Casio Exilim EX-Z850 Review

The Casio Exilim EX-Z850 is an eight megapixel digital camera with a three times optical zoom lens. It is small enough to fit into a medium sized pocket.

What marks the Exilim EX-Z850 out from other similar digital cameras is the fact it has manual exposure controls. If you prefer you can still use this camera as a fully automatic model, but the controls are there for anyone who likes to take greater control over the way the final photo appears.

This camera also has a mode that can help you to take photos for auction sites such as Ebay.

I was very happy with the quality of the test photos I was able to take with the Exilim EX-Z850. The camera performs well in all areas including those tricky indoor shots in poor light.

Starting off by looking at the outdoor scenic shots the images are sharply focused compared to most rival digital cameras without quite matching the very best. In the main focusing also stays sharp towards the edges of the photos. Another area where the Exilim EX-Z850 is able to outperform many of its rivals is in its ability to bring out detail in both light and dark areas. This is especially noticeable with the white boats and also the white wooden slates just below the roof of the building in the first test shot.

In terms of colours there is a pleasing natural feel to the scenes. The scenes are a fair reflection as to how they appeared on the day.

This also shows in the dedicated test for colours. All the colours have about the right level to them. Reds, blues, greens and yellows all show as strong, bright colours without being overpowering.

Looking at the outdoor portrait the camera adds a very warm glow to the shot. The picture was taken in the shade so I used the shade white balance setting to help the camera along. If anything the camera gives the photo a little too much extra warmth. Personally I would rather the camera did this then produced a more stark result.

Moving indoors I am delighted with the results. The test shot of beer bottles taken in more or less complete darkness produces a very sharply focused photo. It is also quite light when the conditions are taken into account.

The indoor portrait also works very well. Some digital cameras experience difficulty focusing for this shot as the light is not perfect. The Exilim EX-Z850 produces a very sharp and clear photo. The other important test in this shot is the level of red eye. This camera manages to control the level of red eye well. Although there is a small amount showing it is a lot better than the vast majority of small, pocket sized digital cameras.

Next up is the macro shot. This is another success story. The shot is sharp and clear. In fact it is one of the better macro shots I have produced.

The final test is for high ISO settings. You may wish to use these settings in lowlight where you cannot use flash. The test result taken at ISO 400 is roughly average compared to other digital cameras. There is a clear loss of quality and I would only suggest using this setting when it is the only way to get the picture.

I was able to take a single photo in 0.28 seconds and five shots in 12.43 seconds. These are both average times.

You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.

The 3x optical zoom lens has a focal length equivalent to 38 to 114mm in 35mm format. There is also an 8x digital zoom feature.

For focusing there is a choice between spot and multiple (nine) point focusing. You can also select manual focusing. For close up work the camera can focus from 10cms away from the subject.

There are a very wide range of predefined scene modes available. When you select a scene mode you indicate to the camera the type of photo you are about to take. The camera will then select what it believes to be the optimum settings for the type of shot. The scene modes available are: portrait, scenery, portrait with scenery, children, sports, candlelight portrait, party, pet, flower, natural green, autumn leaves, soft flowing water, splashing water, sundown, night scene, night scene portrait, fireworks, food, text, collection, auction, backlight, anti shake, high sensitivity, pastel, illustration, cross, monochrome, retro, twilight, ID photo, old photo, business cards and documents, white board and custom scene.

For composing images you can choose between an optical viewfinder and a 2.5" LCD screen. The screen is made up of around 115,200 pixels. It is also used to display useful information such as a low battery warning, the space available on your memory card and also a histogram. Testing a number of digital cameras at the same time the LCD screen on the Exilim EX-Z850 really stood out as being bright, clear and easy to see compared to most other brands.

The built in flash unit has a maximum range of 4.3m. This falls to around 2.4m when the zoom lens is in use. If you choose to use high power flash this increases the range of the flash to 12m. The drawback is that the photo will have an ISO rating of 1600. This will lead to a loss of picture quality. The flash modes available are Auto, Flash On, Flash Off, High Power Flash, Soft Flash and Red Eye Reduction.

For printing 6x4" photos there is a special capture mode. This selects an aspect ratio of 3:2 and means there is no need for the photo to be trimmed to fit on the paper.

To add interest to a photo there are a number of colour filters you can apply. These are black and white, sepia, red, green, blue, yellow, pink and purple. You can also adjust levels of sharpness, contrast and saturation.

