Canon SX120 IS, Casio EX-H10 & Kodak Z950 Digital Camera Review

Features & handling
Performance
Verdict
Specification

Three point and shoot superzoom cameras with a 10x optical zoom. How will they perform against each other. Test by Matt Grayson.

It's brilliant nowadays that you can buy a compact camera with a huge, high quality 10x optical zoom for under £200. The benefit is really apparent when you are shooting distant or difficult to get at subjects - a big cat at the zoo, a singer on the stage or cars racing around a track. But to be honest, the extra range comes in useful for all sorts of photography.

The actual focal length ranges of our three test compacts varies a little but the key statistic is the 10x zoom ratio. So, for example, the Canon SX120 IS has an actual 6-60mm focal length range, and that is equal to 36-360mm in the 35mm format. In other words, in a pocket-sized camera you can zoom in from moderate wide-angle all the way to long telephoto, and stop anywhere in between.

These three compacts offer those benefits and more with easy to use functionality, great build quality and stunning looks.

10x optical zoom compact comparison: Features
Face detection, image stabilisation and large screens feature on these compacts in the test. The Canon Powershot SX120 IS has a host of features such as manual modes for ultimate control and iContrast which is Canon's dynamic range compensation system.

Canon SX120 IS
I found the battery door tricky to open. It's a problem as the card goes in there.	Canon's famous Best Shot dial is present in the SX120 IS.
It's the largest of the three but the Canon fits quite well into the hand.	The menu isn't as extensive as higher class models but serves its purpose.

You could say that Casio are the underdogs being an electronics company but they're actually pretty formidable and have the smallest camera of the three. There are features such as dynamic range compensation, landscape & portrait accentuation modes and Eye-Fi memory card compatibility.

The Canon is the most classically designed camera in terms of what a camera normally looks like, thanks to the pop-up flash unit that folds down over the lens barrel when it's not being used. Add the manual controls on the command dial to that and the camera starts to shape up as pretty good value on the face of it. In fact, the Casio is the only camera not to offer manual control, but the features it does have are many. Despite being one of the pioneers of the digital camera, Kodak haven't exactly led the market in digital compacts but they've shown a lot of change recently and the Z950 illustrates perfectly, the new, slick look of the cameras they're producing. Gone are the cartoon like menu systems and unusual shaped cameras.

Casio EX-H10
The Casio is also Eye-Fi card compliant for remote upload of images.	No command dial, but everything is laid out easily on the back.
Being the smallest of the three cameras, the Casio is easily pocketable for days out.	Split into three parts, the menu of the Casio is easy to understand.

Kodak also have manual modes on the Z950 which include aperture-priority, shutter-priority and manual to allow you to control the camera at its base levels. It's also got a revamped menu which is much easier to use. There are other small things that I like about the Kodak such as the metal tripod bush that, while only a small thing, is a nice touch.

10x optical zoom compact comparison: Handling
Canon have placed a Best Shot command dial on the SX120 IS so you can choose which mode you'd like to use quickly and efficiently. The camera is a lumbering one, being slow to start up but once it's on, the buttons are responsive and firm to the touch. The SX120 IS has a function menu for all the most used features that can't go on the command dial, such as resolution, metering, white balance and custom colours. Everything else is done in the main menu system or using the buttons on the back of the camera that are laid out in a methodical design that looks nice and is within easy reach of the thumb.

The EX-H10 hasn't got a command dial because Casio prefer to put everything in on screen menus. The function menu on the H10 is one of the most feature rich and easy to use that I've seen on a compact camera. Pressing the Set button in the middle of the navigation pad enables the function menu which flags up nine options down the right side of the screen with the sub-options scrolled to the left. Casio have kept two new features as separate buttons on the top plate for producing vivid landscapes and helping portraits.

Kodak Z950
The Kodak takes SD and SDHC cards and has 32Mb internal memory.	A small command dial is easy to understand and has only a few options.
The medium sized camera has a comfortable grip on the front.	The Z950's new menu is neat and tidy making it easy to use.

I really like what Kodak are doing with the design of their cameras at the moment using lit up icons such as the HD sign on the top along with the flash and self timer buttons. It looks more modern and will appeal to the trendy photographers who like to use a futuristic looking camera, regardless of quality, name and cost.

Every camera in the test is easy to use because of the target audience. All three have the zoom rocker wrapped around the shutter release button and all have a large screen with any buttons on the back easily reached by the thumb.

