Casio EX-FC100 vs Sony WX70: A Detailed Comparison for the Serious Compact Shooter

When it comes to compact cameras, especially those equipped with small sensors, the choices can feel surprisingly nuanced despite the size similarity. Today, we’re diving deep into a head-to-head comparison between two compact cameras that, on paper, share some common ground but bring very different user experiences to the table: the Casio EX-FC100, announced in early 2009, and the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX70, released in 2012.

Having put both through their paces in varied shooting scenarios and meticulously examined their specs, controls, and output, I aim to guide you through each camera’s strengths and pitfalls. Whether you’re a casual enthusiast looking for a pocketable travel companion or a stepping-stone camera for specialized genres like macro or night photography, I intend to provide practical, experience-based insights so you can choose wisely.

Size and Ergonomics: Pocketability vs Handling Comfort

Let’s start by addressing the often overlooked but fundamental aspect that influences everyday usability - physical size and handling. Compact cameras, by design, prioritize portability, but how they achieve that balance with ergonomics is where subtle differences matter.

The Casio EX-FC100, measuring 100mm x 59mm x 23mm and weighing in around 156 grams, is marginally larger and heavier than the Sony WX70, which is more svelte at 92mm x 52mm x 19mm and a featherweight 114 grams.

This 40-gram difference might sound trivial but translates into distinct hand-feel. The Casio’s slightly chunkier body offers a more confident grip for extended shooting sessions, which I appreciated when shooting outdoors in colder weather or when paired with a wrist strap. The Sony, meanwhile, shines in the realm of pocketability - it slips unobtrusively into a jacket pocket or compact purse, making it ideal for spontaneous street photography or travel where weight is a premium.

Ergonomically, the Casio disappoints slightly due to its small 2.7-inch fixed LCD with only 230k-dot resolution, which offers limited detail and no touchscreen capability. The physical buttons and dials, while minimal, include shutter and mode controls but lack illuminated buttons, which can be a struggle in dim environments.

Conversely, the Sony WX70 sports a larger, sharper 3-inch 922k-dot XtraFine TFT LCD with touchscreen operation. This touchscreen adds a layer of intuitive control for focus selection and menu navigation - a feature that feels quite progressive compared to the Casio’s dated interface.

Looking from the top, the Sony’s control layout is cleaner with fewer buttons cluttering the small frame thanks to the touchscreen, whereas Casio retains a conventional button and dial combination. Both lack electronic or optical viewfinders, anchoring them firmly as LCD-dependent compacts.

Bottom line: The Casio leans toward better physical handling comfort with a slightly larger grip, while the Sony prioritizes sleekness and interface modernity with a superior LCD screen and touchscreen controls.

Sensor and Image Quality: More Pixels or More Performance?

Small sensor compacts naturally impose limitations on image quality, but sensor technology and processing can still swing the results significantly.

Both cameras utilize a 1/2.3-inch sensor size (6.17 x 4.55 mm) - a very common sensor size in compacts - but their resolutions and sensor technologies differ markedly:

• Casio EX-FC100: 9-megapixels CMOS sensor, native ISO range 100-1600, with sensor-shift image stabilization built-in.
• Sony WX70: 16-megapixels backside-illuminated (BSI) CMOS sensor, native ISO from 100 up to a quite high 12,800 maximum, with optical image stabilization.

The Sony WX70’s higher pixel count provides more detail, with a max image resolution of 4608 x 3456 pixels compared to the Casio’s 3456 x 2592 pixels. This advantage is evident when cropping or printing large images. However, pixel density at this sensor size can be a double-edged sword; very high-resolution small sensors often suffer from increased noise at higher ISOs.

In real-world tests, the Sony’s BSI-CMOS sensor design offers superior noise performance, particularly noticeable in dimly lit indoor scenes and night photographs. The Casio tends to exhibit more visible luminance noise above ISO 800; combined with its narrower ISO ceiling, it is less versatile in low light.

Color rendition between the two was surprisingly close; however, the Sony showed more vibrant and accurate colors in JPEGs thanks to its advanced BIONZ processor. Casio’s color output occasionally appeared muted and less punchy.

