Casio's Exilim EX-Z850 Reviewed at DigitalReviews

[Damion Chaplin]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://digitalreviews.net/reviews/200606/casio-exilim-z850-1.html' target='_blank'>http://digitalreviews.net/reviews/200606/casio-exilim-z850-1.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Casio announced the Exilim EX-Z850 on Feb 21 this year to replace its previous top model, the Z750. For this initial review I’ll do something different: I’m going through the Features List from the press release for the Casio Exilim EX-Z850 step by step as this contains an excellent guide to what the Z850 is all about. With every step I’ll tell you my observations. So you’ll be able to see how marketing hype stacks up with user reality. And, as usual, we’ll have plenty of illustrations and pics to complement the story. For bandwidth reasons we’ll limit these to small, Saved for Web, JPGs with a couple of exceptions where you can click on the image for a decent enlargement. This is not a high-tech, count-the-pixels review for three good reasons: we look at the QfM (Quality for Money) factor; the Casio Exilim EX-Z850 is aimed at the Point &amp; Shoot market where user-friendliness is key; in-depth and comparative reviews (which we do as well) take heaps of time over sometimes many months. With these provisos behind us, let’s click away."</i><br /><br /> <img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/casioexilimz850.jpg" /> <br /><br />Although he says it's not an in-depth review, it's certainly no Quick Look. :wink: The EX-Z850 looks like a really nice $400 P&amp;S camera. I could really go for that anti-shake DSP! I'm glad to see it becoming more common on mid-range cameras (since that's what I'm most likely to buy next). A very informative (albeit somewhat disjointed) review. Check it out!

[Phoenix]

This is a bit of older news. Casio came out with their Z1000 not that long ago, as the successor to this.

You can read a review of the 1000 here. (http://www.letsgodigital.org/en/camera/review/94/page_1.html)

[Damion Chaplin]

The camera was released in February, the review was published on 6/10. The camera may be older, but the 'news' isn't. :)

[bwaibel]

This is a bit of older news. Casio came out with their Z1000 not that long ago, as the successor to this.


The Z1000 doesn't really appear to be a successor to the z850 at all. As a picture taker (i'll leave the term photographer to a more deserving lot) who is used to having a little bit of control over his camera, I have yet to find a substitute for the ease of use of my ex-z750, you just can't beat the dial. Over a 2-3 minute span I can take a snapshot, see if any of the best shot settings match the scene, switch over to manual and set up a medium long shutter with flash to expose a dark scene and close subject and then flip right to video and use up the remaining minute or two. All of this while holding a baby in my left arm. I haven't tried the x1000 but the ui looks almost identical to the s600 which is not nearly as easy to use as my z750. I am absolutely in love with it. I hardly ever take my D70 out any more except when the point of going out is photography. We just finished a 2 week trip in Mexico, over 600 pictures taken on a single charge, and I use front flood flash in almost every sunny portrait. If I wasn't still so happy with my camera, i'd buy the z850 in a second, sounds like a great set of improvments.

[Phoenix]

The camera was released in February, the review was published on 6/10. The camera may be older, but the 'news' isn't. :)

That particular review is new, yes, but I had only mentioned the news was older because I had read reviews and so much about this camera two or three months back. Technology moves too fast... :crazyeyes:

[Phoenix]

The Z1000 doesn't really appear to be a successor to the z850 at all.

Perhaps, but I suggested that it was, only because it doesn't seem to be the successor to anything else in Casio's line based on the specs and naming convention ("Z" proceeding the model number (which is also higher in value), and the fact that Casio places it in their "Exilim Zoom" line, of which the S600 is not). Not to mention, it has all the features that the 750 and 850 have and more, but without the optical viewfinder (and who really uses that anyway?), and yes, it doesn't have the dial (which I like on my 750). Certainly a Casio rep could shed further light on this.

Comparing to other two, the Z1000 has higher res (more of the pixel wars), a larger, brighter, higher res LCD, anti-shake DSP (like the 850), and the same sensor size, approximate dimensions, speed, and battery life, and from what I can see, seems like it improves on many things that the 750/850 do, although I'm wondering if the photos would be quite a bit more noisy.

...you just can't beat the dial.

Again, with the missing dial, it seems they could have kept it even with the larger screen. But you're right, that is really handy to have.

I owned a 750, used the 850 (which is better in certain ways), and went back to the 750 (better video). But I'm considering the Z1000. I'll have to hear more about its overall performance, and so far, I've heard nothing about its video quality.