10x optical zoom compact comparison: Performance
The test cameras were put through their paces in a variety of conditions and tests. All pictures were taken together in the same places to ensure fairness.

Click on any thumbnail to open the large size images.

Exposure
The Canon rightly closed down the aperture in any pictures I took that had the sun directly in the frame but it still managed to retain detail in shadow areas, which I think is pretty good. It burned out on the bright lit area from time to time, but the camera manages flare well. When I turned the camera to the side to give a strong side lighting, which I usually did at sunset, the SX120 IS handled the shadows really well and kept contrast to an acceptable level. Regular exposures come out nicely with the Canon and I like the way the Evaluative exposure system works to get the right setting.

On the other hand, I found the Casio sacrificed detail of the bright areas to bring out the shadows more. Shots of skies meant that there was hardly any detail left, which is a shame but means that the ground is seen easier. When the light is coming in from the side with strong shadows, I like the exposure that the Casio chooses but the tone is too cool for my tastes. In normal conditions, a reasonably sunny day, the Casio exposed really well and I was constantly pleased with the results that it produced.

Canon SX120 IS	Casio EX-H10	Kodak Z950
The Canon loses foreground detail to expose the sky.	A little burn out to retain detail in the ground.	More burn out is over the top but a lot of detail is present.

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I found the Kodak retained the most amount of detail in shadow when photographing directly into the sun. From time to time, I found light from the sky bleeding over the horizon but this was really only when the sun was low. In strong side light, the camera coped well with pleasing results. In regular light, I found the camera exposed well but I had to use the preset white balance settings more than the other two cameras. The Kodak has a tendency to give a slight cast, usually too cool, but switching to the right white balance solved the problem quickly.

The Canon works well with exposure, thanks to the Evaluative metering system in the Powershot SX120 IS. The Casio exposes shadow areas nicely in strong and diverse light, as does the Kodak, but this is at the expense of sky if it's in the shot. While a balanced exposure is very important, it's likely that if you're photographing into the sun, the subject matter is going to be in silhouette. Getting them exposed is more important and the Kodak does this the best followed closely by the Casio.

Built-in lens
Kodak have fitted a Schneider lens to the Z950 while Canon and Casio have opted for standard lenses on their respective bodies. All three cameras are image stabilised so that 10x optical zoom won't get all shaky towards the top end of the scale. Canon and Kodak use an optical lens shift type of image stabilisation while Casio have opted for sensor shift.

Canon SX120 IS	Casio EX-H10	Kodak Z950
Wide-angle
36mm isn't the widest lens in the review.	With a 24mm wide-angle view, more can be seen.	At 35mm, the Kodak gives a similar view to the Canon
Telephoto
But means it has a longer telephoto length.	But it can't get in as close to the clock face.	At the top end the 350mm telephoto looks good.

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The Casio gets from wide-angle to telephoto in 13 steps and is impressively fast at getting there in continuous zoom. Wide-angle starts at 24mm in 35mm terms and the 10x optical capability means the lens can zoom out to 240mm. Images are sharp and I couldn't find traces of  any distortion. Chromatic aberration is a problem on high contrast areas such as dark areas against a sky.

The Kodak's Schneider lens does seem sharper, but on closer inspection, I think this is down to JPEG sharpening as the file is put through the processor. While the 35mm lens isn't the widest angle of view, the benefit is that the 10x zoom goes up to 350mm at the top end which is pretty cool if, like me, you're not that into walking places. There are 13 steps to full zoom before you start encroaching on digital zoom territory.

In 35mm terms, Canon have fitted a 36-360mm zoom lens on the Powershot SX120 IS which shows as a 6-60mm zoom on the camera because of the small size of the sensor compared to 35mm film. What I like about the Canon is that it takes 21 steps to get to full zoom. This means that you're going to be able to frame a shot much more effectively before taking it because you have more scope.

Focus
All three cameras hit focus quickly and accurately but when I turned off the autofocus assist light, they all struggled in a relatively low light situation. During the portrait test, the Casio and Canon kept missing focus and taking pictures without focus lock. This is unusual and is definitely something to watch out for.

There are plenty of features in the Canon for playing around and experimenting with focusing. There are some pretty useful tools such as selecting a small or wide focus frame which is great for small detail items or if you want to try something unusual such as shooting through a window or hole and you don't want the camera to focus on the frame.

