Snowboard Camera Review: Casio Exilim 7.2MP

I bought this camera back in November 2007 as as camera I could take riding with me, small enough to take in my pocket and still take decent images. I do own a really nice Canon camera with different lenses but I’d have to take a pack with me to use that camera. Every day I am on the mountain, I take my small camera with me.

When I’m riding and know I’ll need it quickly, I’ll keep it in my right side jacket pocket. I wear pretty thin gloves, so it’s quick and easy for me to grab the camera out and hold onto it ready to take shots. I’ve also carried it while riding (depending on your skill and ability to not fall). I started to call myself the paparazzi on the mountain because I could be snowboarding and taking photos of my friends riding beside me or behind me without them knowing. I’ve noticed that people freeze up in action when they know they are having a action photo taken…I’ve had it happen so I try to make them less aware of the camera during riding.

I just started practicing with the capturing video on the camera and so far the video option is awesome, takes really good quality video. I’ll definitely start to use the video feature while riding and put out some videos in my blog in the future, probably more next season.

Positives: Small, easy to carry, didn’t cost much to purchase, takes decent shots, best shots are sunny days, I can take sequence photos very easily, the battery lasts long even in cold weather. I’ve charged it every couple days and it’s fine for riding.

Negatives: I bought a white camera (put that and snow together=bad), too much light and snow will make shots harder especially from a distance, doesn’t capture overcast very well or varying snow conditions.

Product Features

• 7.2-megapixel CCD captures high-resolution images up to 3072 x 2304 pixels
• 3x optical/4x digital/12x total zoom
• 2.6″ widescreen TFT-LCD monitor with 479 x 240 pixels and image rotation
• Antishake DSP stabilization minimizes picture blur from camera movement or moving subject matter
• Movie stabilizer technology digitally processes video footage while recording to minimize the effects of hand movement
• 41 Best Shot modes capture perfect images under a variety of circumstances
• Optimized eBay and YouTube modes allow you to capture images and shoot video at the optimum file size and quality for easy uploading
• Face Detection detects up to 8 faces in a scene and focuses on them
• Autofocus with manual focus; multipattern, center-weighted and center spot metering; macro focuses as close as 3.9″
• White balance options include auto, 6 selectable fixed modes and manual switching
• Built-in auto flash with red-eye reduction, flash-on, flash-off and soft flash modes
• Continuous flash mode lets you capture 3 images in a single flash charge
• Movie mode records video at 640 x 480, 848 x 480 and 320 x 240 resolution in MPEG-4 and AVI formats with audio; also records voice memos
• 11.4MB internal memory and Secure Digital High Capacity/Secure Digital/MultiMediaCard/MultiMediaCard Plus media slot (media not included)
• Playback modes include movie playback, 12-picture display, slideshow and more
• USB 2.0 interface for fast transfer speeds
• Full-month calendar display for easier mode searching
• Easy mode simplifies camera operation for easier picture taking
• Compact and portable design is conveniently lightweight