Casio Exilim Zoom EX-Z850

Casio packs eight megapixels of resolution, an “antishake” DSP, a ton of manual options, plus 34 Best Shot scene modes into the Exilim Zoom EX-Z850.

 

A bright 2.5-inch LCD fills most of the back of this compact 5.6-ounce camera, along with several tiny buttons and a dial for switching among still camera settings (Manual Exposure, Aperture AE, Shutter Speed AE), movie recording, and voice recording functions.

 

The highlight is the Best Shot setting, which offers traditional options like Portrait, Scenery, and Pet, plus new functions like Old Photo. In this mode, you take a picture of a photo that's showing its age, and the EX-Z850 refreshes the faded colors.

 

If you sell stuff on eBay, you'll like the built-in eBay Best Shot mode. It automatically resizes and optimizes photos before you upload them onto the online merchant's site. The low-res snaps looked fine for use online and loaded very quickly when we uploaded one to a mock auction.

 

Unlike many recent digicams, the EX-Z850 features a miniature viewfinder if you want to save some battery power. Battery life isn't much of an issue for this device (it takes a rated 440 shots per charge), but we wish you didn't have to take the docking cradle along just to charge the camera.

 

The EX-Z850 was ready to take our first pic within two seconds; the time between shots was also speedy (a lightning-fast shutter lag of only 0.003 seconds). Most of the snaps we took looked decent with fairly accurate colors. However, when we pushed the EX-Z850 to get in closer, our images started to get distorted. In Macro mode (used for close-ups), the EX-Z850 zoomed fairly close but not as tightly as others we've tested.

 

The EX-Z850 offers several modes for shooting MPEG-4 video. Unfortunately, even at the highest resolution and frame rate (VGA, 30 fps), the clips weren't very sharp. Playback was smooth but we noticed some pixilation. 

 

Most users looking for a versatile point-and-shoot camera will look past the EX-Z850's minor flaws and fall in love with its treasure trove of functions. This camera is powerful enough for seasoned photographers but simple enough for novices to grow into.