Casio Exilim EX-V8

Likes

-Portable for a 7x optical zoom camera with built-in lens -Sliding lens door that turns camera on -Innovative (although somewhat limited) face recognition system to remember family members -Effective assist lamp during movie capture -Thorough movie options -Plenty of Scene modes

Dislikes

-Poorly designed back controls, particularly with the zoom toggle switch -Overpowering, blinding auto assist lamp during still capture -Weak autofocus during zoom -Noise at high ISOs

Conclusion
Most every point-and-shoot is capable of recording movies. What Casio does is uniquely partner with an exciting, successful business – YouTube. The popular video-sharing website appeals to everyone from the Star Wars Kid to presidential candidates. For better or worse, Casio effectively matches its customers with an already recognizable brand name. Even more, the camera model name, itself, is already recognizable – who hasn’t heard of V8 drinks or V8 engines? The V8 is much easier to remember than the four-numbered product numbers that modify Casio’s earlier Z-series cameras (eg. the Casio Exilim EX-Z1080). It is genius on its part, making good on a strong coupling between the digital still camera world and the popularity of the website dedicated to personal video.

As many pros as there are with branding, there are as many cons with imaging performance. The Casio V8 gets props for matching a 7x zoom lens on portable body, but the camera produces weak focus during zoom. While having an extra assist light for movies is nice, the assist lamp is overpowering during stills. General image parameters prove weak, with average color and resolution, and too much noise.

As for its virtues, its mid-range zoom with image stabilization, face recognition system, 10 Movie modes, and 34 Scene modes make the V8 especially tempting for the 7x zoom market. Consumers should know, though, that most other current 7x optical zoom cameras are less expensive.

Kudos to Casio for getting to YouTube first, but the Exilim EX-V8's average image performance makes the $329.99 price tag a bit too high. For the money, there's a host of better performers out there.