Auto Mode (6.5)
The EX-Z57 offers a “Snapshot” setting, which fully automates exposure – both aperture and shutter speed. The ISO and white balance controls can be set to automatic as well, but the Snapshot setting does not switch them to automatic. The EV setting, which lightens or darkens the exposure, is available in snapshot mode, but there is no way to control whether the adjustment is made with the aperture or the shutter speed.
Custom Image Presets (8.0)
The EX-Z57 offers 23 preset modes. While that’s still far from some newer Casio models, which reach 32 presets, it’s still enough that there is invariably some overlap between similar settings. The camera will also allow users to create a preset mode.
Some of the presets are common and self-explanatory: Portrait, Scenery, Portrait with Scenery, Candlelight Portrait, Natural Green, Sundown, Night Scene, Fireworks, Monochrome, and Twilight. Some are somewhat common though the camera settings they tweak are not immediately obvious: Children (enhances color and sets a higher ISO), Party, Pet (both of which increase ISO), Flower, Food (both of which set focus range to Macro and brighten colors), Retro (commonly called Sepia on other cameras), Text (sets focus range to Macro and increases contrast and sharpness), and Business Cards & Documents, White Board Etc (both of which do what ‘Text’ does while also correcting for distortion caused by tilting the camera).
Some presets require more detailed explanations. Collection mode, seen on Casios and others, is for photographing small objects (presumably in a collection). In addition to setting the focus range to macro, it shows a grid on the viewfinder, as an aid to composition.
Coupling Shot mode melds two exposures into one image. The first time you press the shutter, the left half of the image is taken, and the second time you press the shutter, the right half is taken. The left half of the picture stays onscreen between shots, to help you line up the images.
The Pre-shot mode functions like a rough draft. It’s really for control freaks and helps make sure that other people take exactly the picture you want. Suppose you’re touring alone and want a passerby to take a photo of you in front of a landmark. If you frame your shot (without you in it) from the spot where you want the passerby to snap the picture, then hit the shutter in Pre-shot mode, the image appears onscreen as a transparent overlay, with the live view superimposed. You step into place, the shooter lines up the viewfinder with the transparent shot, and presses the button. The pre-shot disappears, and the final image is saved.
Drive/ Burst Mode (0.0)
The EX-Z57 does not have a dedicated burst mode. No matter how long the shutter release is held, the user can only capture one shot.
Playback Mode (7.0)
The EX-Z57's 2.7-inch display is an advantage for on-camera playback. Snapshooters will enjoy sharing their pictures via the large display. It's important to remember, though, that the display will have less detail than many smaller displays, since it only has 115,200 pixels. Many displays under two inches match that.
Playback is very straightforward on the EX-Z57. Pressing the Playback button brings up the most recent image. The zoom controls will magnify the image, or switch to a view of nine images at a time. The left and right side of the four-way controller scroll through the images in sequence. The top and bottom of the four-way controller bring up a well-rendered calendar. Dates on which pictures were saved to the SD card or internal memory are highlighted, and users can scroll directly to the date they want to review, and start viewing from there.
By pressing the shutter release and the SET button simultaneously, users can flip the display 180 degrees. Casio says this can be handy for showing pictures to people who are facing you. The other option, physically turning the 4.6-ounce camera 180 degrees around in your hand, is also practical.
Users can also rotate images in 90 degree increments, and resize or crop in-camera using the menu options available in Playback mode.
The EX-Z57 has a slideshow feature. Options for slide shows include the length of time each image appears, the total duration of the show, and whether the show includes every image in memory, including movies and sounds, or just the images saved in the favorites folder in the camera's built-in memory.
Movie Mode (4.0)
The EX-Z57 saves movies in AVI format, at a 320 x 240 resolution, which is about a quarter of regular video. Even worse, the video is captured at just 15 frames per second, which is about half the recording rate of full motion video. The result will be choppy video clips with substandard resolution. The EX-Z57 records monaural sound via a microphone in the upper right corner of the camera. The only limit on the length of videos the EX-Z57 will record is the capacity of the memory card in the camera.
Casio warns that the camera's motors and alert noises will be recorded on videos, and gives instructions for minimizing them. To avoid stray noise, the video mode turns off autofocus, though you can turn it back on if you like.
Some competing cameras, such as the Canon PowerShot SD400, offer 640 x 480 resolution and 30 frames per second, which are essentially the specs for home video. These cameras certainly offer better video quality than the EX-Z57, but none match the quality or flexibility of video captured with even the most basic digital camcorders. Video on still cameras remains a novelty – something to use on a whim, or when the impulse suddenly arises.
