Value (5.75)
When the Casio Z850 was introduced in February 2006, it came with a retail price of $399. In October, the retail price was listed as $349 on the manufacturer’s web site. This price category is very popular among point-and-shoots, but the Z850 is one of the few to include manual control. While it does have more control, this camera skimps on the resolution of the LCD screen. Other manufacturers like Kodak keep high-resolution displays on their slim digital cameras in this price range, so there’s no reason Casio - a premier LCD manufacturer - should hold back. The Casio Exilim EX-Z850 is competitively priced but it is up to consumers to decide which features are most important and whether the Z850 has them.
Comparisons
 Casio Exilim EX-Z750 - The Casio Exilim EX-Z750 was released in March 2005 with an initial price tag of $449.99 and can now be found online and in stores for markedly less. The EX-Z750 has the same aluminum body and functional design found with the new Z850. The imager has slightly less resolution with 7.41 MP but the same 3x optical zoom and 2.5-inch, 115k LCD can be found. Users will find a lengthy list of preset shooting modes and manual control over focus, white balance, exposure compensation and others. This model has 8.3 MB of internal memory and accepts additional SD/MMC format memory cards.
.jpg) Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W100 - Like the Casio Exilim EX-Z850, the Sony Cyber-shot W100 was unveiled earlier in 2006 and features an 8 MP CCD, a similarly small and useless optical viewfinder, a 2.5 inch LCD with 115,000 pixels and a 3x optical zoom lens. This camera doesn’t have the manual controls and while ISO does extend to 1250, the resulting noise is an obvious issue. Other manual controls found with this digital camera include exposure compensation, metering, shutter speed and aperture. Unfortunately, the user will need to rely on preset or auto white balance settings since a custom option is not available with this camera. The W100 retails for $349 and has the same basic components with increased sensitivity for low light shooting.
.jpg) Nikon Coolpix S4 - Retailing for fifty dollars more, the Nikon Coolpix S4 sets itself apart from the Z850 and other compact cameras by featuring a twisting camera body design that was originally found with the Nikon Coolpix 900 series camera. Improvements over the Casio include a 10x optical zoom lens and 13.5 MB of internal memory. Downgrades include a 2.5 inch LCD with lower resolution, an unimpressive movie mode, fewer in-camera editing options and a 6.4 MP CCD. Manual controls are under-whelming with users only having access to white balance, ISO, and exposure compensation. While these setbacks are hard to ignore in comparison to other models, the Nikon does score points when it comes to the unique design that allows lots of zoom in a compact form. This may be enough to garner the eye of consumers not intrigued by the admittedly dull Z850.
 Olympus Stylus 800 - With an original retail price of approximately fifty dollars more than the Z850, the Olympus Stylus 800 is weather-proofed with an under-whelming styling and an 8 MP CCD comparable to the Z850. The camera has 22 preset shooting modes which should comfortably handle most general shooting situations. The LCD screen is the only viewing option and with only 2.5 inches like the Z850, the Stylus 800 does have a far more impressive 215,000 pixels. The control options for this digital camera leans toward the point-and-shoot user with no manual focus, two metering modes, EV compensation, no white balance and an ISO to 400 at full resolution (diminished resolution for settings of 800 and 1600). Shutter speed is manually controllable although with a smaller range than the Z850 and aperture can be controlled when shooting with the aperture priority setting.
Who It’s For
Point-and-Shooters – These consumers will find the Best Shot scene modes and the Snapshot mode to be simple and geared towards beginners. The great advantage this camera has over purely point-and-shoot models in the sub-$400 range is the inclusion of manual controls that point-and-shooters can transition into over time at their own pace.
Budget Consumers – The budget consumer will find this camera to be an interesting option due to the inclusion of manual control options which span the gamut of options in addition to a live-preview menu interface and simple control layout. The retail price is advertised as $349, but it can be found online for as low as $228.
Gadget Freaks – There really aren’t innovative features on the Casio Exilim EX-Z850 that will grab the attention of the gadget freak. It’s a straight-forward compact camera with manual controls and a point-and-shoot friendly interface for novice users.
Manual Control Freaks – This camera does come with manual controls that enable beginners to experiment with at their own pace. If looking for a compact digital camera with manual controls, the Z850 should impress with extensive controls over focus, metering, flash and flash intensity, white balance, shutter speed, ISO, aperture and exposure compensation.
Pros/ Serious Hobbyists – With the marginal image quality produced by the Z850, there’s little reason for a pro or serious hobbyist to look at this sub-$400 primarily point-and-shoot pocket digital camera, even as a portable pocket model.
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