Very good camera--amazing high-speed photos

Author's Rating:

Pros: Great battery life, easy to use (great auto feature), incredible action shots 

Cons: photo quality is average

The Bottom Line: 
Good camera.  Great battery life.  Good photo quality.  Excellent 30 frame per second performance with easy to use menus and features. Focuses quickly.

Author's Review
I bought this camera about 3 weeks ago and am still in awe over its amazing high-speed capability.  What this little camera can do with action shots is simply incredible.

I start with the same disclaimer as in my other camera reviews.  I am a novice photographer at best, and I like having a decent point and shoot that is easy to carry and will deliver quality photos for most every day situations. 

The EX-FC100 is a bit larger than most other Exilims, but is still small enough to fit in your jeans pocket (although at .9 inches wide, it is a snug fit).  I have spent the past three weeks taking hundreds of photos with the Casio and a Fuji F70 EXR and comparing them.  In most situations, the photos are comparable--however, for action shots, the Fuji cannot touch the absolutely amazing performance you get with the Casio.  My observations/comparison are as follows:

1.  Photo Quality:  The Casio takes photos up to 9 megapixels.  The Fuji maxes out at 10 megapixels.  Outdoor shots with both cameras are excellent.  Colors are rich and vibrant.  Indoors, quality looks quite good, but when you compare the Casio photos to shots taken with the Fuji F70, you notice that the Fuji photos are a bit more vibrant.  The Casio quality indoors is not bad, the Fuji is just better.  One thing that is a little strange--as you approach extreme low light situations, the Fuji loses its slight edge, and the Casio gives the superior shots.  Fuji's "EXR" modes are complicated, and do not work as advertised.  However, regular "Auto" mode on the Fuji takes terrific snapshots with great color.

On balance, I would judge the photo quality of the Casio as good to very good, and the Fuji as very good to excellent.  

2.  Start-up and Time Between Photos:  Very good performance here for both, but the edge goes to Casio.  It takes only a couple of seconds for the Casio to boot up, and the shot to shot time is very quick.  Even when using the flash, the shot to shot time seems quicker than past Casios I have used.  Compared with the Fuji F70, the Casio seems a bit quicker shot to shot both with and without the flash.   Also, the Casio focuses a bit quicker, and generally more accurately, than the Fuji.

3.  Battery Life:  The Casio trounces the Fuji in battery life.  The Casio easily exceeds 300 shots with plenty of power left.  The Fuji starts to run out of gas around 200.  The Casio's battery performance is exceptional.  

4.  Scene Modes:  The Casio has more than twice as many scene modes, and they are easier to use.  They also work quite well.  In most instances, just using "Auto" gives you terrific shots.  For example, in extreme low-light situations without flash, the Casio automatically uses the correct settings to deliver very good photos, even where you can barely see the subject of the photo.  I was quite impressed at this ability to turn out decent photos without flash in low light conditions.  The Casio photos in extreme low light were much better than those of the Fuji, even though one of the claims to fame for the Fuji is its low light ability.  

5.  Action Shots:  This is where the Casio really shines.  You can take 30 photos per second at 6 megapixels, with very good quality.  It is really quite amazing.  The Fuji's action shot modes (continuous) are confusing and don't focus as well as the Casio.  Also, when you use the fastest continuous mode with the Fuji, at 5-6 frames per second, it is still light years behind the Casio, and it reduces photos to only 3 megapixels.  Huge advantage to the Casio here--this blazing burst capability really distinguishes the Casio and puts it in a class of its own.    

6.  Ease of Use:  Hands-down, the Casio.  It is easy to use, even without consulting the manual.  The Fuji, on the other hand, is regrettably confusing and complicated, even after spending hours pouring over the manual.  If you use the Fuji as simply a point and shoot in regular auto mode, it is fine.  But when you try to use the EXR functions, which is what Fuji touts as major accomplishments for this camera, it is extremely complicated, and, in my opinion, in most cases does not work as advertised.  If you stick to regular Auto and use the Fuji as a regular point and shoot, it takes terrific photos, with photo quality superior to that of the Casio.  

But cudos to the Casio for making the FC100 intuitive and very easy to use.   Especially nice is the "continuous" button on the top of the camera that lets you switch to 30 frames per second with the touch of a button.  

7.  Zoom:  The Casio has 5x zoom.  The Fuji has 10x zoom.  I find myself wishing the Casio also had the 10x--it is nice to have for many occasions.  The zoom in both cameras works great, but the longer reach of the Fuji really pays off in many situations.  Also, the Fuji gives a wider field of view on non-zoom shots, so you get superior landscape shots with the Fuji.

8.  Build Quality and Ergonomics:  The menus on the Casio are easier to use.  The ergonomics of the Casio, however, are a bit troublesome.  The door for the batter/SD card is flimsy, and the location of the SD card makes it difficult to remove.  Also, the Casio feels a bit plasticky. 

The Fuji has a much better fit and finish--it feels more sturdy and durable, the battery door is solid and easier to use, plus it is much easier to remove the battery and SD card.  Advantage Fuji.

9.  Image Stabilization:  My experience with image stabilization in past Casio's has not been good.  Casio must have improved this feature, because it works great in this camera.  The Fuji also has good image stabilization--even handheld with 10x zoom, the photos are in focus without any blur.  The IS feature works very well on both cameras.

10.  Reliability/Consistency:  By this I mean consistency in taking good photos.  The Casio is much more reliable than the Fuji.  Although at times the Fuji takes fantastic photos--some that are much more vivid than the Casio--the Fui also will, for no discernable reason, mix in shots that are dark and/or just not be sharp.  This happens even if you take 3 or 4 shots within seconds of each other--all might turn out good, all might turn out not so good, or you might get a mixture of good and not so good. 

With the Casio, on the other hand, every photo turns out the same, every time.  Thus, for reliable, consistent shots, the Casio gets the nod.

11.  Video:  The Casio is the clear winner.  It takes 720p HD movies.  (Unfortunately, movies are limited in duration to 10 minutes.)  The Casio's fast performance carries over to video, and allows extreme slow motion with clarity that is unbelievable.  The Fuji simply does not compare.  It does not shoot in HD, and cannot do slow mo.  The nod clearly goes to Casio because of the HD. 

Summary:  Both are excellent cameras.  The Fuji at times has slightly better photo quality, but it is unpredictable in EXR mode.  The Casio focuses faster, is reliable and is untouchable in terms of high-speed performance.  If you would like a small, easy to use camera that will capture just the right moment from any action shot, the Casio is a terrific camera.  As a point and shoot for non-action shots, the Casio is a good camera, but the photo quality (especially indoors), although satisfactory, could be improved a bit.