BenQ X720 review

The BenQ is a sensibly priced, slimline camera equipped with a 7-megapixel sensor and a good quality Pentax lens. It's great-looking and its ultra-slim profile makes it perfect for your pocket.

The 2.5in LCD screen is clear and makes reviewing photos a doddle. Basic functions such as flash options, macro and exposure adjustments are easily accessible too. Press the menu button and an arc of settings appears over the live image allowing you to adjust picture quality. It's an uncomplicated and user-friendly interface despite the occasional annoyance provided by the unnecessarily flashy menu scrolling.

There are options for different focus and metering modes, but while there are some advanced controls, there's no control over aperture or shutter speed. There is, however, a wide range of ISO settings ranging from 80-1200, enabling you to keep snapping from dawn until dusk. Images at the higher ISO end are typically noisy, but it's a useful feature to have nonetheless.

The BenQ isn't without issues. Its slimline figure may look good, but you'll have to hold the camera with both hands if you're to avoid pushing menu buttons with your thumb. Even when you do manage to press the right buttons, the X720's auto-focus is sluggish and suffers from longer than average shutter lag. Flash photos suffer worst where the lag can cause you to accidentally take pictures of your feet. The final concern was that once we'd been using the camera for a few minutes its casing would get quite hot. Despite the manual providing reassurance that it is normal for the camera to become warm, it's far hotter than any camera we've tested before.

Image quality wasn't the best we've seen for the price. While exposures were generally accurate, the BenQ didn't wow us with its star qualities. Indoor shots in particular suffered from a red tinge and the lack of custom colour options made it impossible to compensate.

Author: Danny Bird