Manual Control Options
The exposure settings can’t be manually adjusted, but there are still a few ways that users can control the outcome of the picture. Exposure compensation, white balance, and ISO are just a few of the manual controls that are available from the display “panel” menu and from the standard menu system. The Casio S770 isn’t designed to be a hobbyist’s dream camera though, and it excludes many manual controls for a reason.
Focus
Auto Focus (7.25)
The Casio Exilim EX-S770 uses a contrast detection auto focus system that can be set to focus only in the center of the frame or all over the frame with the Spot and Multi modes. The Multi option displays nine boxes in the central third of the frame; these boxes light up green as they focus on subjects but doesn’t cover much of the frame though. These auto focus modes can be found in the recording menu along with macro, infinity, and pan focus modes.
The S770’s 3x optical zoom lens normally focuses from 1.3 ft, but it can get as close as 5.9 inches in the macro mode. This really isn’t all that close when considering that the average digital camera can focus within 2 inches in the macro mode. The infinity and pan focus modes seem to work quite well, though, keeping subjects sharp even when in motion.
There is an orange auto focus assist lamp on the front of the camera, but it seems to only be used as a last resort. I snapped some pictures in my bathroom with the lights out and only a tiny light streaming through the window, and the Casio S770 only used the assist beam about half of the time. Pictures were focused just fine, although it takes more time to focus in low light than in optimal lighting.
The auto focus system seems to work quickly – certainly faster than most ultra-slim digital cameras’ systems. If users want to make it go even faster, there is a Quick Shutter option that cuts down on focus time even more to snap shots even faster.
Manual Focus (2.0)
The manual focus mode is available from the same list that houses the macro, pan, infinity, and auto focus options. The specs indicate that the camera can manually focus as close as the macro mode can, but it didn’t appear to focus that close. The closest I could get it to focus seemed to be the 1.3 ft mark. Manual focusing is done with the left and right sides of the multi-selector. When they are pushed, a yellow box appears in the center and magnifies the image and a bar appears across the bottom showing 40cm on the left side and an infinity icon on the right. The screen resolution is good enough to support this manual focus setup, and that is surprising since most comparable digital cameras which offer this mode can’t support it well.
ISO (7.0)
For those who like to avoid this type of control, there is a High Sensitivity scene mode in the Best Shot list. It uses an ISO 800 setting that isn’t all that impressive when compared to other recent releases from other manufacturers. Some competing models have ISO 1600 or even 3200 in their high sensitivity or low light modes. The Casio Exilim EX-S770 has a short range of ISO options: 50, 100, 200, and 400. There is also an automatic setting. The options can be found on the display menu and standard menu.
White Balance (8.0)
A decent list of white balance modes can be found in both menu systems. Each menu has a live view, although the view in the display menu is much larger. The following options are available: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Fluorescent N, Fluorescent D, Tungsten, and Manual. When the Manual white balance is selected, clear instructions appear on the screen to help users: “Shutter: Adjust.” The white balance appears to be accurate on the S770, but a more detailed analysis can be found in the Color portion of the Testing page of this review.
Exposure (7.0)
Although the exposure settings cannot be individually adjusted, there is an exposure compensation option that allows users to brighten or darken the image. The standard fare can be found in both menus: a +/- 2 scale with 1/3 steps. If users want to monitor the exposure, a live histogram can be activated in the display menu. It shows a small histogram on the left side of the LCD with red, green, and blue channels. The histogram can be viewed in the playback mode too.
Metering (7.0)
In the shooting menu only, the metering options can be found without a live view. These options are typical of compact digital cameras: Multi-pattern, center-weighted, and spot. There is also a Backlight scene mode, but it activates the flash and tweaks the saturation particularly on skin tones.
Shutter Speed (0.0)
The Casio Exilim EX-S770 has an electronic and mechanical shutter that can snap as fast as 1/2000th of a second. In most modes, it only slows to a half-second but can wait as long as four seconds in the Night scene mode. The Fireworks scene mode snaps at a fixed 2-second shutter speed. These numbers are typical for a compact digital camera, although lengthier shutter speeds could have been useful for snapping pictures of the night sky.
Aperture (0.0)
The Casio Exilim EX-S770 has a 3x optical zoom lens with a big f/2.7 aperture. That’s when it is zoomed out, of course. When zoomed in on a subject, it wilts to f/5.2, that is considerably smaller. The aperture is not a two-step system, and there are other apertures available too. They show up on the LCD screen when the shutter is pushed halfway down; the apertures can also be viewed in the playback mode’s file information.
