Auto Mode
The default auto mode setting may be shot with full auto controls, or the user can choose to engage one, some or all of the manual control options while shooting in this mode. The camera reacted well when shooting with full auto mode, although tailoring the auto settings with manual override worked even better. The manual controls accessible in auto mode are; white balance, focus, metering, EV shift and ISO, while aperture control and shutter speed are outside the control of the Z600 user. If you desire a middle ground, the 33 preset modes found within the Best Shot mode may be of use, although in all honesty, 33 of anything on a camera (except for saved images) is not enjoyable to wade through.
Movie Mode
The movie mode has three settings, located within the rec. menu when the camera is in either still or movie mode. Although setting movie controls can be accomplished when in still image mode, actually shooting in movie mode will necessitate the user entering the Best Shot mode and selecting the movie option. The movie mode does allow digital zoom to be engaged, however quality is poor and this option should probably be avoided unless massive pixilation is part of what you want to record. The settings for movie mode are 640 x 480 at 30 frames per second (HQ), 640 x 480 at 30 fps (Normal), and 320 x 240 at 30 fps (LP). All three of these options should have a smooth quality to them in playback, although the resolution did show marked degradation when switching out of HQ mode. Audio is recorded simultaneously when shooting in any of these three modes via the microphone placed on the top of the camera.
During playback the user can edit the beginning, center or end of the video clip, as well as capture 9 frames of video to one photo image for a motion print. Audio during playback is pushed through a monaural speaker located on the bottom of the camera. If shooting video clips is desirable, consider getting more memory; the 8.3 MB of internal memory captures about 6 seconds (and that’s being generous) of HQ video before it’s out of space.
Drive / Burst Mode
The burst mode on the Casio EX-Z600 is placed within the rec. menu under the submenu entitled Burst mode. The burst mode for the EX-Z600 has an advertised rate of 3 frames per second for up to 3 shots before the camera needs to take a lengthy delay to save images to memory.
When shooting in High Speed, the reported 3fps burst rate may be attained, but when switched into normal speed, the rate of capture could hardly be called a burst mode. A rapid flash burst mode shoots at nearly the same rate as the High Speed mode and provided images that were successfully illuminated.
Playback Mode
To enter the playback mode the review button in the upper right corner on the back of the Casio EX-Z600 must be pressed. The playback menu has a number of control features that aren’t often found on point-and-shoot digital cameras, with options for Rotation, Resize, Trimming, Dubbing, Copy and Movie Editing easily accomplished. The playback mode can display images as one image, multi-up with nine thumbnails or in a calendar view, the third of which allows users to move between days of the month to access photos quickly from various sessions. The camera allows playback zoom through the telephoto control of the zoom ring.
The Keystone feature is one of the unique playback features that sets this Casio apart from the competition. It digitally reorients photos of text or other subjects so the once skewed and misaligned content appears as though it were captured from straight ahead. While it worked with moderate success when used at PMA, there were a couple of times when the camera was unable to straighten images or when the straightened image displayed an unacceptable level of distortion. The original is saved in addition to the new image so users can always change their minds.
Other features besides the aforementioned include Slideshow, Motion Print, DPOF, Protect, and Date/Time.
Custom Image Presets
Well, the custom image presets for the Casio EX-Z600 are certainly not lacking. The 33 settings are located within the Best Shot menu, which may be accessed by pressing the BS button on the back of the camera.
The best shot menu has an opaque blue background and thumbnail photographs that can be selected so that the preset option will appear with a larger example photo and a full text description detailing when this control could be applicably used. The Best Shot preset shooting options for the Casio EX-Z600 are: 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, Backlight, Anti-Shake, High Sensitivity, Monochrome, Retro, Twilight, Old Photo, Business Cards and Documents, White Board Etc, Voice Recording, For Ebay, Recall User Scene and Register User Scene.
The latest feature for this camera and several other models released by Casio this year is the inclusion of the unique Ebay feature, which captures images at a format which is the most Ebay-friendly. While I’ve personally never had a problem selling and posting photos on Ebay, this new setting could be useful perhaps to users who are less photographically-inclined or Internet savvy.
While some users are bound to love having this number of settings, I think 33 is frankly a little ludicrous. No longer is it easy to quickly flip between settings, and with this many options the user is bound to search for the proper mode for what could be an eternity.
