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The new Casio Exilim Pro EX-P700 sort of defies classi-fication. At first glance,
it’s an attractive, pocket-sized digicam that the novice can use in an
“auto-everything” mode to capture beautiful images at the push of
a button. On the other hand, with its 7-megapixel resolution, high-speed operation,
continuous shooting capabilities, and a wide array of sophisticated features,
the P700 offers the type of performance that until recently was only available
in a professional-level SLR.
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The
P700 utilizes a very intuitive control layout, with most of the
camera’s key features accessible via buttons on the body—thereby
minimizing the necessity of scrolling through menus on the LCD..
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In short, this new flagship of the Casio line significantly reduces the number
of compromises a pho-tographer must make when opting for portability over the
versatility of a full-size SLR. The P700 is an upgrade of the popular 6-megapixel
EX-P600 camera which was recently named “Camera of the Year” in
the digital compact camera category by the respected European Imaging and Sound
Association (EISA).
Featuring elegant styling, superb fit and finish, and a new dark gray metallic
finish, the P700 boasts a sharp Canon-made 4X optical zoom lens (equivalent
to 33–132mm in the 35mm format), and an oversized 2-inch color LCD with
a real-time graphical interface that looks like it belongs in the cockpit of
a jet fighter plane.
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Despite
its small size, the new Casio Exilim Pro P700 features a 7.2-megapixel
CCD— enough resolution so that we could run this image full
page in the magazine with great results. The large files captured
by the P700 will also deliver terrific 13x19 prints on the large-format
inkjet printers that are becoming increasingly popular and less
expensive. Another advantage of the camera’s hi-res capability,
is that you will also be able to crop out a small portion of a
scene and still make good 8x10 prints.
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High-Speed Operation
Casio’s designers paid particular attention to speed-of-operation when
creating the P700. The camera is ready to shoot within two seconds after power
is activated, and with a shutter lag of only 0.01 seconds, the camera seems
to capture images instantly. In the high-speed continuous shooting mode, the
P700 will operate at 3 fps for up to five images. The camera’s responsivess
extends to its playback mode, which enables you to scroll through your shots
at 0.1 seconds per image.
Other sophisticated features include EV compensation of ±2 stops in 1¼3
stop increments, an Auto Maco setting in which the camera automatically switches
between the Macro and AF modes, and an oddly named (but effective) “Business
Shot” setting that compensates for images shot at an angle and records
them as though they were taken from straight ahead.
Advanced Exposure System
The sophisticated exposure system features a top shutter speed of 1¼2000,
and offers a choice of Aperture-Priority AE, Shutter-Priority AE, Program AE,
and Manual operation. We gave the P700 a workout recently in the Sonoran desert—shooting
mostly in the Aperture-Priority mode (often with fill-flash)—and were
very pleased with the results under a variety of lighting conditions.
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