Casio Exilim EX-Z850

Auto Mode (7.0)
The auto mode on the Casio Exilim EX-Z850 allows users to shoot with all controls in full auto or to individually alter manual parameters which control exposure compensation, white balance, metering, focus and ISO, in addition to digital filters, auto focus area and flash parameters. The auto mode does have a momentary delay as the camera adjusts settings before image capture. Users may find it necessary to shoot in continuous capture mode during moments of candid photography. Although this camera doesn’t have a designated "Easy" mode, the auto mode on this camera model should appeal to a novice user.  If settings become too complicated or muddled during capture, the user can quickly reset everything back to its default setting by turning the camera off and then on. 

Movie Mode (7.0)
The movie mode allows users of the Casio Exilim EX-Z850 to shoot in several resolution and frame rate permutations. The movie mode quality settings can be adjusted within the Quality menu. The MPEG-4 movie mode options for the Z850 are HQ (640 x 480 resolution at 30 fps and an approximate file size of 4.0 MB/sec), Normal (640 x 480 at 30 fps with an approximate file size of 2.1 MB/sec), and LP (320 x 240 at 15 fps with an approximate file size of 745 KB/sec). The recording duration of the camera is limited only by available memory and power. The movie mode can be engaged by turning the mode dial to the movie camera icon. Settings in movie mode can be adjusted prior to shooting. Capturing video files is done by pressing the shutter button. Available time remaining and current time captured are displayed in the upper right corner of the LCD.

In addition to the standard movie mode setup, the Casio Exilim EX-Z850 also comes with a Best Shot Movie Mode option that is directly on the mode dial beside the movie mode option. This mode offers a handful of presets that cover the following general parameters: Portrait, Fireworks, Silent, Scenery, Backlight, Short movie, Night scene, High sensitivity and Past movie. The Past movie option is unique to Casio digital cameras; it records the 5 seconds prior to the shutter release button being pressed, so users will never miss the surprise moment. The Z850 has an electronic image stabilization system that doesn’t work nearly as well as an optical setup, but is better than nothing at all.

Audio quality for this digital camera is monaural and suffers from handling and camera noise when capturing. Manual controls like exposure and white balance are available when shooting while manual focus can be adjusted prior to beginning video capture. Zoom can be adjusted during recording, although users will find the resulting footage degrades quickly because only digital zoom is available when recording video. Zoom levels can be adjusted optically before recording but once recording begins the zoom will switch to a digital zoom only format.  Movies can be edited in playback mode with cropping applied to the front, middle or end of video clips. The camera has a Motion Print function that randomly extracts still images from a file for printing.

Drive / Burst Mode (6.0)
The Casio Z850 digital camera has a few burst modes available from a slim button on a transition platform between the rear and left panels. The button isn’t the easiest to access, but it’s better than wading among menu options. The following modes can be found there: Normal, High speed, Flash continuous, Zoom, and Multi. The normal burst mode shoots only one frame per second, but can fill up the memory card like this. The high speed mode is considerably faster, but only snaps three shots and takes awhile to write them to the memory card. The flash continuous, also called Rapid Flash, is a new feature to the Casio lineup. This snaps three pictures in one second and uses the flash in all three; this is very unique, as most cameras disable the flash in the burst mode. The zoom mode snaps two pictures with one push of the shutter release button; the second picture is digitally enlarged in the center; this is hardly worth using. The multi burst mode snaps 25 tiny pictures and stitches them into a single image file.

Playback Mode (6.25)
The playback mode for the Casio Exilim EX-Z850 lets users engage in a number of in-camera viewing and editing options prior to exporting still or video images to a personal computer, printer or external viewing monitor.  The playback mode can be quickly accessed by pressing the Playback button, prominently positioned on the back of the camera, above the right corner of the LCD screen.