Casio Exilim EX-S770

Auto Mode (6.5)
When the camera is powered up, it starts in the Auto mode unless specified to memorize the current mode in the setup menu. The Auto mode works from a list of defaults that can be changed in the setup menu, but it is still the shooting mode with the most manual control on the Casio S770. There is no designated button for the Auto mode, and it is listed among the other scene modes. Some people won’t care about this placement, but others will want easier access to it for photos on the fly.

Movie Mode (7.0)
The movie mode does have its own button, although it isn’t labeled with the usual video camera icon. Instead, the small circular button in the top right corner of the back has only a red dot in the center. It begins recording when pushed, no matter what Best Shot mode is selected at the time. The red button activates a sort of "auto movie mode" and other movie modes can be found in the lengthy Best Shot mode list.

The automatic movie mode seems to work just fine. The focus looks good, moving subjects look smooth, and audio is captured and played back without sounding garbled. The zoom lever is functional in the movie mode, but it only activates digital zoom and degrades the video quality quickly. I recommend avoiding it so your footage doesn’t look like a convenience store’s security tape.

There are two other movie modes that are found at the bottom of the seemingly endless Best Shot scene mode list. Short Movie and Past Movie options are found here, and both record before the movie button is pushed. However, the Past movie mode keeps recording and the Short movie only records about 5 seconds before stopping. The Past Movie mode comes in handy with unpredictable subjects like toddlers. My toddler randomly broke into song, and I was still able to catch the whole thing despite my slow index finger.

The Casio Exilim EX-S770 records MPEG-4 files in several resolutions: 704 x 384, 640 x 480, and 320 x 240 – all at 30 frames per second. The top two resolutions are available in two compression sizes of HQ (High Quality) or Normal. There is a noticeable difference in the footage, especially if subjects are moving; splotchy artifacts appear in the Normal setting.

The widescreen videos are new to Casio Exilim Card-series digital cameras. The S600 has the standard 4:3 resolution settings, but it lacks the 16:9-formatted option included with the S770. The 704 x 384-pixel resolution on the S770 doesn’t quite blow the competition away since many compact digital cameras are including widescreen video modes this year, and most record at a resolution of 848 x 480 pixels.

So if you have a widescreen television and will use the wide movie mode often, another digital camera may suit you better. If you use the 16:9 movies sparingly, however, the S770 isn’t such a bad option. It takes great video with its quick frame rates and good focus and colors.

Drive / Burst Mode (7.0)
The Casio Exilim S770’s burst modes can be found at the top of the recording menu. There is a Normal Speed mode that shoots about a frame per second until the memory card is full. A High-Speed burst mode snaps 3 pictures in about a second, but then takes nearly 7 seconds to write them to memory. There are also Flash and Zoom Continuous burst modes. The Flash Continuous mode shoots at the same high speed as the aforementioned mode, but it fires the flash. It doesn’t reach far though – only 5.5 ft at most. This won’t work for shooting a lay-up at a basketball game or a runner rounding the indoor track. Most likely, users will be farther than 5.5 ft from their fast-moving subjects. The Zoom Continuous burst mode isn’t exactly a burst mode, but it’s grouped with them. When selected, it divides the LCD screen into halves and shows the full view on the left and a zoomed view on the right. The zoomed view covers the central third of the original frame. When users push the shutter release, the camera records the full-resolution image and a 2-megapixel zoomed image. Users can do the same thing, but with more control, in the playback mode with the resizing option.

Available from the display’s "panel" menu or the regular recording menu is the self-timer that has 2 and 10-second options, along with a 3-shot timer. The latter option waits 10 seconds, snaps a shot, then another 2 seconds before the second shot and another 2 seconds before the last shot. The lamp on the front blinks orange to indicate when the picture will be taken.

