Introduction:
We had the opportunity to compare two of the best small pocket sized Digital
Cameras in our I4U Lab. The Sony
Cybershot DSC-U50 and the Casio
Exilim S20, the latter we recently selected as the Best
Small Digital Camera of 2003. This award was based on comparing the features
and especially the size, where the Casio Exilim S20 is unbeatable. The DSC-U50
has double the volume of the Exilim S20 as you can see in our Small
Digital Camera Size Chart.
We focus in this first hand review on how to make a decision between those two
digital cameras when compared directly. We made some very interesting
observations.
The Face-Off:
Both Cameras certainly have their coolness factor. The
Sony DSC-U50 comes in orange and silver in the US. There is supposedly a pink
version available in Japan. Plus it has the swivel lens, to make it easy to
shoot self portraits. The Sony is small but thick. The Casio S20 is thin very
thin and small form factor. It has a bigger screen than the Sony. The Sony
display screen is 1", the Casio sports a 1.6" display which makes a
big difference. The display is also much faster on the Casio than on the Sony.
On the Exilim I can flip through the photos with no delay. With the Sony there
is a short load delay between photos.
The user interface of the Casio S20 is just beautiful. Every mode has a little
multimedia icon visualizing what the mode is about. The Sony has a functional
but rather standard menu.
To compensate for not having a swivel lens Casio has a feature
called couple shot, where it basically enables digital merging of
two photos taken at different times. That is quite a fun feature and
works surprisingly well. It somehow detects where to merge the two
photos and make it seem as one.
The Casio has a digital zoom function that works pretty
well, the Sony only has pre-set auto zoom. For close-ups the Sony can get close
to 10cm from the object the Casio does not get that close.
That brings us to a surprising observation that we made when taking
photos with both Cameras. The Sony DSC-U50 just makes better photos.
We did not play around and try all modes and adjustments on the
Casio to optimize the photos. There are some ways to optimize the
photos, but those Cameras in our opinion should be optimized for
point and shoot. The Casio claims that mode, but in reality the Sony
just makes warmer and richer Photos. The Exilim photos have hard
colors and are not as vibrant and deep. See sample photos below. The
Flash on the Sony is also better and has a wider reach then the
Casio one.
The Casio Exilim S20 comes with a cradle the Sony does not. The
Casio can be charged all the time in the cradle. The Sony relies on
rechargeable batteries that need to be charged outside of the
Camera, when they are completely empty. That is a bit of a hassle
and a actually quite outdated.
Sample Photos:
| Sony Cybershot
DSC-50 |
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| Casio Exilim S20 |
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Click on Photos to see them in 640x480 resolution
Conclusion:
If you want to own the state-of-the-art smallest digital camera
(only the Sony Qualia is
smaller with the same feature set, but way out of the Casio
price-range) then the Casio Exilim S20 is the one. The menu and the
features are just very fun and the small size is turning heads.
The Sony is stylish less gadgetry, a bit behind in technology but
just makes great photos with ease. This is a big big plus for the
Sony.
The Casio
Exilim S20 sells for $242.89 at Amazon.com.
The Sony
Cybershot DSC-U50 sells for $249.99 at Amazon.com.
Specifications:
| Sony DSC-U50 |
Casio Exilim S20 |
- Imaging Device: 1/2.7
inch 2.0 Megapixel Super HAD CCD
- Recording Media: Memory
Stick Duo Media, Memory Stick PRO Duo Media
- Focal Length: 5.0mm
- 35mm Equivalent: 33mm
- Aperture: f2.8
- Focus: 4-Step
Manual Preset with Auto
- Minimum Focus Distance: 3.9
inches (0.1m)
- Macro Focus Distance: Auto/Selectable
- Shutter Speed: Auto
(1/8 - 1/2000)
- Color LCD: 1.0
inch 64K Pixels Hybrid LCD
- Flash Modes: Auto/Forced
On/Forced Off/ Red-Eye Reduction
- Red-Eye Reduction: On/Off
- Flash Effective Range: 1.6
- 6.0 feet (0.5 - 1.8m)
- White Balance: Auto/Daylight/Cloudy/Fluorescent/Incandescent
- Picture Effects: Solarize,
Black and White, Sepia, and Negative Art
- ISO: Auto
- Scene Modes: Soft
Snap, Illumination Snap, Twilight, Active Outdoor, Vivid
Nature
- Self-Timer: Yes,
10 seconds
- Still Image Modes: JPEG
(Normal)
- MPEG Movie Mode: MPEG
Movie EX (320 x 240) without audio, Video Mail (160 x 112)
without audio
- USB Terminal: Yes
- Memory Stick PRO Duo
Media Compatibility: Tested
to support up to 1GB media capacity; does not support high
speed transfer function; does not support Access Control
security function
- Supplied Software: Pixela
ImageMixer Software for Sony v1.5, USB Driver
- OS Compatibility: Windows
98, 98SE, 2000, ME, XP Home and Pro. Mac OS 8.5.1/8.6/
9.0/ 9.1/ 9.2/X (10.0, 10.1, 10.2)
- Supplied Accessories: : AAA
Rechargeable NiMH Batteries (2), BC-CS2 Battery Charger,
USB Cable, MSG-M8A 8MB Memory Stick Duo Media, Neck Strap,
Software CD-ROM
- Dimensions: 4
x 1 5/8 x 1 inches (99.9 x 40.5 x 24.9mm)
- Weight: 4.7
ounces (132g)
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- Recording Element: 1/2.7-inch
square pixel primary color CCD (2.11 million total pixels;
2 million effective pixels)
- Image File Record
Format: JPEG (Exif.
