QV-2000UX
User Review

Click to take a QuickTime VR tour of the QV2000

The QV-2000UX proves that Casio is up to the challenge, it's a 2.1 megapixel camera that easily competes (and beats) many other cameras. It features a CompactFlash Type II slot that handles any size CF Type I card or the IBM Microdrive. There's USB connectivity for very fast downloads to PC or Mac computers. Inside is a large internal RAM buffer that allows capture of up to 5 full-size images at the rate of one picture every 1.5 seconds.

It has a programmed "point-n-shoot" mode as well as both shutter speed and aperture priority modes. Still image capture resolutions of 1600x1200 or 800x600 with three different JPG compression levels and a movie mode that grabs up to 30 seconds of 320x240 action. You can read all of the QV-2000UX specifications here.

The 3x optical zoom lens is very fast, F2 in wideangle and a respectable F2.8 in full telephoto. Like many of its peers, the QV-2000UX's zoom extends from the body when the camera is powered up in the Record mode.

When powered down or powered up in Playback mode, the lens is tucked away inside the camera. It is covered by a sliding door that doubles as a lens cap and the power On/Off switch for Record mode. The sliding door is also coupled to the builtin flash unit which "pops up" when you slide it open.

Someone asked for a comparison picture to judge its size so here it is alongside an Olympus C-2000Z. The QV-2000UX is about an inch or so longer.

Click to see a big picture of the rear

On the backside is a very bright and readable 1.8" HAST color LCD display that can be switched off to conserve power. The refresh rate of the LCD must be close to 30fps as I did not see any blurring no matter how fast the camera was panned. The display will slow down in low-light conditions and possibly get grainy as it increases its gain. There is no adjustment for the output intensity however.

All of the manual camera controls and features are accessed via a very nifty graphical menu system on the color LCD. The 4-way rocker switch and the buttons above and below it are used to navigate menus and select options. All of the QV-2000UX's buttons are clearly labeled as to what their function is and none of them are double-purpose (yeah!)

A large optical viewfinder is coupled to the 3x zoom lens and can be used for most picture taking tasks except for macro shots.

The optical viewfinder has a diopter adjustment and should be very useable even by those wearing eye glasses. The Focus OK green LED and the Flash Status LED are on the right hand side of the viewfinder.

The tripod socket is located on a flat and smooth portion of the body -- the camera is very stable when on a tripod. The CF card door is on the side, memory cards can be removed without taking the camera off of the tripod.

Replacing batteries couldn't be easier (unless the camera is on a tripod), slide the safety latch open and then pop open the battery door and drop all four batteries out in your hand. I like this type of "easy to swap" battery placement along with a sturdy door and a safety latch.

The I/O ports are easy to get to and well hidden behind a securely closing door. There's a 6 VDC input jack, RS-232 serial data port, USB port and Video out with selectable NTSC or PAL ouput format.

The QV-2000UX has a single CompactFlash Type II slot that accepts all existing CompactFlash Type I cards as well as the IBM Microdrive.

You can't see it but it's in there, I have an IBM microdrive in this camera, take a look at the next photo, that's the LCD readout of remaining pictures in 1600x1200 pixel Fine mode!

On top of the camera is a monochrome data LCD that indicates the number of pictures remaining, battery level, flash mode, self-timer and focus mode. The buttons are clearly marked as to their function and are logically placed for easy access.

This is a screen shot of the LCD when the QV-2000UX is in "S"hutter priority mode. You can see the selected shutter speed, any exposure compensation (+/-) in effect and battery level. In the upper right corner is the number of pictures remaining, current resolution, image quality and the five circles indicate the internal RAM buffer and its status.

Extended Shutter Speeds & Aperture Control Similar to the Olympus C-2000Z, the QV-2000UX has shutter speeds all the way out to 16 seconds *with* full aperture control. The following information came by way of one of my Japanese readers: To get into extended shutter speed mode: While in S-Mode press the SET button + (down) on the 4-way switch - you can now go from 1 second to 16 seconds by pressing the (up) or (down) switch. To manually set the aperture while in this mode press SET + (left) or SET + (right) and the f/stop will be indicated on the LCD as shown in the above picture. This is a 6 second @ F2 exposure with the sensitivity set to high. It was taken at 2:00am in my parking lot, the only illumination was a street light so I set the white balance to tungsten. Click the thumbnail to download the 1600x1200 (900Kb) picture.