Casio QV-4000 Review: 5. Operation & Controls: Digital Photography Review

Top of camera controls

The top of the QV-4000 is an array of dials. On the left is the unique double layered settings dial, this allows you to select between exposure mode (inner dial) and drive mode (outer dial). This dial can seem a little fiddly at first, the main problem is that the outer dial isn't stiff enough and so it's easy to occasionally turn both dials together. On the right side of the camera is the power / mode dial and shutter release, below this is the "selector dial" which is used in conjunction with other buttons to change settings or for example in aperture priority mode to select the aperture.

Power / Mode Dial

OFF	Power Off Switches the camera off, retracts lens if extended. If there are still images in the cameras internal buffer it will display a 'please wait' warning on the LCD,the lens will retract once this process is complete.
	Play mode Enter play mode, last image taken or last image on the CF card is displayed. Lens will not be extend if not already extended.
	Record mode Enter record mode, lens extends and live view appears (if enabled).

Buttons

	Flash mode Cycle through the cameras flash modes: • Auto • Fill-In (forced on) • Flash cancel • Auto with redeye reduction
	Self-timer mode Select self-timer mode: • Off • Self-timer (10 sec) • Self-timer (2 sec)
MENU	Menu Enter or leave the current mode menu (record or play modes).

Exposure mode dial (inner dial)

BS	Best Shot mode In this mode the camera offers you a selection of 5 built-in and 100 additional (if installed on CF card) scene modes. Each mode programs the cameras exposure and focus settings to best suit that type of scene. Built in 'best shot' modes (100 more supplied with camera): • People • Scenery • Flowers • Night Scenes • Soft Focus
A	Automatic Exposure Camera has complete control over exposure, point-and-shoot operation, the majority of manual features are disabled, you can't alter exposure compensation, enter the camera menu or change focus or flash settings. The only items which can be changed are: drive mode, self-timer mode.
P	Program Auto Exposure Very similar to AUTO exposure but you have access to all the normal manual controls, exposure compensation, flash mode, metering etc. A half-press of the shutter release and the camera will autofocus (if enabled), indicate either green or red for a good focus lock and display the metered exposure on screen. The QV-4000 does not have a program shift mode (the ability to select equiv. exposures in program mode). Minimum shutter speed is 1/8 sec.
A	Aperture Priority Auto Exposure In this mode you select the aperture and the camera will attempt to select the best shutter speed for a proper exposure. Aperture is displayed on the top and rear LCD, roll the selector dial to select different apertures. A half-press of the shutter release causes the cameras exposure system to calculate the shutter speed (minimum 1/8 sec). If the exposure is outside the cameras exposure range the aperture and shutter speed will appear in RED on the LCD monitor. Available apertures: • F2.0, F2.3, F2.8, F4.0, F5.6, F8.0 (Oddly the QV-4000 allows you to select a maximum aperture of F2.0 at telephoto, this should be F2.5).
S	Shutter Priority Auto Exposure In this mode you select the shutter speed and the camera will attempt to select the best aperture for a proper exposure. Shutter speed is displayed on the top and rear LCD, roll the selector dial to select different shutter speeds. A half-press of the shutter release causes the cameras exposure system to calculate the aperture. If the exposure is outside the cameras exposure range the shutter speed and aperture will appear in RED on the LCD monitor. Available shutter speeds: • 1/1000, 1/800, 1/640, 1/500, 1/400, 1/320, 1/250, 1/200, 1/160, 1/125, 1/100, 1/80, 1/60, 1/50, 1/40, 1/30, 1/25, 1/20, 1/15, 1/13, 1/10, 1/8, 1/6, 1/5, 1/4, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.8, 1, 1.3, 1.6, 2, 2.5, 3.2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 13, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60 secs, Bulb At shutter speeds of 1 second or slower the camera automatically enables noise reduction (subtraction of a dark frame).
M	Full Manual Exposure In this mode you select the aperture and the shutter speed from any combination of the above. Push the control button (rear) left and right to select shutter speed, roll the selector dial to select aperture. As you alter the exposure the LCD monitor changes to approximately reflect the look of the final image. There is no meter display.

Drive mode dial (outer dial)

AEB	Auto Exposure Bracket In this mode you can program the camera to take 3 or 5 frames exposed above and below the metered (or programmed) exposure by 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 or 1.0 EV. For example a setting of 5 images @ 0.3 EV would produce 5 images the following exposure compensation applied to each image: 0.0 EV, -0.3 EV, +0.3 EV, -0.7 EV, +0.7 EV.
	Continuous Drive mode Switches to continuous shooting mode. In this mode you hold down the shutter release button and the camera will take shots as quickly as it can until the internal buffer is full (test later in the review). If you continue to hold the shutter release the camera will take a shot as soon as there is space in the buffer.
	Single Drive mode Normal single-shot drive mode, a single press and hold of the shutter release takes one shot.
	Movie clip mode Shoots short movie clips of up to 30 seconds at 320 x 240 resolution. No audio is recorded.
	Panorama mode Allows you to shoot up to 10 frames which will be used to make up a panorama. The camera locks white balance and exposure after the first frame and automatically displays a small portion of the previous frame on the left side of the LCD live view.

Best Shot Modes

As mentioned above the QV-4000 has 5 pre-installed 'best shot' scene modes and another 100 on the supplied CD-ROM. Simply load these scene modes into a 'SCENE' directory on your compact flash card and you'll have access to all 100 scene modes. As a preview of what's available we are providing a 1300 x 1500 contact sheet of all modes.

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