Casio Exilim EX-H15

A broad focal range, more commonly known as a big zoom, on a camera gives much greater choice when composing photographs.

The 14-megapixel Casio EX-H15 has a 10x optical zoom with the ability to go wide for panoramic landscapes or up close and personal for intimate portraits.

Although the body is slightly wider than compacts with 3x or 5x zooms, to allow for the longer lens, the EX-H15 can still be easily carried in a pocket and the lens folds away when the camera is off.

It costs more than similar cameras but we felt the extra spend was worth it, especially when you consider helpful features such as a one-touch record button for the high-definition video which is shot in the 720p resolution. It was a shame the zoom is not usable when filming, though – it’s disabled to avoid the motor noise being picked up through the camera’s built-in microphone.

The camera felt well made, weighing 206g with an SD or SDHC memory card (not supplied) and the rechargeable battery, which should last for an impressive 1,000 photos. If you have an Eye-Fi card (see below) the camera has some extra features to enable easy uploading of pictures. There is no viewfinder so shots must be composed and reviewed on the good-quality 3in rear screen.

The EX-H15 switches on in a little over two seconds, and takes barely half that time to save a full resolution photo, which impressed us. There are over 40 automatic scene modes in which the camera will choose the appropriate settings, as well as a handful of Art Shot effects.

Applied with a button-press, these transform humble snaps into counterfeit Van Goghs quite effectively. Less dramatic are the Vivid Landscape and Make Up modes.

Photos were bright and colourful though displayed a loss of sharpness towards edge of the frame at maximum wide-angle setting. Pixel fringing was also visible on very close inspection, but both these faults are common to small cameras.

In the main the EX-H15 affords a wider selection of photo taking than most amateurs will be used to, so is worth the modest price premium.