Casio Exilim EX-ZR10 camera with high-speed video recording

Casio has recently run a good line in compact digital cameras that shoot high-speed video. Previous models have been bulky but the new EX-ZR10 is quite compact.

It's a 12-megapixel model with a 7x optical zoom lens (equivalent to 28-196mm on an old film camera). It has enough internal storage memory for only a handful of pictures, though, so you will need to supply your own SD (or SDHC or SDXC) memory card.

In the normal video mode it records at the 1080p high-defintion resolution, at the standard rate of 30 frames per second. For high speed it goes as high as 480fps, but the higher the rate, the lower the resolution gets. At 480fps the resolution is a very low 224x160 pixels, which is lower than the images produced by most webcams.

At 240fps it's a more usable 430x320 pixels, which is good enough for Youtube. There is also a ‘burst' mode that takes still shots for up to 40 per seconds.

It was quick to switch on and easy to use. There is no viewfinder so shots are composed on the rear 3in screen. Luckily this was large and bright and pictures looked good. The EX-ZR10 uses a rechargeable battery (the mains charger is supplied), which was good for several days of reasonably heavy shooting.

We found the menus quite confusing. The controls are few but buttons were small, fiddly and not well marked so it wasn't clear what to press or to switch between the various video modes described above. That said, after a few days of use the settings began to make more sense.

Quality was impressive: still images looked great, with good detail and vivid colour, but we noticed a little blurring when zoomed in. Videos were likewise good. The 1080p footage was good and high-speed videos quite entertaining.

One problem we found was that the camera tended to turn on when in a pocket because pressing the Play button shows images on-screen without extending the lens.

It's good to get to your pictures quickly, but we found this annoying and a drain on the battery. Otherwise, the EX-ZR10 is a good-value camera.