Front
The all-metal front of the Z850 continues the Casio style of smooth brushed metal and beveled edges so the camera doesn’t appear too boxy. Dominating the front of the camera is the model’s 3x zoom lens which is flush with the body when powered down and telescopes out when fired up. In the upper left-hand corner of the camera are the Z850’s focusing light and its optical viewfinder – the later an endangered species in cameras this small. On the middle top left is the flash which, while close to the lens, is just a tad further out than on most cameras this small. Hopefully the wide placement will reduce the preponderance of red-eye. In the middle of the front is a half-diamond cutout with the camera’s imager size on it. Above that is the Casio branding and at the bottom, the EXILIM logo.
Back
The design of the back of the camera also doesn’t to have changed much after several iterations – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, we suppose. Most of the metal rear section is taken up by the 2.5-inch LCD. On the left side of the back, it’s almost a shock to see a little porthole for the optical viewfinder, considering that most small camera models have done away with this feature. At the top of the LCD on the right are the playback button and the mode buttons. On the right is the control dial with eight straightforward icons marking the settings – another enduring and endearing Casio trait. Below the dial are the menu button and the multi-controller. At the very bottom is the display button.
On the left edge of the rear of the camera are a button for setting the continuous shooting mode and the “EX” button, which allows for one-touch manual adjustment of multiple camera settings on one screen.
Left
The left side of the camera has four screws to hold the two metal plates together and a small speaker for playing back sound in movies and audio clips. The left rear side – as stated above – also has a continuous shooting mode button and the EX button.
Right
The right side of the camera also has four screws to bolt the two metal sections together and a raised chrome lug for the hand strap.
Top
On the top of the camera on the right is a big chrome zoom lever with a chrome shutter release button in the middle. Next to it on the left is a small on/off button. In etched letters on a light silver band across the top, going from left to right, it states the megapixel capability of the model and the model’s name.
Bottom
The bottom of the camera has a sliding door for the battery and an SD memory card slot. There’s also a metal tripod mount and port to connect to the included dock.
