Casio Exilim EX-V8

Auto Mode (6.5)
For newbies, the Automatic modes can be vital; they do most of the grunt work and save the user from having to think about options like shutter speed and sensitivity. The Casio V8 has two Auto modes; Snapshot, which gives the user some manual flexibility, and Easy mode, which limits the controls to just three presets.

Snapshot is located on the mode dial with an easy-to-spot red icon indicator; it will likely be the most frequently used function. In Snapshot mode, the camera settings default to Auto modes, including focus, AF area, white balance, ISO, and metering. Even though Snapshot is an Automatic mode, users can still manually change those settings using the Menu button. Users can adjust flash using the four-way controller.

Easy mode is represented by a black shamrock icon on the mode dial. Easy mode is the most automatic of the auto modes, limiting users to only three functions: flash, self-timer, and image size. While Easy mode is a good idea in theory, its paltry three options really limit the user. Users are better suited to using Casio’s Registered User mode, which allows users to save a combination of settings to the Best Shot menu.

Movie Mode (7.25)
Each era is defined by particular social phenomena, the artifacts of cultural marvels that will be remembered by future generations. For this generation, they are reality TV, iPods, and of course, YouTube. The Internet-obsessed community is loading at-home videos like never before, for everything from public diaries to citizen journalism. Naturally, Casio draws on this marketable population with the inclusion of the YouTube Capture mode.

This proprietary YouTube setting is essentially a shortcut to a 640 x 480 pixel resolution at Normal H.264 standard (MPEG-4) compression, optimized for uploading to the Web. Users shouldn’t be fooled by the fancy name; most point-and-shoots offer similar lower quality movie settings for the Web. Casio’s YouTube is simply a short and sweet, easy-to-remember method of getting there.

While the YouTube function is a bit gimmicky, Casio’s wealth of movie options surpasses many other point-and-shoots in its category. The YouTube function is one of 10 Best Shot Movie modes, accessed through the mode dial. The Best Shot modes are Portrait, Scenery, Night Scene, Fireworks, Backlight, High Sensitivity, Silent, Short Movie, Past Movie, Voice Recording, Registered User Scene, and YouTube. If those seem too complicated, there is a separate mode dial setting for Movie mode, the equivalent of Auto mode in still capture.

Users can engage zoom during Movie and Best Shot Movie, a plus since many cameras eliminate zoom during video recording. Zooming was seamless since the internal lens is built into the camera body. Autofocus, however, proved weak during Movie modes, often producing blurry video after zooming in. To compensate, Casio offers a manual movie focus that must be set before hitting the record shutter button.

Image stabilization can be turned on or off. Audio, recorded in monaural WAV format, is effective and doesn’t pick up the noise typically associated with a barreled lens.

The Movie mode records in both H.264 standard (also called AVC) and MOV (for QuickTime) format at the following resolutions:

Most cameras can record movies at the standard 640 x 480 pixel resolution, but the Casio V8 offers more with a wide 848 x 480 resolution recording. There are also impressive built-in editing functions; users can splice videos within the camera or prepare 9-frame or single-frame index prints.

With zoom abilities, audio, image stabilization, and built-in editing, the Casio V8 performs well with many options. Autofocusing can be a problem, but can be avoided by adding a little more work before capture. Overall, the wide resolution and strong YouTube brand name are worth trying.

Drive / Burst Mode (4.75)
To catch spontaneous moments, the V8 offers a few Burst modes. There are four drive options: Normal, High Speed, Flash Continuous, and Off. Although Casio reports the shot-to-shot time is 1.5 seconds, the Normal drive actually takes 4.5 seconds between shots. The Normal drive is far too slow for any shooter looking to capture fleeting smiles.

Users will have better luck with High Speed shooting, which responds faster but disables flash. To engage high speed shooting with flash, Flash Continuous setting that fires the flash multiple times. This mode not only produces overexposed images, but will cause subjects to shield their eyes from the overly-bright lights of the flash.

Users should stick with the default Normal mode in most cases, and only activate the High Speed for outdoor photography. The Flash Continuous shooting should be avoided.

Playback Mode (7.5)
For users who want to do some editing without touching their computer, the V8 suffices as a built-in photo editor with a standard feature set offered on similar point-and-shoots. Users can view their images as a slide show with changeable duration times and effects.

To check for focus, users can easily zoom in. Users can make other resizing and cropping with post-capture color changes, while adding audio dubs to each image.

Playback Menu
Slideshow	Images (All Images, Still Only, Video Only, One Image, Favorites); Time (1 min, 2 min, 3 min, 4 min, 5 min, 10 min, 15 min, 30 min, 60 min); Interval (1-30 sec, MAX); Effect (Pattern 1-5, Off); Cancel
Layout Print	Set, Apply, Cancel
Motion Print	9 frames, 1 frame, Cancel
(Video) Anti Shake	Off, On
Movie Editing	(First) Cut, (Middle) Cut, (End) Cut, Cancel
Dynamic Range	Expand +2, Expand +1, Cancel
White Balance	Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Fluorescent N, Fluorescent D, Incandescent, Cancel
Brightness	+2, +1, 0, -1, -2
Keystone	Trim, Cancel
Color Correction	Trim, Cancel
Calendar	(thumbnail calendar view)
Favorites	Show, Save, Cancel
DPOF Printing	Select images (1-99 copies), All images (1-99 copies), Cancel
Protect	On, All Files, Cancel
Date / Time	(Date) / (Time)
Rotation	Rotate, Cancel
Resize	6M (2816x2112, A3 Print), 4M (2304x1728 , A4 print), VGA (640x480, E-mail), Cancel
Trimming	(highlighted box view)
Dubbing	Set, Start
Copy	Built-in -> Copy, Card -> Built-in, Cancel

The Color Correction and Keystone mode are worth mentioning, but not for good reasons. Both are inconsistent and ineffective. The Keystone mode is supposed to realign crooked images, while the Color Correction is supposed to fix color after capture. Users trying to apply these functions to images will often be greeted with a warning display, "Cannot correct image!" Thanks, Casio. Other times, the functions instead display a Trim box. I thought that’s what the Trimming function was for. The confusing Color Correction and Keystone tools are questionable and better left off an otherwise effective list of playback options.

Custom Image Presets (9.25)
True to Casio tradition, the Exilim EX-V8 has a generous 34 Scene modes: Portrait, Scenery, Portrait with Scenery, Children, Sports, Candlelight Portrait, Party, Pet, Flower, Natural Green, Autumn Leaves, Soft Flowing Water, Splashing Water, Sundown, Night Scene, Night Scene Portrait, Fireworks, Food, Text, Collection, For eBay, Backlight, High Sensitivity, Underwater, Monochrome, Retro, Twilight, Layout (1), Layout (2), Auto Framing, ID Photo, Old Photo, Business Cards and Documents, White Board, etc., and Register User Scene.

Users can access these automatic presets through the "BS" icon on the mode dial. Yes, it really does say "BS," for Best Shot Scene modes. All crude acronyms aside, the Best Shot modes are numerous and effective for new users who don’t want to bother manually changing settings. For those who do fiddle with manual control, they can save frequently used settings using the Registered User Scene.