Compact cameras with big zoom lenses are getting more popular. Usually, though, the larger the lens, the chunkier the camera’s physical proportions.

So it’s impressive that Casio has shoehorned a 10x optical zoom lens, equivalent to 24-240mm on a film camera, into its latest EX-H10 Exilim – the manufacturer’s first ‘super zoom’ camera – and still managed to keep it pocket-sized. The lens is hidden within the body when it’s switched off.

Such a broad focal range is very useful for bringing faraway subjects closer and enabling both candid portraits and wildlife photography. But a long lens is only truly effective if the user can shoot handheld at maximum zoom and avoid blur from camera shake – which is more pronounced with longer lenses.

Here the slender but solid EX-H10, constructed in metal and plastic, employs mechanical image stabilisation. This vibrates the camera’s sensor to counteract external wobble, cancelling it out.

Another plus is that the batteries in similar cameras usually provide 500 shots at best, but here up to 1,000 came from a single charge. That’s plenty of juice for a two-week holiday. It can also record high-definition video clips.

We were disappointed, however, that the so-called quick-reference manual supplied with the camera was very difficult to follow, jumbling up instructions in three different languages on each page.

Thankfully, then, the EX-H10 was particularly easy to use in any case, with a large 3in screen on its rear – there is no optical viewfinder – and almost wholly automatic operation.

Found on top of the camera are buttons for vivid landscapes (an apt use for the camera, given its widest 24mm focal length) and to apply digital ‘make up’ to portraits. There are also 38 Best Shot modes for the most common subjects: simply select the most fitting and the camera will do the rest.

With a 12-megapixel resolution, the camera’s images had a definite ‘digital’ look straight out of the camera, but were reasonably sharp and colourful for a pocket snapper, with flesh tones flatteringly on the warm side.

In all the EX-H10 is good for those wanting a big zoom but not a brick of a camera.

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