- Reviews
- Canon PowerShot S90 Point and Shoot
- Panasonic Lumix GF1 Digital SLR
- Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 Point and Shoot
- Kodak EasyShare Z950 Point and Shoot
- Canon PowerShot SX120 IS Point and Shoot
- Nikon Coolpix L100 Point and Shoot
- Nikon D3000 Digital SLR
- Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-HX1 Point and Shoot
- Nikon Coolpix P90 Point and Shoot
- Canon SX1 IS Point and Shoot
- More...
- Ratings
- Brands
- Types
- DSLR Video
- Prices
- News
- Ethics
- How We Test
-
Advertisement
| Recently Viewed Products | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Top Point & Shoot Cameras | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Max Price: $1020
Filters
|
 |
|
|
| Exilim EX-Z850 Prices |
|---|
| Latest Camera Reviews | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| External Reviews |
|---|
LaptopMag Casio Exilim Zoom EX-Z850PC Mag Casio Exilim EX-Z850DCResource Review: Casio Exilim EX-Z850DPReview Casio Exilim EX-Z850 Review |
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.
It is possible to scan images through the four-way controller as either single frames, nine images or in a calendar format. If wishing to view individual images in a slideshow format, the user can engage the slideshow option within the Playback menu. The amount of control over the slideshow feature is interesting and will be helpful to many usersas it includes choices on included images, time of display, interval rate and transition effect.
The motion print feature enables users to select either one or nine still image frames. The one frame option is far more usable if printing or publishing is wanted for the future. Unlike images which were originally captures as stills, still image frame grabs from video; however, files cannot have their settings such as rotation, color correction, white balance and trim altered.
The movie editing control allows cropping movies by either cutting from the front, center or end of the clip. The user sets in and out points for the edited footage by pressing the down arrow and scanning left and right along the horizontal time bar located on the bottom of the LCD screen. Although this would be time intensive for trying to edit numerous or lengthy video files, the in-camera editing of video files will take less time than uploading footage into an editing software platform.
Other features like white balance and brightness work well on still images but the Keystone and Color Correction options need some work. The Keystone feature worked okay but had a tendency to crop and zoom too much to really be used with success. Unfortunately, the color correction option is not actually an option. When the user selects color correction from the playback menu, the camera will most likely state that it “Cannot correct image!” Personal distaste for unwarranted exclamation points aside, most of the images that were used to test this control were in dire need of color correction. When an image finally was accepted for color correction, the camera displayed the trim frame used in keystone correction and then corrected the image for keystone problems. This hardware problem not only appears on the EX-Z850 but also the EX-Z1000.
Custom Image Presets (7.5)
The custom image presets for the Casio Exilim EX-Z850 are extensive and to be quite honest, excessive and somewhat unnecessary. Preset shooting modes are intended to simplify the shooting experience for users by providing a quick and easily identifiable preset that matches the general parameters of a scene. The ease and simplicity of preset modes quickly disappears with the overwhelming multitude of “unique” settings. The menu structure is simple to navigate but with 34 offerings on three screens of thumbnails it takes just as much time to choose a preset as it would to manually set the camera. A more conscientious selection should emerge that doesn’t reflect the current “everything but the kitchen sink” mentality shown with the Z850. Settings for this camera let users select from the following scene parameters once the mode dial is turned to the Best Shot mode and the set button at the center of the four-way control is pressed: 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, Anti Shake, High Sensitivity, Pastel, Illustration, Cross, Monochrome, Retro, Twilight, ID Photo, Old Photo, Business Cards and Documents, White Board and Best Shot Register User Scene. The register user scene mode allows users to select previously captured images to serve as additional setting referents for additional modes. This user controlled preset mode can add up to 999 scene modes to the camera memory, so the menu can expand even longer.
Other features like white balance and brightness work well on still images but the Keystone and Color Correction options need some work. The Keystone feature worked okay but had a tendency to crop and zoom too much to really be used with success. Unfortunately, the color correction option is not actually an option. When the user selects color correction from the playback menu, the camera will most likely state that it “Cannot correct image!” Personal distaste for unwarranted exclamation points aside, most of the images that were used to test this control were in dire need of color correction. When an image finally was accepted for color correction, the camera displayed the trim frame used in keystone correction and then corrected the image for keystone problems. This hardware problem not only appears on the EX-Z850 but also the EX-Z1000.
Custom Image Presets (7.5)
The custom image presets for the Casio Exilim EX-Z850 are extensive and to be quite honest, excessive and somewhat unnecessary. Preset shooting modes are intended to simplify the shooting experience for users by providing a quick and easily identifiable preset that matches the general parameters of a scene. The ease and simplicity of preset modes quickly disappears with the overwhelming multitude of “unique” settings. The menu structure is simple to navigate but with 34 offerings on three screens of thumbnails it takes just as much time to choose a preset as it would to manually set the camera. A more conscientious selection should emerge that doesn’t reflect the current “everything but the kitchen sink” mentality shown with the Z850. Settings for this camera let users select from the following scene parameters once the mode dial is turned to the Best Shot mode and the set button at the center of the four-way control is pressed: 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, Anti Shake, High Sensitivity, Pastel, Illustration, Cross, Monochrome, Retro, Twilight, ID Photo, Old Photo, Business Cards and Documents, White Board and Best Shot Register User Scene. The register user scene mode allows users to select previously captured images to serve as additional setting referents for additional modes. This user controlled preset mode can add up to 999 scene modes to the camera memory, so the menu can expand even longer.
The Z850 is one of the first Casio digital cameras to include the eBay Best Shot mode. This mode activates the auto macro mode for product photography and outputs images at the optimal 2 MB file size for perfect eBay uploading straight from the camera.
| Page 6 of 12 | Control Options | ||
Advertisement