- Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 48 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
-
41 out of 41 people found this review helpful
5.0 stars
"FINALLY the ideal digital camera"
Pros: beautiful images, bright LCD, lightweight, powerful manual controls, programmable buttons, beautiful interface, easy navigation
Cons: not a huge fan of the dock; wish it came with a simple case; limited optical zoom
Summary: I love this camera. This is the 5th digital camera i have bought since 1999. I have had 2 from the Nikon Coolpix line, one from the Sony DSC line, the Canon PowerShot line, Minolta Dimage 7i, and this is the first time that I have been able to get so much power packed into such a small package, at a very very reasonable price.
The quality is sharp, the action is very fast. I bought a 4GB SD Card and can capture 40 mins of 640x480 MPEG4 video, or over 400 shots at the highest quality. I can adjust not only aperture and shutter speed, but also, ISO, white balance, Gain. You can edit pix and video right in the camera and there are some fun features that I'm still discovering. The multiple levels of flash power is a plus, as is the LED camera light that is surprisingly useful in low-light situations.
I shot a 25 min video and projected it with the RCA output from the docking station into a projector for an advanced video class and the quality was shockingly clear and good picture/color quality.
The manual focus was tough to figure out at first, as it zooms in to allow a clearer focus, but while in MF mode simply pressing left or right on the dial will adjust the focus. I use it more for fine-tuning after an auto focus; but have generally found that the focus metering (with many options) was quite acurate and did not constantly re-focus like I've seen on so many cameras.
Let me say it again; I am completely amazed at this camera's capabilities. And don't be intimidated if you just want snapshots; I would still think that it's completely worth while if I didn't even care about the manual capabilities. It is VERY easy to use in fully automatic. And its unbelievable that you can get this camera for $350. I have been looking for a camera that I can keep on me all the time and be able to shoot digital pictures or video on moments notice, and finally, here it is. I swear I feel like I've been waiting for this camera to come out for 5 years.
I wish it came with a soft case though, as I'm a bit paranoid about scratching the LCD screen.
- 8 replies to this review
-
Marqo,
Recently I had purchased Casio EX-S600 camera and I was so impressed with some of cool features in it. But it was making noise while setting a focus and it was taking little extra time set focus once you press shutter button. So I have to return it back and now I am thinking to buy this camera EX-Z850. Before making final decision I want to check either following features are available in this camera also as they are there in EX-S600:
- Do we have option to record small voice clip after we take photo?
- Can we shut off the display screen when we take photo with viewfinder to save battery life in case of emergency?
- Can I take photos while recording video?
- Can we change the setting to display the photo for ?n? second before camera is ready to take next shot?
- Does it record the few seconds movie in buffer and if u like it, you can record it on SD card?
Thanks
@shish daga -
I have had the EX-Z850 for just a week and I am amazed at its prowess. I had a Pentax Optio SV, but the shutter lag was a great problem capturing shots of an energetic and fast grandchild! I researched cameras with fast shutters and the choice was between the Casio and a Canon (4x zoom). Casio won on price and its staggering range of features. I have since discvered a great number of rave reviews. PS you need a fast card (133x) for this one!! Greeting from Sydney /Oz.
-
According to the Casio specs on thier site you should get 4gig X 4 X 8 min = about 2 hours. I have seen several reviews stating that people only get 20 min/gig not the 30 min/gig that you should according to thier specs when using highest quality mpeg 4 encoding. But this is the first report I have read of getting only 10 minutes/gig. Is your SD disk really formatted to give you the full 4 gig under the fat32 file system? You often need a flash bios upgrade to get that. Otherwise you are using only a fat formated card which has a 2 gig max. That would explain why you are getting half the storage others get.
-
I have had super results with this camera. To protect the screen, I bought a pack of PDA Screen Protectors. The down side are the bubbles that are unavoidable when placing the film over the screen. Even if you are careful, the film may lift off in use. Had a problem with an ebay spare battery that required a "Reset" so I recommend only using an OEM Casio battery. Amazon has very good pricing for OEM Casio cases.
-
Marqo, Great review. I'm thinking of getting this camera for it's video qualities but have heard that some cameras do not have very good video quality. Any chance you could send me a short video clip so I can see the quality for myself. Thanks
cnet at robbate dot com -
Thanx for good overview++. Besides buying the camera, also got a 4 GB card. Had a hard time finding info on that subject.
Thanx again,
PB -
The power button has a mind of it's own, and it behaves very badly in your pocket if left unguarded. I've got the earlier version of this camera and the best thing I could find for it was an iPod sport case for one of the earlier models. You just have to remove the clip. It adds a quarter inch to the camera but it's a nice, snug fit.
-
thanks! I had been looking for this exact camera and the price is right in my range. usually when something seems to good to be true it is, but this is for real. I'm in school as of now but when I get out for the summer and start making some money, this will promptly be ordered. thanks!
drew shrock
Where to buy
Casio Exilim EX-Z850:
$349.00
| store | price | in stock? | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Amazon.com Marketplace
|
$349.00 | Yes |
|
