Casio Exilim EX-Z850

Opinion: CASIO EX-Z850 is my first digital camera which i
bought it September 03, 2006, now i am still using it
without any problem, my CASIO EX-Z850 is now
updated with firmware 1.3b, I've used it for video
capture HQ/Normal/LP mode with unlimited video
recording time it depends on the capacity of SD/Mini-
SD with adapter or MicroSDHC with adapter i used, as
a still camera picture quality is excellent for me as a
beginner.

Opinion: Pleased overall with the level of features.

Opinion: If you're considering buying a Casio, you need to know why I'll never buy another Casio product again. I bought a Casio digital point and shoot about 6 months ago. I make my living as a photographer, I'm a gadget guy and I've owned dozens of point and shoots. I did a lot research and decided on the Casio. The features and design are great. Image quality is only average, but I can live with that.

I got it and was really happy with it for about 4 days. Then it wouldn't turn ON. I'd push the power button and it wouldn't turn ON for 10 - 30 seconds. So I sent it to Casio and they fixed it. ok.

I used it for a few months and was happy with it. Loved the features and design. Not thrilled about the image quality, but I could live with it.

A little more than a month ago I pushed the power button to turn the camera off and the thing freaked out. It made a weird beep or two. The lens tried to retract back into the body but failed. The screen went blank and never came back on. I DIDN'T TOUCH THE LENS BARREL.

So I wasn't happy but at least the thing was still under warranty, right? And I'd be happy after they fixed it again because it's a great camera when it works, right?

So I sent it to Casio and waited to get it back. 3 weeks later I got a repair estimate for $130. ??? They want to charge me to fix their defective product that's still under warranty? So I called their 1-800 number.

This is where it gets interesting. I called and spoke to a friendly person in the repair department. She told me they would have it reevaluated and she would call me back within 2 days. I waited 3 days and never received a call back. So I called again. Talked to another friendly person. She told me the same thing- they'd have it reevaluated and she'd call me back within 2 days. I waited 3 days and never received a call back. Called again. I was told the same thing. The friendly person on the other line apologized for not returning my calls like they said they would. She said she would call me back within 3 days. I waited 4 days with no call. Shame on me, huh?! So I called this past Friday to talk to somebody in charge... and ended up getting thrown into his voicemail... which was full.

That's why I'll never buy a Casio product again. I think I'm going to get a Fuji F30 tomorrow.

Opinion: I would like this camera greatly IF it gave me sharp still pictures but it doesn't even after a so-called lens assembly replacement by Casio UK. So it has gone back a second time.
I am not the only one to have had this problem ... see the Casio talk forum ... I am desperately hoping that they have fixed it this time.

Opinion: I recently got a Casio EX-Z850 for my birthday and uploaded the improved HQ video firmware, v1.1B, before putting it through its paces.

I did a lot of reading about the Z850 and Z750, which gets more favourable comments for both its photo and video quality, and I was very tempted to exchange it for the Z750, but didn't and don't mind that I didn't either.

The Z850 is my first digital camera and I'm impressed! The screen is big and bright, the battery life is immense and it's intuitive to use with all settings and modes quickly accessible. The picture quality is great and the HQ video is much better with the new firmware; the difference between both qualities on the Z850 and Z750 is very noticeable until the HQ firmware is applied, but you do lose 40% of the field of vision (just stand a bit further back). I've recorded for over 10 minutes in HQ mode, but that's since the firmware update and I never tried this before updating, so I'm not sure if this cap was removed with this firmware or if I just got lucky with my camera. NQ remains worse than the Z750. It's a very quick camera to use; from off I could turn it on and take a picture in a couple of seconds, which is ideal for those unexpected moments. The build quality feels sturdy and like it will survive lots of use. Overall I'm very happy and the quality is more than good enough for me.

As a still camera I would give it 5 for image quality, but taking into account the video quality, which was a strong point on the model this replaces, and despite the firmware fix for HQ only, I have given this category 4. The HQ video is now great, while NQ remains worse than the Z750.

28 April 2009 - I installed firmware 1.3B recently, which makes the HQ video mode's field of vision even narrower than previous firmware, but I haven't done any recording yet to see how the quality compares.

Opinion: smallest camera with manual control and optical finder. Good quality for pocket camera. Suitable for daytime candid shots, usable at low light. Better than Pentax Optio (which are brothers of Casio Exilimi).

Tip: in order to use more aperture values, put camera in S-mode (not A, since it gives only TWO available aperture settings) - You can see A-value on LCD, and could fine tune it.

Good for MPEG-4 video (with the latest firmware), but switch-off AntiShake, which is really bad. Good battery life. If you use tripod, attach metal adaptor permanently.

Opinion: Now after using using camera few month and testing several other cameras from my friends I can say Z850 is the best.
Pros
1. fast
2. looks nice
3. is small
4. Have manual controls
5. Easy to change Flash, Focus, ISO and other settings
6. Very long batery life.
7. Vell working with empty bateries.
8. The camera do not have optical stabilization.
9. Good Recording light.
10. metal body.
11. good focusing speed
12. have infinity focus
13. compact video files
14. Lots of toy modes (best shot)
15. easy and fast image delete

Camera was dropped several times on floor and still working.
The lens cover was broken. It was cost me 90 EUR repair.

Opinion: Good camera, with excellent features, image quality is for the paid money verry good.
Noise is visible up ISO 400.
Build quality is so so...the chrome plate around the camera (upside, near power button)
is loose....the glue seems to be poor there.
Movie mode after firmware update is good to verry good.
Overall an good run for the money.
Recommanded.

Opinion: Fits my needs as a carry-around perfectly. Small, soilidly built, aperture/shutter/manual modes, what's there not to like? I'm a D-SLR user, so I really appreciate having ASM modes in such a compact package (currently not much competition in the marketplace).

Don't get me wrong; it works great as a full auto camera (i.e. Auto mode or any of the Scene modes) but if you have a good understanding of exposure settings, this camera will do wonders.

Posted 2 sample photos in the Casio Talk forum (see " EX-Z850 - Call me a happy customer" thread). Other samples can be seen at:

fotop.net/teruphoto/Casio_Z850