Kodak have fitted quite an advanced focusing system which starts in the function menu where you can choose from auto, macro, landscape or manual focus. In the main menu, you can choose from single or continuous focus then there's face detection and the choice of using the multi-zone focusing or centre-zone focusing.

Casio have also fitted an advanced focusing system with AF area tracking, spot focus and multi focus in the function menu. In the main menu, you can choose from macro, infinity or manual focus as well as activating face detection and continuous focusing. There are more features such as choosing the AF area if you dig further into the menu system and strangely enough, you can also choose to change the focus frame from the familiar square to weird shapes such as hearts, teddy bears and stars. There's even a random option to let the camera decide for you if you really want to mix it up.

Colour and sharpness
Blues are nicely saturated from the Casio Exilim EX-H10 and other cooler tones also get a boost. Warmer colours don't suffer, though and red through to yellow are all punchy and bright. Earth colours, such as brown or forest green are rich and the camera copes well with the grey scale. While these bold colours are being recorded even bolder, subtle colours are suffering and with the Casio, pastel tones seem a little washed out.

One area the Casio fails on is the use of noise reduction with low ISO shots which I found compromised sharpness on a lot of shots I took. The test shots came with parts of detail missing because noise reduction smooths over areas it believes are noisy. The problem with this is that detailed areas such as the weave of fabric or the fur of a tennis ball lose their detail and the setting is automatic, so you can't adjust it in the menu system.

Portraits appear underexposed with muted colours which was disappointing for me as I like taking portraits. You can solve this by adding a little extra exposure using exposure compensation, but you shouldn't have to.

Canon SX120 IS	Casio EX-H10	Kodak Z950
Primary colours are good but softer colours are muted.	Pastel colours suffer from the Casio EX-H10.	A good range of colours from the Kodak.

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I think the Kodak has recorded the best colours. They're rich, smooth and bold and my only complaint is that the warmer colours have been too eagerly pushed and it's affected other colours in the range. However, on a positive note, pastel colours are recorded and the camera works well with contrasting colours. The Kodak does well with the grey scale and noise reduction is down to a minimum as the camera records a plentiful amount of detail in fine areas. The Kodak has done well with portraits giving a good skin tone and balanced exposure.

Canon SX120 IS	Casio EX-H10	Kodak Z950
Using flash has given an even exposure.	Even flash underexposes on shots from the Casio.	An even spread of light and a little lighter than the others.

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The Canon records the finest detail images although noise reduction works automatically, but the camera managed to keep it under control. My tests found the yellow to be really bright while blue is darker than expected. Earth colours are a little tepid but warm tones get a nice kick. Cooler tones work well and the camera handles the grey scale well. I think pastel colours could do with a boost from the Canon, but they're registering, so it's not critical, more a matter of personal taste. The Powershot SX120 IS has recorded the most amount of detail out of the three cameras on test with lots of detail.

Canon SX120 IS	Casio EX-H10	Kodak Z950
The SX120 IS gives the most saturated colours.	A slight under-exposure deepens red on the EX-H10.	A cool tone from the Z950 lightens the red.

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Canon does well with portraits and utilises the flash to produce balanced, even exposures with good skin tones.

While I think the Kodak records the best colours, the Canon does slightly better on noise reduction control by providing slightly more detailed shots. It also means that the Canon gives a slightly sharper image than the Kodak but there's little difference in it.

Noise
The Canon has the second lowest ISO setting at ISO80 and this produces a pleasing result with colours remaining balanced in controlled lighting and there's also a good deal of detail in outdoor tests. Noise starts to rear its head at ISO400 but is reasonably controlled at this stage. Noise reduction kicks in for the ISO800 setting and looks a bit more balanced than the previous setting although there's a distinct lack of detail by comparison. At the highest ISO1600 setting, green and purple colour invades aggressively and any detail in the image is getting obliterated. This is a setting to use only in extreme circumstances and I think Canon did well to stop the ISO there.

Canon SX120 IS	Casio EX-H10	Kodak Z950
Canon outside ISO80 test.	Casio outside ISO64 test.
Canon outside ISO100 test.	Casio outside ISO100 test.	Kodak outside ISO100 test.
Canon outside ISO200 test.	Casio outside ISO200 test.	Kodak outside ISO200 test.
Canon outside ISO400 test.	Casio outside ISO400 test.	Kodak outside ISO400 test.
Canon outside ISO800 test.	Casio outside ISO800 test.	Kodak outside ISO800 test.
Canon outside ISO1600 test.	Casio outside ISO1600 test.	Kodak outside ISO1600 test.
	Casio outside ISO3200 test.