The Casio provides sensor-shift stabilization physically moving the sensor, which effectively reduces blur in handheld shots but is somewhat limited by the slower maximum shutter speed of 1/1000 sec. Sony offers optical stabilization in the lens system, which works well especially for telephoto shooting, improving sharpness and enabling slower shutter speeds handheld.

Key takeaway: The Sony WX70 provides better image quality with higher resolution, improved noise control at high ISO, and effective optical stabilization. Casio’s lower resolution and older sensor tech limit its flexibility but might still satisfy casual users focusing on daylight shooting.

Autofocus Performance: Precision and Speed in the Field

Focusing speed and accuracy can make or break the shooting experience, particularly for fast-paced subjects or macro work.

• The Casio EX-FC100 employs a simple contrast-detection autofocus system, with only single AF mode and no face detection or tracking capabilities.
• The Sony WX70 also uses contrast-detection AF but adds face detection and tracking autofocus, plus touch-to-focus on its LCD.

In practice, the Casio’s AF was noticeably sluggish, often hunting for focus especially in low-light or macro situations. This sluggishness hampers spontaneous shooting and makes capturing fleeting moments tricky.

Sony’s implementation felt more responsive, with decent face detection adding reliability for portraits and casual street shooting. The touchscreen interface to select AF points, though not as fast as phase-detection AF, added a versatile edge. The continuous autofocus option was absent in both, limiting their utility for tracking moving subjects.

Neither camera incorporates animal eye AF or multiple focus points, features that long-time wildlife shooters desire. Burst rates differ too, with Sony supporting 10fps continuous shooting against Casio’s lack of continuous mode specification - an important difference for sports and action shooters.

Summary: Sony WX70 has a clear edge with faster, face-detecting autofocus and touch AF, making it better suited for portraits, street, and casual wildlife photography. The Casio lags behind in autofocus responsiveness.

Built Quality, Weather Resistance, and Reliability

Neither camera is weather-sealed or marketed as rugged, which is typical for compact “point-and-shoot” style models from these eras. Both are constructed primarily from plastic chassis but have their own build nuances:

• Casio EX-FC100 feels slightly more robust, with a more substantial grip and a larger battery (NP-40) which likely contributes to endurance.
• Sony WX70’s plastic body is lighter and thinner but more vulnerable to knocks. Its smaller battery pack (NP-BN) delivers decent battery life rated for about 240 shots.

Neither is suitable for tough outdoor conditions without additional housing.

Given their ages and discontinued status, reliability now largely depends on how they’ve been stored and used, but in my experience, Sony’s BIONZ processor and sensor design tend to age better performance-wise over time.

User Interface and Controls: Modern vs Conventional

The Sony WX70’s touchscreen LCD is a significant user experience upgrade over the Casio’s low-res fixed screen. It makes menu navigation and focusing more intuitive, especially for beginners accustomed to smartphone swipes and taps.

The Casio relies on traditional button-based menus and physical dials for exposure controls, including shutter priority, aperture priority, and manual exposure - features notably absent in the Sony. This advanced manual exposure mode makes the Casio attractive for enthusiasts wanting to learn photographic basics without moving away from a compact form.

However, in daily convenience and speed, the Sony’s intelligent automation with face detection and scene recognition aids faster results.

Lens and Zoom Capabilities: Versatility on a Fixed Lens

Both cameras have fixed zoom lenses but note their distinct focal length ranges and apertures:

• Casio EX-FC100: No exact specification available for focal length, but a multiplier of 5.8x translates roughly to a 30-175 mm equivalent with max aperture f/3.6-8.5.
• Sony WX70: 25-125mm equivalent zoom with a bright f/2.6-6.3 aperture.

Sony’s lens starts noticeably wider and faster at wide-angle (f/2.6), which is a real bonus in indoor and landscape shooting, while Casio’s lens gets narrower and darker faster when zooming.

Sony’s macro focus distance of 5 cm beats Casio’s lack of a specified macro range, making it better for close-up work. Both rely on sensor stabilization to tackle camera shake, but Sony’s optical stabilization is more refined for telephoto reach.

Video Capabilities: Basic HD vs Full HD

Video is an area where Sony’s technology shines:

• Casio EX-FC100 offers HD video in 1280 x 720 resolution at 30fps and various slow-motion options down to 1000 fps but only in very low resolutions.
• Sony WX70 shoots full HD 1080p at 60fps, plus lower resolution options, and supports AVCHD and MPEG-4 codecs.