There is also a anti shake setting you can use. This can be useful when taking picture in lowlight when you are handholding the camera.

After a photo has been taken you can make a small copy, crop the image or add a short voice memo to it. You can also use the Exilim EX-Z850 as a straightforward voice recorder.

For when you would like to appear in the photo there is a self timer. The delay can be set to either two or ten seconds. There is also a function that lets you reel off three photos at the end of the delay period.

One of the key attractions of the Exilim EX-Z850 is that it offers manual exposure. Shutter priority and aperture priority modes are available as well. Apertures can be switched between f2.8 and f4 (wide angle) and f5.1 and f7.4. Shutter speeds can be set in the range 60 to 1/6000. I couldn't find a way to display an over or under exposure warning until after the photo was taken. This would be very useful.

Other advanced features include three types of metering (Multi-pattern, centre weighted, spot), exposure compensation (-2EV to +2EV (in 1/3EV steps)) and sensitivity (ISO 50, 100, 200, 400). ISO sensitivity can go as high as ISO 1600 when using anti shake or high sensitivity modes. You can also set white balance for sunny, cloudy, shade, fluorescent day, fluorescent night, tungsten and custom.

There are five choices for continuous shooting. The first allows you to keep taking photos until the memory card is full. The second is a high speed mode. This allows you to capture up to three photos. Next is continuous shutter with flash. This allows you to take up to three photos using the flash. The fourth type allows you to take 25 shots which are then combined to form a single image. Finally is zoom continuous. This allows you to select an area of the photo you are about to take. As well as taking a photo of the entire scene the section you have selected is recorded separately and 2x digital zoom is applied to it.

You can shoot TV quality movies with the Exilim EX-Z850. These have a maximum resolution of 640 x 480 and a maximum frames per second speed of 30. Movies can be recorded up to the capacity of the memory card. Digital zoom is available when a movie is being recorded and sound can be captured as well.

There are a couple of other movie features worth mentioning. The first is called Past Movie. When in this mode the camera is recording continually even before the shutter button has been pressed to start capturing the movie. Then when you are ready to start the last five seconds of recorded movie is added to your movie. This is useful if you are waiting for something to start and you are not sure exactly when it will commence, but you do not want to miss the first few seconds.

The next feature allows you to produce a still print from a movie. The only drawback is that the print will be at a low resolution.

Casio supplies all the necessary cables and software to connect the Exilim EX-Z850 to a PictBridge compatible printer, television set and computer.

I find the menu system used by Casio to be one of the most straightforward. Therefore it should not take you long to find your way around the Exilim EX-Z850. On the back of the camera you will find key controls for setting the flash, accessing the menu and reviewing photos you have already taken. There is also a control dial that allows you to select the shooting mode. Zoom is controlled through a ring around the shutter button. This is situated on the top of the camera.

You can pick up a Casio Exilim EX-Z850 for around £220. This compares to around £235 for a Sony DSC W100, £215 for a Panasonic DMC FX01 and £280 for a Canon IXUS 800IS.

As you can see you have a fair amount of choice looking at similar digital cameras. Based on picture quality and features I would say the Exilim EX-Z850 is very competitively priced.

The Exilim EX-Z850 looks a very standard digital camera. It is a fairly typical rectangular model with a shiny, silver body. Personally I like the simple design and the way the camera is presented in general. The camera also appears to have a solid build quality. It has dimensions of 89 x 58.5 x 23.7mm and weighs 130g.

Power is supplied by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery (NP-40). Casio estimates you should be able to take around 440 shots with the Exilim EX-Z850 before the battery needs to be recharged. Both the battery and charger are supplied as standard.

A dreadfully mean 8mb of memory is built into the camera. I was able to take just two shots with the camera before the memory was full. This means you will have to pick up a high capacity card to go with the camera. It is compatible with SD cards.

Click here to save money on SD cards..

Picture quality
Overall ease of use
Excellent LCD screen
Viewfinder
Manual exposure mode

Very small internal memory

There is a lot to like about the Exilim EX-Z850. For a pocket sized digital camera it has a good set of features. This includes the illusive manual exposure modes. Picture quality is good as is ease of use. All in all a very appealing package.

Casio EXILIM EX-Z850 Front View

Casio EXILIM EX-Z850 Back View

Casio EXILIM EX-Z850 Top View

Sample Menus

Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this site, please make sure you double check the feature set and specification at the point of purchase.

Casio Exilim EX-Z850