and
Display button. That’s all there is to it, and this makes
the Casio clean and uncluttered.
Start-up time is two seconds – and shutter lag is nonexistent.
You press the button, the camera beeps and
the shot’s taken. It’s quite a contrast to the clicking and
whirring of most digital cameras.
Image playback is really fast. Somehow, you expect it
to be slow given the huge size of the LCD and the
comparative simplicity of the camera, but images
appear on-screen nigh-on instantaneously. You can
zoom in, in order to examine this camera’s impressive
fine detail rendition, and press the Set button to pan
around the zoomed-in image.

Photographic controls

There’s no getting round this camera’s basic lack of
specs, though. With no optical zoom or macro mode, its
£300 price tag is bound to look pretty steep. But it does
at least offer the usual crop of controls, including EV
compensation, white balance and flash modes.
You access these via the camera’s menu system, and
pressing the Menu button on the back reveals that this
camera’s stylish design isn’t just confined to its exterior.
The menus themselves are practically works of art.
The lettering is large and legible, navigation is crisp,
logical and rapid, and the menus are transparent,
overlaying the scene the camera’s looking at rather than
obscuring it entirely.
It seems a bit of a shame that you have to use the
menus for every single option, but if you scroll down to
the bottom of the Record menu you’ll discover that you
can re-configure the navipad to offer direct access to
any of them – flash mode, EV compensation, white
balance and ISO. By default, the navipad activates
the digital zoom (press up/down) or the shooting mode
(press left/right).
The Casio’s shooting modes are interesting in
their own right. You can switch between the default
single-shot mode, movie mode and what’s now
becoming a Casio trademark – the Best Shot mode.
Many cameras offer scene modes with settings
optimised for specific subjects, but the EX-S3 offers
more in every way. First, there are the 15 Best
Shot modes to choose from, including the obvious
options like Portrait, Landscape and Night Scene
modes, plus others like Black and White, Sepia
and Retro. What’s more, you can set up and save
your own Best Shot configurations. Each Best Shot
option is illustrated with a thumbnail sample, a
description of what it does and any special
techniques you should use.
The Casio doesn’t really do anything different
from other cameras with scene modes, but it
presents them in a much more informative, exciting
and beginner-friendly way.

Non-stop fun

There are other surprises that demonstrate an
inventiveness and sheer fun-factor that makes this a
fascinating camera. If you press the Display button in
Record mode, it toggles the LCD on and off, as you’d
expect. Press it again, though, and it displays a live
histogram showing the tonal distribution of the
scene in front of the camera. You can use it to see if
the shadows or highlights will fall outside the CCD’s
dynamic range and get ‘clipped’ – and adjust the EV
compensation accordingly.
Buried in the Best Shot options, there’s a Coupling
mode that lets you get both you and your
companion in a shot by shooting the left side (with
them in), and then the right (where you stand while
your companion takes the shot). Even more useful is
a Pre Shot mode, where you can shoot the scene as
you want it composed, then hand the camera to
someone else while you go and stand in front of it.
Not content with offering 2-second and 10-
second self-timer delays, Casio has incorporated a
triple self-timer that takes three consecutive selftimer
shots. You can use this, for example, when
you want to take a series of group shots without
having to go back to the camera to reset the self
timer for each one.
The Casio has other clever features, including a
flipping display for showing photos to people facing
you, a calendar display where dates are marked
with thumbnail images of shots taken on that day,
and a world clock and alarm.
More to the point, the Exilim EX-S3’s shots are
well exposed, saturated and sharp. The lack of a
zoom and a macro mode is undoubtedly a limitation,
but not a great one for most people’s snapshot
needs. However, although this is an excellent little
camera, you’re still left thinking that the Exilim EX-Z3
offers versatility for only £50 more.