Casio Exilim EX-M2 2MP Digital Camera, MP3 Player and Voice Recorder

Amazon Customer Reviews

(4 out of 5)

style & convenience=5 stars, pictures=3 stars

I am overall pleased with my purchase.
PROS:
1. really nice style; eye-poppingingly small; attractive aluminum finish; fits in pocket/take it with you everyday.
2. fast response (due to fixed focus lens which is also a con); ready to take a picture almost instantly.
3. video mode is very fun; takes decent mpeg videos with sound even in low light; i use this feature a lot.
4. mp3 function is awesome; except included earbuds are useless (too big for ear hole); good battery life.

CONS:

1. picture quality only fair; fixed focus optimal for subjects around 3-5 ft away. closeups & landscapes not so sharp. low light stiuations for stills pretty bad (i dont like to use flash).
2. quality of remote unit for mp3 is bad. after only 2 months the wire crapped out (must jiggle and hold in a certain position for sound to come through).
3. battery life for stills & videos could be better but not really bad.
4. only 8MB built in memory; i recommend buying 256MB SD card (i wasted money on separate 64 & 128 cards)

you could get better optics in a similarly small package (the sony dsc-u20 for example; sharper pictures but poor video quality, no sound or mp3, cheap plasticy case); but the combination of the mp3 function, fast response as well as attention getting style made this the choice for me.

(5 out of 5)

Fits in your pocket and does so much!

I love this camera! It is so easy to carry around with you. I use the MP3 function daily, and now also have a camera on me at all times to take shots of interesting things. I also use the video function a fair bit - just need to figure out how to email video "greetings" to people. I plan on using it to email birthday wishes to friends/family.

The buttons on the camera are small, but fairly easy to use - I don't have any difficulty using them. The on/off button is quite close to the power button so you need to be careful which one you are pressing. It is very easy to add MP3s onto the camera - connect the camera to your PC and copy and paste as you would move any other files. Very simple!

My only complaint about this product is the accompanying software is not user-friendly. I don't like how it downloads all of your pictures into one library. It is very difficult to access a single picture because they are all lumped together in a combined file. One minor concern is the battery - it uses a rechargable lithium battery. So you need to put it into the cradle to recharge. The battery is excellent(5 hours), but if the battery runs out, you can't just run to the store and buy more. This hasn't posed a problem for me, but is something to be aware of if you are planning on using the camera all day (i.e. don't play the MP3 player when you are out taking pictures for the day if you don't have access to your recharger)

The 12MB onboard memory is enough for just taking pictures. If you plan on using the MP3 function, and taking full advantage of the video and sound recording capabilities, you need to buy a SD memory card (these are pricey). I originally bought a 64MB card, which gives you about 1 hour of music play (but that uses up the card). I recently purchased a 256MB card and recommend others purchase at least 128MB. I have over 40 songs on my 256MB card, and still have room for over 300 normal sized pictures, or about 16 30-second videos. For everyday use, this is perhaps too much memory, but if you plan on travelling, you'll need it.

This product is perfect for anyone who travels a fair bit. I really like how it combines several useful features into one product. I don't know how good the quality of the pictures are in professional terms. I am just your average user - the pics look great to me. This camera also comes in a 1.2 megapixel version - I purchased this one (2.0 megapixel) because the pictures had better depth. There is only a 4X digital zoom - this means your pictures lose clarity as you zoom in. The latest version of this camera has an optical zoom, but the camera is about twice as thick, and does not include the MP3 player. I find the 4X digital zoom is adequate for my needs. Overall a fantastic product!

(5 out of 5)

Pretty Nice

This camera is the smallest out there.. smaller than the size of your avg deck of cards.. even though the 2 MP seems very little, but the image quality is very crisp when set on the highest resolution and on the FINE quality... since i brought the 128 SD card. i dont mind much of the size.. with that.. i can take 119 pics on the card and 11 using the internal memory.. i havent used the mp3 yet so i dont know the quality of it as for the battery life..

(5 out of 5)

great product

I have this camera/MP3 player for a month now and I take it anywhere. the most usable feature for me is the MP3 player !
the camera is for fun and play.
I like to take lot of pictures and taking an expensinve camera in my pocket is not an option, so when I saw exilim I was amazed. this was what I was looking for and finding that it could be am MP3 player was a big bonus. later I found out that it was the other way around.
after recieving this camera, I started download MP3 from the internet and finally I had time to listen to the kind of music that I like, and not what you get on the radio or in music stores, so a whole new world has been open for me. by the way, the ear plugs are great too and you get a controller too.
the pictures are great, I work in many factories so I take pictures of the machines that I work on and the lighting are usually very bad, but on maximum resolution the pictures are great and the color definition is great too, I did not use even once a color enhance filter on the images.
so, if you like multimedia, this is a must!

(5 out of 5)

A thing of beauty

I bought my girlfriend the Exilim S2 about a year ago, she got fed up with me using it, so I had to buy my own. The thing is just amazing. Simple to use, in a beautiful, sturdy, magnesium, credit-card sized body. And the battery lasts ages. Picture quality on the lower resolution settings isn't so good, and the digital zoom is rubbish, but that's hardly the point. This is a camera for snaps, moments where you just want to reach into your pocket and snap what's in front of you. The computer interface is a doddle - I use it with my Mac, and all the file formats are standard so you can use it with just about anything. I know about five people that have gone out and bought this camera after I demonstrated it to them, I should be getting commission from Casio!