Casio Exilim EX-H20G Maps

At last visit, I recommended the upgrade to firmware version 2.04 highly. While I’m still going through all the features, one nice thing I noticed is the fact that the upgrade does preserve most if not all of your previous camera settings. More importantly though is the fact that I almost magically discovered my previously recorded tracks, along with the pictures I had in the camera’s memory. In going through these tracks, I was impressed by the fact that it was able to decern my location indoors at home. This was the first time and Casio recommends doing this outside.

To tell you the truth, I really wasn’t expecting a whole lot regarding the maps. I’m not a fan of having even a time or date stamp on a photo so tagging a place name had very little appeal. Seemed redundant if the GPS data was in the EXIF data anyways. Figured if it had street names or some landmarks it might be of use, and if it reduced the need to carry even one map or guide, I would have been elated. Though you must keep in mind I’m not a world traveller!. I was impressed at the number of cities Casio lists as major cities that supposedly have detailed maps. Seemed like any city I might visit was listed. In actual practice though, the so called detailed maps just do not include enough information to be useful. For the purposes of this blog, I’ve only looked at the map of my home town San Francisco, a few others and some Japanese cities I plan to visit soon.

As I adjusted the cursor over SF, and started to zoom in I was excited by the fact that there were so many dots. These dot signify tourist attractions so I was looking forward to seeing more detail. Unfortunately, the more I zoomed in, the more I was disappointed by the information available. I might even say severely so. First thing one notices is an almost utter lack of street names. I scanned downtown completely at the maximum magnification and only found 2. Addtionally, while the train stations for BART and Muni Metro are included, only every other station is named. I could go on but this just hampers most of the map’s usefulness. Right now I’m thinking the map might help you locate yourself if you are lost, but you’d also need some other one for details. Another use might be for locating an attraction which might be close by, though the number of those is really lacking. The sample pictures are nice if you need inspiration. If you record your GPS tracks, it shows where you have been, so can show which direction you’ve been heading. This is a long winded way to say I don’t think there is a compass readout. I hate to say this but if you are in an detail area, the info is about as useful as the globe you might have had as a kid.

It’s really too bad Casio did not choose to include more details. I realize that this might cause a price increase, Magellan’s full bore GPS with camera is $600 for example, with maps outside the continental US extra and no Japan, but unfortunately, Casio’s camera with map leaves much to be desired. In the end one does end up with a respectable GPS enabled camera but leaves the user wanting as far as maps are concerned. Perhaps the solution is to offer additional maps separately.

Next some of the nit picky things I’ve found using the camera.