Playback Mode (7.75)
The playback mode is easily accessible from its own button above the LCD screen. Pictures appear full-sized unless the wide end of the zoom lever is pushed. When that is done, the images appear in sets of 12 or in a calendar view. The calendar view can also be accessed within the playback menu. If the telephoto side of the zoom lever is pushed, pictures can be magnified up to 8x – that is way too close to look flattering on these pictures.

Images can be scrolled through with the multi-selector. If one side is held down, the camera scrolls through files quickly. In the playback mode, the Menu button allows access to these options.

There are a lot of editing features for still images and movies; all of them save files separately too, so there is always an original file if users decide they didn’t like the effect. There is no option to delete files from the menu; it must be done from the bottom of the multi-selector. Options to delete one or all files are available, and since the camera quickly moves to the next file after deleting a single image, deleting scores of photos doesn’t take any longer than the check-box-method.

Movies can be viewed in the playback mode with audio that sounds clear. The volume can be adjusted while watching a video, and users can even scroll through movies frame by frame or with the standard fast forwarding and rewinding. Overall, the Casio S770’s playback mode is impressive with its vast options, great views, and wide LCD screen.

Custom Image Presets (9.0)
Casio Exilim digital cameras are known for their lengthy lists of scene modes, called Best Shot modes. The S770 carries on the torch with 34 presets found with the oddly titled "BS" button. Crude American connotations aside, the Best Shot modes appear 15 per page or one at a time if zoomed in upon. When they appear one at a time, there is a sample photo and explanation of each. Here’s the rundown.

Best Shot
Auto	Auto image recording
Portrait	Enhanced flesh tones. Setting zoom to telephoto blurs the background.
Scenery	Hard sharpness. High saturation.
Portrait with Scenery	Enhanced flesh tones. Setting zoom to wide angle simplifies focusing.
Children	Enhanced flesh tones and a fast shutter speed.
Sports	Fast shutter speed.
Candlelight Portrait	Soft sharpness and tungsten white balance. Keep the camera still!
Party	Fast shutter speed.
Pet	Fast shutter speed. Shoot from the eye level of your pet.
Flower	Macro mode. High saturation.
Natural Green	Hard sharpness and high saturation enhance green hues.
Autumn Leaves	Hard sharpness and high saturation enhance red hues.
Soft Flowing Water	Slow shutter speed.
Splashing Water	Fast shutter speed.
Sundown	Infinity focus. Red filter. Daylight white balance.
Night Scene	Slow shutter speed. Infinity focus. Keep the camera still!
Night Scene Portrait	Slow shutter speed. Red-eye reduction flash. Keep the camera still!
Fireworks	Slow shutter speed. Infinity focus. Keep the camera still!
Food	Macro mode. High saturation.
Text	Macro mode. Hard sharpness. High contrast.
Collection	Macro mode. Displays a composition outline.
For eBay	Takes photos optimized for selling items on eBay.
Backlight	Enhanced flesh tones. Flash on.
Anti-Shake	Reduced the effects of hand and subject movement.
High Sensitivity	Enables recording of an image without flash, even when lighting is dim.
Monochrome	Uses the monochrome filter.
Retro	Uses low contrast and the sepia color filter.
Twilight	Uses high color saturation and the magenta color filter.
Old Photo	Color correction will restore the faded colors of the old photograph.
Business cards and Documents	Even when recorded at an angle, image lines are straight and natural.
White board, etc.	Even when recorded at an angle, image lines are straight and natural.
Silent	Monochrome recording and slightly faster speed. Creates the image of an old-time silent movie.
Short Movie	Records a short movie starting a few seconds before the Movie button is pressed.
Past Movie	Starts movie recording a few seconds before the Movie button is pressed.
Voice Recording	Records audio, without any image.
Register User Scene	Registers a new user scene. Press the Set button to start image selection.

This gigantic list could really be shortened as some of the modes are very similar ("Business cards and Documents" and "White board, etc." for instance). Nevertheless, Casio still seems to think the number of preset modes on a camera is a contest. If so, the S770 is winning.