One of the EX-V7's stronger points was its video mode. Stereo sound and lots of options, combined with decent quality H.264 encoding make this an above-average compact for moving pictures.
Still images were not exactly stunning. Detail was sharp, especially with the aid of in-camera sharpening. Colour was reasonably vivid, with greens and skin tones reproduced well. Purple fringing did show up around the edges of objects in high-contrast situations.
Considering the large zoom is the EX-V7's headline feature, it was disappointing to see a fair degree of barrel distortion at the wide end. Pincushion distortion was also visible when zoomed in, causing images to be slightly pinched at the centre.
The EX-V7's speed was respectable, with an average of half a second shutter lag and a mere 1.5 seconds between typical shots. This increased if the flash was used. In continuous mode, the Casio struggled with a distinctly average 1.4 seconds between shots.
Conclusion
The Casio Exilim EX-V7 is certainly trim. We
give Casio full marks for packing decent image stabilisation and lots
of features into such a compact camera. Sadly the EX-V7 falls between
two stools. The zoom lens is weak, so if you wanted a decent zoom you'd
be better off with an actual superzoom or a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3.
The controls are rather fussy and image quality suffers as the EX-V7 overreaches itself with the long lens, so if you want a compact with image stabilisation and plenty of features, you might prefer a Canon IXUS 860 IS.
Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Nick Hide
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