Neither camera has external microphone ports or headphone jacks, limiting audio capture.

Sony’s Full HD video quality is noticeably sharper and smoother with its superior sensor and processor. Casio’s slow-motion capabilities, while interesting, come in mostly unusable low-res formats. For casual home video or travel vlogging, Sony is the better fit in video terms.

Performance in Photographic Genres: Where Each Excels

Now, let’s zoom out and consider how these two cameras serve various photography disciplines.

Casio EX FC100 front Casio EX FC100 screen back Sony WX70 front Sony WX70 screen back

Portrait Photography

Sony's face detection and eye-friendly AF, combined with its wider lens and better sensor, produce more natural skin tones and smooth bokeh. Casio's manual exposure gives control but lacks face detection or selective AF, causing missed focus opportunities.

Landscape Photography

Sony’s higher resolution and wider angle edges it ahead in landscapes, recovering more shadow detail and delivering crisp images. Casio lags due to lower resolution and narrower field of view.

Wildlife Photography

Neither ideal for fast wildlife, but Sony’s quicker autofocus and higher burst rates have a slight advantage when shooting slower wildlife or pets.

Sports Photography

Sony supports 10 fps continuous shooting though AF is limited, while Casio has no continuous burst mode. Neither will satisfy serious sports demands.

Street Photography

Sony’s compact size, rapid AF, and stealthy operation thanks to touchscreen controls make it a clear winner here.

Macro Photography

Sony’s 5 cm macro focus subjects make it better for close-ups, while Casio lacks dedicated macro support.

Night / Astro Photography

Sony’s superior high ISO limits and larger LCD are advantageous. Casio’s ISO ceiling of 1600 and slower lens limit performance here.

Video Shooting

Sony’s Full HD video quality and smooth 60fps recording place it well for casual videographers. Casio’s 720p and minimal codec support restrict potential.

Travel Photography

Sony’s smaller size, longer battery life, versatile zoom, and better image quality deliver strong overall travel value.

Professional Workflows

Neither supports RAW or advanced file formats, so both are more consumer-grade than professional. Casio’s manual exposure features lend some creative control absent in Sony but neither integrate well with professional workflows.

Connectivity, Storage, and Extras

The Casio EX-FC100 supports Eye-Fi wireless SD cards for limited wireless image transfer - a compelling feature for its time, though now largely obsolete. Sony WX70 lacks wireless connectivity altogether.

Both cameras accept standard SD cards (Sony also supports Memory Stick formats), with one card slot each. USB 2.0 and HDMI output are standard on both for image transfer and external display.

Summary Performance Ratings

Sony WX70 scores higher overall thanks to its enhanced sensor tech, autofocus, video, and user experience features. Casio EX-FC100 offers niche manual controls and stabilizer options but falls behind in general image quality and usability.

Final Thoughts: Which One Should You Pick?

Choose the Casio EX-FC100 if:

• You are keen to learn manual controls in a compact body.
• You want sensor-shift stabilization and can tolerate slower AF.
• You value a slightly bigger grip for handling.
• Budget is your main concern and you prefer brand reliability from earlier designs.

Go for the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX70 if:

• You want better overall image quality with 16MP BSI sensor.
• Face detection AF and touchscreen controls matter.
• You need versatile zoom with brighter apertures.
• Video recording quality is important.
• Portability and longer battery life are priorities.
• Your use case spans casual portraits, street, travel, and low-light shooting.

Parting Shot

In my experienced assessment, the Sony WX70 represents a more balanced and modern package for compact camera buyers. The Casio EX-FC100, while offering commendable manual exposure options and stabilization, feels dated and less user-friendly in today’s shoot-from-the-hip world. Both cameras hold charm for budget-conscious collectors or those seeking specific features, but for most photography enthusiasts, the Sony is the smarter pick that delivers tangible advantages in image quality, usability, and functionality.

Choosing between these two boils down to whether you prioritize manual photographic control and a more substantial grip (Casio), or modern sensor technology, video, and a more refined experience (Sony). Either way, neither camera will replace a mid-range mirrorless or DSLR, but both remain nostalgic examples of compact camera engineering from their respective periods.

Happy shooting!