Ver. 2.2), DCF standard, DPOF compliant
- Recording Medium: Built-in
flash memory (10MB), SD memory card/Multi Media card
- Recorded Image
Sizes(Image Size(Pixels): Resolution, Approximate File
Size, Number of images with the built-in memory (10 MB),
Number of images with a SD Memory Card(64 MB)): 1600
x 1200: Fine, 1050KB, 8, 53; 1600 x 1200: Normal, 710KB,
12, 79; 1600 x 1200: Economy, 370KB, 24, 154; 1600 X 1072:
Fine, 910KB, 9, 60; 1600 X 1072: Normal, 610KB, 14, 90;
1600 X 1072: Economy, 300KB, 28, 176; 1280 X 960: Fine,
680KB, 13, 82; 1280 X 960: Normal, 460KB, 20, 126;1280 X
960: Economy, 250KB, 35, 221; 640 X 480: Fine, 190KB, 46,
294; 640 X 480: Normal, 140KB, 61, 386; 640 X 480:
Economy, 90KB, 98, 618
- Image Deletion: Single
image; all images in memory (with memory protection)
- Lens: F3.5,
f = 5.6mm (equivalent to 37mm in 35mm format)
- Focusing: Fixed
focus with macro mode
- Approximate Focus Range:
Normal: 31.5"
to infinite; Macro: 11.8"
- Zoom: Digital
4X
- Metering: Multi-pattern
by imaging element
- Control: Program
AE; Exposure Compensation: -2EV to +2EV (in 1/3EV steps)
- Shutter: CCD
electronic shutter/mechanical shutter; 1 to 1/8000 shutter
speed (including Night mode)
- Aperture: F3.5
(fixed)
- White Balance: Auto;
Fixed (4 modes); Manual
- Sensitivity: Auto,
ISO64, ISO125, ISO250, ISO500
- Recording Modes: Snapshot,
macro, Best Shot
- Self-timer: 10
seconds or 2 seconds; Triple Self-timer
- Built-in Flash: Flash
Modes: Auto, Flash On, Flash Off, Red Eye Reduction;
Approximate Range: 2.64 ft. to 4.92 ft.
- Viewfinder: Monitor
screen and optical viewfinder
- Monitor Screen: 1.6-inch
digital interface TFT color LCD (84,960 pixels; 354 x 240)
- Playback Functions: 4X
zoom; rotate; flip; calendar; Photo Stand (slideshow);
startup image; Image Roulette
- Timekeeping Functions: Date
and time recorded with image data; auto calendar up to
2049
- World Time: 162
cities (32 time zones); city names; date and time;
daylight savings time
- Other: Trimming;
resize; histogram; album feature; Favorites folder; copy;
customize key; alarm with image
- Input/Output Terminals: USB
cradle contact terminals
- Power Requirements: Special
lithium ion battery
- Approximate Battery
Operation: Continuous
Image Recording: 2 hours (720) shots; Continuous Image
Playback: 3 hours; Continuous Audio Recording: 2 hours 50
minutes
- Dimensions/Weight: 3.27
(W) x 2.08 (H) x .44 (T) inches(excluding projections) /
Approximately 2.78 oz (excluding batteries and
accessories)
- Bundled Accessories: Lithium-ion
battery; USB Cradle; USB Cable; AC Adaptor; Strap; CD-ROM
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