A single gaze upon this wee digital beauty - and it was love at first sight. The sleek, aluminum Z-40 is the size of a credit card and less than an inch thick. Okay, so I'm a sucker for small electronic goodies, but even I know that looks aren't everything. Let's see if the Z-40 can walk the walk.
Although this diminutive dynamo is an ultra-compact, it's no lightweight when it comes to features. It sports a 4.0 megapixel CCD imager, large 2-in. TFT LCD screen and 3X optical zoom. Supported still image resolutions include 2304x1728, 2304 (3:2 aspect), 1600x1200, 1280x960 and 640x480. It's only fair to warn you that powering up for the first time triggers pure "nerdvana," as three telescoping segments glide out of this svelte shooter in an amazing way.
Casio claims its new technology extends battery life 2.5 times longer than previous models. I don't know about that, but with mixed flash shots, I was able to fill a 512MB SD memory card with nearly 300 photos at the highest resolution without getting close to needing a recharge. This is more than adequate for the average consumer.
Users can select from 21 "Best Shot" modes. A partial list includes Portrait, Scenery, Children, Party, Pet, Flower, Sundown, Night Scene, Food, Text and Retro. If that's not enough, you can also save your own unique settings for quick recall. The Z-40 also functions as a voice recorder and voice notes can be attached to photos. You can recharge the Li-ion battery in the USB docking cradle and transfer your photos and movies with the press of a button.
Many ultra-compacts don't offer a movie function. If they do, it's limited to 30 seconds length, or at the most, 3 minutes. The Z-40 lets you record movies with audio that are limited only by your available memory. My expectations were low, considering only 15 frames per second and a resolution of 320x240, but the playback is surprisingly good. It's certainly good enough for e-mailing friends or posting on a Web site. This is a nice option for capturing birthday parties, spur-of-the-moment movies or just goofing around with friends.
If you'd like to see sample images and video, click here to take a look at extreme close-ups of flowers and insects in my garden, a panoramic shot of Mount Rainier mirrored on Reflection Lake in Washington State, movie clips of Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne gusting their way through central Florida, and dozens more.
While users can dork around with white balance and ISO settings manually, this camera was made for folks like me who don't know a lens from a tripod. (By the way, a tripod mount is actually built into this little wonder.) There are too many additional features to squeeze into this short review. I highly recommended you check out this camera if you're looking for a digital point-and-shoot ultra-compact.
