The Casio Exilim EX-Z300 is a mid-range point-and-shoot camera, available for around $265. Unfortunately there's not a lot to the EX-Z300 to differentiate it from a wide variety of other cameras at lower prices. The 10-megapixel sensor is relatively standard and, although the 4x optical zoom is a bit better than the run of the mill 3x zoom, that's not a huge difference. The Exilim EX-Z300 does offer a relatively small form factor  that should fit easily into pants pockets, and the design has a modicum of style to it. The feature Casio emphasized in promoting this model is a makeup mode that's supposed to clear blemishes from faces, but we found this was more of a gimmick than a truly useful feature.

As with all small cameras there's not a lot to hold onto with the Casio Exilim EX-Z300; you'll have to be careful that your front finger doesn't cover up the flash. Along the top you'll find a dedicated button for the Makeup Mode, along with the power button, shutter button and zoom toggle. The back of the camera has a good-sized 3-inch display with a standard-issue 230,000-dot resolution. There's a standard four-way controller to the right of the display, plus a few additional control buttons, but all of these are very small and fiddly to use, not surprising given the EX-Z300's small size.

The lens sports a 4x optical zoom, which gives you a bit more range than the typical point-and-shoot with 3x zoom, and the lens is a bit faster than average, with a maximum aperture of f/2.6. This will help a bit when trying to capture moving targets or in low light. You may have noticed we haven't mentioned a mode dial; that's because changing the mode on the EX-Z300 requires you to go into the menu system. Here you'll find a selection of scene modes and the ability to change settings like ISO, white balance and exposure compensation. You won't find any manual controls for aperture or shutter speed, however. We should also mention that changing any setting on the EX-Z300 will kick you out of the menu, so this may not be the camera for those who like to constantly adjust settings.

Performance (read in-depth lab performance at Digitalcamerainfo.com)
The Casio Exilim EX-Z300's performance in our extensive lab testing was decidedly mixed. It did a solid job producing accurate colors and we found the resolution was above average. White balance was decidedly sub-par, however, and although noise was kept low we found that the camera did a poor job picking the correct ISO setting in automatic ISO mode, producing photos with more image noise than necessary. The Casio Exilim EX-Z300 has a dedicated button for video capture on the back of the camera, and can capture high definition video at 720p. Unfortunately our testing showed a decidedly sub-par resolution in the video captured, although color accuracy was good.

Comparisons (read in-depth comparisons at Digitalcamerainfo.com)
In an age where you can get a solid point and shoot camera for under $200 the Casio Exilim EX-Z300's $265 price tag will cause many to pause and wonder if the difference is justified. The answer is probably not. There's just nothing here that stands out. Yes, the small form factor is nice, but there are a lot of small cameras out there. You can get a better zoom, a better screen and better performance from a variety of other cameras. We'd recommend taking a look at the Samsung TL34HD at a similar price point or Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 if you're willing to pay a bit more.