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Wednesday 18 February 2004

It was three months ago that I purchased a Casio Exilim EX-Z4U to become my daily digital camera (one of a long line of digital cameras), supplementing my long-lasting Nikon CoolPix 950 (which returned from Nikon repair with a broken hinge, necessitating the glamorous use of a rubber band).

The main reasons for the purchase were (1) a resolution high enough to provide decent paper prints and (2) something small enough that it would always be tucked into a pocket.

The EX-Z4U does both, better than I expected. The results from the print shop have been nothing short of spectacular, easily meeting the quality I'd gotten used to with my 35mm Olympus OM-1, -2, and -10s. The camera is always with me.

But [Macro error: There is no glossary entry named "2004-02 Gran Canaria: Lila is two-and-a-half years old today"] in Gran Canaria I lost the damn thing. What to do? My Sony DCR-TRV20 video camera can take still pictures, albeit lower quality. A quick search on the Internet with my "Handspring Treo 180" resulted in an interesting bit of information: we United States buyers of the EX-Z4U have had foisted upon us a castrated version of the camera.

The non-US version, the EX-Z4, has the ability to take video footage! For tariff reasons this ability has been snipped.

I'm furious that I spent the same money, got the same box, and had one of the most compelling functions removed. Had I known how compelling it would be to be able to take video snapshots (in chunks of up to 60 seconds, as many of which your SD/MMC card can hold) I would never have bought the 'U'.

But now I have, and I'm thrilled with it. It's no replacement for a full-quality DV video camera but it is head and shoulders above being limited to still pictures.

And the tiny wonder is always in my pocket. That's the very best thing.