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Kodak have put a similar range on the Z950 with the exception that it starts at ISO100. ISO100 looks really nice with a smooth result to allow lots of detail and colour into the shot. Noise reduction starts to control the image at ISO400 and even though noise isn't evident, the smoothing effect associated with NR is. At ISO800 noise is still being controlled really well and even though colour has appeared on the mid to dark areas, there's little in the way of grainy noise which shows a good noise reduction system at work.

The quality of the Casio at the lowest settings is really good. The amount of detail recorded is higher than the Canon and Kodak and colours are bright and rich. Disappointingly, noise appears to be coming through at ISO200 but noise reduction is controlling the majority of it. By ISO800, detail is starting to leave the image quite dramatically and given this, I'm surprised to see the camera with a top setting of ISO3200. At this top end setting, detail is all but gone while purple and green blotches settle into mid range and shadow areas.

Canon SX120 IS	Casio EX-H10	Kodak Z950
Canon ISO80 test.	Casio ISO64 test.
Canon ISO100 test.	Casio ISO100 test.	Kodak ISO100 test.
Canon ISO200 test.	Casio ISO200 test.	Kodak ISO200 test.
Canon ISO400 test.	Casio ISO400 test.	Kodak ISO100 test.
Canon ISO800 test.	Casio ISO800 test	Kodak ISO800 test.
Canon ISO1600 test.	Casio ISO1600 test.	Kodak ISO1600 test.
	Casio ISO3200 test.

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White balance
The Kodak copes well with different balances of white. Gentle casts, such as those found on a cloudy day need to be warmed slightly to combat the blue hue. In auto white balance mode, the Canon does this in a way that it gives natural colours in other places which is good, but the cloud had a tendency to turn blue. Switching to the cloudy setting in this scenario dampens the blue of the clouds but not so much that they look unusual. The Kodak doesn't cope very well with stronger casts such as fluorescent light and tungsten and I found that the preset modes had to be used in all cases.

The Casio copes well with softer casts but in soft casts such as a cloudy day, the under exposure of the camera accentuated the blue of the day so the preset has to work overtime. Switching over to the preset will warm the image up nicely. The Casio struggles with stronger light casts but changing to the preset modes will adjust the image to acceptable levels.

Canon copes really well with soft casts, gently warming cloudy shots or cooling sunny ones. Exposure is good in dull conditions but the clouds aren't as blue as those the Kodak produces. I also found a distinct warmth in the ground that isn't there in auto mode. I'm also happy with the white balance settings for the stronger colour casts because the camera coped well with them.

Canon SX120 IS	Casio EX-H10	Kodak Z950
Cloudy
Canon auto wb cloudy.	Casio auto wb cloudy	Kodak auto wb cloudy
Canon wb cloudy	Casio wb cloudy	Kodak wb cloudy

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White balance systems work well on all three cameras, I just think that the Casio has to work harder because of the constant under-exposure. The systems on all three cameras do what they're supposed to do, such as warming a cloudy day or cooling a tungsten light, and there's little difference between the three.

Integral flash
Flash functions for the SX120 IS are found in the main menu under the sub-menu Flash Settings. Here you can access the flash compensation, red-eye correction and lamp and Safety FE. This mode is similar to the Safety MF mode and if the camera thinks that the flash will over or under-expose the image, it will compensate automatically, regardless of whether you want it to do it or not. Flash compensation can also be changed in the function menu. Using the Canon to shoot portraits, the flash creates a solid line of shadow if the subject is too close to a background and it sits slightly lower down than normal thanks to the raising pop-up style flash unit. Light is spread evenly and exposures are good.

Casio have several flash modes in the function screen such as the familiar overrides and a soft option for gentle fill-in. Flash intensity can be adjusted in the Quality tab of the main menu and is a similar mode to flash compensation. The flash gives an even light spread in portraits, but doesn't light the face as much as I'd like to see and it makes the skin look a bit grey.

The Kodak's flash modes are scrolled through by repeatedly pressing the flash button on top of the camera. There are only those options and the flash compensation mode on the screen in either P, A,S or M modes and if the flash is set to forced off, the flash compensation icon blanks out. Using flash with portraits doesn't cause any bleaching and faces have an even spread of light where they need it.

