Casio Exilim EX-Z850 Digital Camera Review

Casio Exilim EX-Z850

Digital Camera Review

Oct 27, 2006 - By James Murray
1.8 The Casio Exilim EX-Z850 was released earlier this year at PMA 2006 and while not the most appealing model in terms of innovative styling, this camera does have some impressive specifications. Housed inside of a metal shell, this 8 MP camera has a 3x optical zoom lens, 34 preset scene modes, a full movie mode with editing in playback and both shutter and aperture priority modes. This camera will certainly appeal to beginning users looking for a camera to grow into with manual control over focus, white balance, exposure and ISO. The camera has a 2.5-inch LCD with 115,200 pixels and a real image optical viewfinder. The Casio Exilim EX-Z850 originally retailed for $399.99, but now retails for $349 on the Casio web site and can be found for even less online.
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Model Design / Appearance (6.25)
The Casio Exilim EX-Z850 features a silver metal body that feels sturdy. However, the camera is definitely a downgrade in terms of  styling, compared to the more expensive 10-megapixel Casio Z1000.  This camera is boxier and includes an optical viewfinder and numerous external controls that have been purged from the cohesive Z1000 to provide a thinner body frame and a larger LCD.  In terms of functional design, the EX-Z850 is mostly on the mark but it falls slightly short in terms of visual appeal.

Size / Portability (6.5)
The Casio Exilim EX-Z850 can fit in your pocket but it’s a bit uncomfortable with measurements of 3.5 inches in length, 2.3 inches in height and 0.93 inches in width. The approximate weight of 4.59 ounces, not including the battery or memory card, makes the EX-Z850 a solid camera with a dense feel. The port cover for the battery and memory card tends to open when being pulled from a  pocket and the potential for this plastic cover to snap seems fairly likely.  An eyelet for an optional wrist-strap is located in the center of the right side. 

Handling Ability (6.0)
Handling and controlling the Casio Exilim EX-Z850 is compromised because the camera lacks a right hand grip or ridge to enable a better one-handed shooting style. This isn’t as much of a problem on a thinner or lighter camera but with this camera’s girth and heft taken into consideration, two-handed shooting became the default method for capturing snapshots. On a transition face, between the left side of the camera and the LCD, are two small buttons that were occasionally triggered inadvertently during grip adjustments. The extending lens barrel will help keep users’ fingers away from the lens, which is great considering how often it happens when shooting with a compact point-and-shoot. There really isn’t a place to comfortably put the thumb of the right hand and it ends up resting in between the four-way selector and the mode dial. Overall, comfortable handling on the Casio Z850 takes a backseat to the compact design.

 
Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size (5.5)
The larger controls on the Casio Exilim EX-Z850 are placed appropriately and are easy to engage when shooting quickly. The mode dial snaps succinctly when transitioning and users will immediately know when new modes are being engaged without having to visually monitor adjustments. With this camera, smaller external controls are not as accessible, forcing users to take their eyes off the LCD to hunt for features such as the EX menu shortcut, burst/continuous shooting, menu, and display. The zoom ring that surrounds the shutter button had a tendency to jump rather dramatically when adjusted. Nuanced zoom control won’t be possible with this interface. The shutter button is well placed and large enough to enable quick snapshots without hassle. Initially concerned about the design of the four-way navigational ring, this external controller didn’t hinder navigation and wasn’t a problem during hurried maneuvering.  

Menu (7.5)
The Casio Exilim EX-Z850 has a number of shooting menu options including full and abbreviated menus. When the menu button on the back of the camera is pressed, a three column menu structure is displayed as text on a transparent live preview background. The three menus are Record, Quality and Setup and can be easily scanned using the four-way controller and set button. The Quality menu is the default menu and is initially displayed when the menu button is pressed. It provides users with the following options and settings.
 
