Casio QV-R51

Get a high speed five from this snapper

If you were entranced by the pocketability of the Exilim EX-Z3 (T3 88, 5/5) - and who wasn't? - you might be wondering what Casio is playing at with the QV-R51. It's around 50 per cent thicker than the wafer-thin Z3 and has about as much design flair as a Lidl carrier bag. But perhaps the company is crazy like a fox. As digital photography matures, style-conscious early adopters are being muscled out in favour of the mass market. And the average shopper doesn't want an ultra-compact with a mind-bending design from one of Philippe Starck's nightmares that they might lose down the back of the sofa.

This camera goes out of its way to be accessible. It's quicker on the trigger than a GI in Baghdad: hit the power button and it's ready to shoot in a second. The two-inch LCD is bright and clear, although prone to colour shifts while panning. There's no confusing mode dial - just record and playback buttons, plus a four-way navigator. The menus are simplicity itself, offering just enough choices to impress newbies but without enabling them to screw things up too badly. So it doesn't really matter whether you choose wide-angle or spot focusing, and even the weirdest exposure options produce decent results most of the time. Of course, there are burst and (silent only) movie modes, but otherwise this is a no- frills, auto-everything device aimed at digital newcomers.

Casio has also implemented a clever new power-saving feature, which promises up to 900 images on one charge of its NiMH cells. In our tests, the R51 snapped its way through hundreds of images without losing a single bar of power. In the unlikely event that you do run out of juice, it'll accept normal AA batteries instead. Not so good is the internal memory, which stores a grand total of just four hi-res shots - rather miserly, in our books.

The good news is that the image quality is up to Casio's usual high standards. They suffer from a slight purple cast around the edges, but the detail that's captured is exceptional for a compact. While colours are smooth and spot on for accuracy, they can be rather restrained - you might want to increase the saturation a notch for more vivid results.

As a mass-market camera, this one has it all: great images, unbeatable ease of use and good build quality. But if you're looking for a product to get really excited about, don't get your hopes up.

KEY FEATURES:
5-megapixel sensor, maximum resolution: 2,560 x 1,920 pixels, 3x optical zoom, 4x digital zoom, 2-inch TFT LCD screen (84,960 pixels), shooting modes: auto, party, pet, fi reworks, food, collection, coupling, pre-shot, 3 special effects, 5 portrait, 6 scenery, movie mode: 320 x 240 pixels, 14fps, without sound, 9.7MB internal memory, SD card slot (no card supplied), dimensions: 88 x 61 x 33mm, weight: 220g (with batteries and card)