Battery life
It's a common thought that AA batteries can't perform as well as lithium ion  and it's certainly true of the Canon POwershot SX120 IS. I had to change normal alkalines twice and recharge a set of nickel metal-hydride rechargeables through the test. I also had to recharge the Kodak which does take its own battery although it wasn't completely empty, I was simply preparing for  the following day and I knew it wouldn't last.

The Casio was displaying 50% full by the end of the test and I used the cameras generally. They weren't used more than anyone would normally use a compact, the screen was used throughout because there's no viewfinder, but the screen will have been used more frequently than usual for testing the modes and features out.

10x optical zoom compact comparison: Verdict
It's interesting to see what different companies offer on a camera that has a similar main feature, in this case the 10x optical zoom, and how they approach the design of the camera to make it the most appealing and competitive.

They all produced images that were close to each other making the judging very close. The Canon gave decent results throughout but there wasn't anything outstanding. While I like to see something pushing the boat out a little bit more.

The only areas of the Casio that I didn't like were the high ISO settings and the mild under-exposure that it suffered from. Of course this can be amended with exposure compensation and I think other features such as the one button video recording option makes it more appealing to the YouTube crowd.

The Kodak proved the most surprising. Past cameras were a nightmare to operate but these new ones are slick, easy and the only drawback is that they're painfully slow. Even zooming into a previously taken photograph needs a ten second pause for the camera to work out what to do.

Given the build quality, the massive leap in design of the cameras from exterior prettiness to the user interface, features and good performance, I'm inclined towards the Kodak Easyshare Z950.

It works well in a lot of the areas tested and is only really let down by over-exposure with strong light and getting the white balance off.

10x optical zoom compact comparison: Pros

Canon SX120 IS	Casio EX-H10	Kodak Z950
Decent NR system Records bright colours well Works white balance well	Good build Smallest camera in test One touch video	Good colour rendition Decent build quality Handles noise well

10x optical zoom compact comparison: Cons

Canon SX 120 IS	Casio EX-H10	Kodak Z950
Loud lens when zooming out Eats batteries	Overuse of noise reduction Mild under-exposure	Slow with basic commands Suffered with white balance

	Canon SX 120 IS	Casio EX-H10	Kodak Z950
FEATURES
HANDLING
PERFORMANCE
VALUE
OVERALL

The Canon Powershot SX120 IS costs around £161 and is available from Warehouse Express here:

Canon Powershot SX120 IS

The Casio Exilim EX-H10 costs around £199 and is available from Warehouse Express here:

Casio Exilim EX-H10

Prices online for the Kodak Easyshare Z950 start at around £135. Go to the Kodak website for more details about the camera:

Kodak Easyshare Z950

10x optical zoom compact comparison: Specification

	Canon SX120 IS	Casio EX-H10	Kodak Z950
Zoom	10x optical	10x optical	10x optical
Resolution	10Mp	12.1Mp	12Mp
Sensor size	1/2.5in	1/2.3in	1/2.33in
Sensor type	CCD	CCD	CCD
Max. Image size	3648x2736	4000x3000	4000x3000
File type	JPEG	JPEG	JPEG
Sensitivity	ISO80-1600	ISO64-3200	ISO100-1600
Media type	Internal, SD, SDHC	Internal, SD, SDHC	Internal, SD, SDHC
Focus type	Auto, macro, continuous, manual	Auto, macro, infinity, manual	Auto, macro, infinity, manual
Normal focusing	50cm-infinity	15cm-infinity	50cm-infinity
Close focusing	1cm-infinity	7cm-infinity	12cm-infinity
Metering types	Evaluative, centre-weighted, spot	Multi, centre-weighted, spot	Multi, centre-weighted, spot
Exposure compensation	+/- 2EV in 1/3 step increments	+/- 2EV in 1/3 step increments	+/- 2EV in 1/3 step increments
Shutter speed	15sec-1/2500sec	4sec-1/2000sec	1/8sec-1/1250sec
Flash	Built-in	Built-in	Built-in
Monitor	3in TFT LCD	3in TFT LCD	3in TFT LCD
Interface	USB 2.0	USB 2.0	USB 2.0
Power	AA	Li-Ion battery	Li-Ion battery
Size	110.6x70.4x44.7mm	102.5x62x24.3mm	110x66.8x35.5mm
Weight	245g	164g	223g