Quality Menu
 
Size
8M, 6M (3:2), 6M, 4M, 2M, VGA
Still Image Quality
Fine, Normal, Economy
Movie Image Quality
HQ, Normal, LP
EV Shift
+/-2 EV with 1/3 step increments
White Balance
Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Day White, Tungsten, Manual
ISO
Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400
Metering
Multi, Center-Weighted, Spot
Filter
Off, B/W, Sepia, Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, Pink, Purple
Sharpness
+2, +1, 0, -1, -2
Saturation
+2, +1, 0, -1, -2
Contrast
+2, +1, 0, -1, -2
Flash Intensity
+2, +1, 0, -1, -2
Flash Assist
+2, +1, 0, -1, -2

 

To the left of the Quality menu is the Record menu. It provides users with the same text overlay on a live preview background which is found when entering the Quality menu structure. The Record menu provides users with the following control options. 
 
Record Menu
 
Self Timer
Off, 10 seconds, 2 seconds, x3
Anti Shake
Off, Auto
REC Light
Off, Auto, On
AF Area
Spot, Multi, Free
AF Assist Light
On, Off
L/R Key
EV shift, White Balance, ISO, Metering, Self-Timer, Off
Quick Shutter
On, Off
Audio Snap
On, Off
Grip
On, Off
Digital Zoom
On, Off
Review
On, Off
Icon Help
On, Off
Memory
Flash, Focus, White Balance, ISO, AF Area, Metering, Self-Timer, Flash Intensity, Digital Zoom, MF Position, Zoom Position

The third and final menu is the Setup menu located to the right of the Quality menu heading. The following camera settings can be manipulated by the user of the Casio Exilim EX-Z850. 
 
Set Up Menu
 
Screen
Auto 2, Auto 1, +2, +1, 0
Sounds
Startup, Half Shutter, Shutter, Operation, Operation Volume, Play Volume
Startup
Startup on, Startup off
File No.
Continuous, Reset
World Time
Home Set
Timestamp
Date, Date & Time, Off
Adjust
Adjust Date/Time
Date Style
YY/MM/DD, DD/MM/YY, MM/DD/YY
Language
Set Language
Sleep
30 sec., 1 min., 2 min., Off
Auto Power Off
2 min., 5 min.
REC/Play
Power On, Power On/Off, Disable
USB
Mass Storage (USB DIRECT-PRINT), PTP (PictBridge)
Video Out
NTSC, PAL
Format
Format, Cancel
Reset
Reset, Cancel

In addition to these full menus, the Casio Exilim EX-Z850 also has a shortcut shooting menu. It helps users avoid opening the lengthier Quality or Record menus. With the shortcut shooting menu, each option is listed as a tab along the bottom edge of the LCD screen. Scanning between control options is done with the left and right arrow. The up and down arrows alter the parameters of each individual option as they are highlighted. The options listed within the shortcut menu allows for access to these controls.
 
EX Shortcut Menu
 
Size
8M, 6M (3:2), 6M, 4M, 2M, VGA
White Balance
Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Day White, Tungsten, Manual
ISO
Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400
AF Area
Spot, Multi, Free

When in playback mode, the same menu button on the back of the camera used for shooting menu access can be used to access two separate menu tabs. The first tab is the Play tab and  provides the following control options.
 
Playback Menu
 
Slideshow
Images, Time, Interval, Effect, Cancel
Motion Print
9 frames, 1 frame, Cancel
Movie Editing
Cut Front, Cut Middle, Cut End, Cancel
Anti Shake Off
On, Off
Brightness
+2, +1, 0, -1, -2
Keystone
Correct Keystone In Images
Color Correction
Correct Color Error
Favorites
Show, Save, Cancel
DPOF
Select Images, All Images, Cancel
Protect
On, All Files: On, Cancel
Date/Time
0000/00/00, 00:00
Rotation
Rotate, Cancel
Resize
6M, 4M, VGA, Cancel
Trimming
1.1x to 8.0x
Dubbing
Shutter to Start
Copy
Copy Selected Images

Overall, the menu system is nicely organized but some users may be confused about finding the white balance options in two different menus.
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