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Casio Exilim EX-Z850 8.1MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom | List Price: $349.99
Discount Price: $499.00
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Brand: Casio
Binding: Electronics
Features: - 8.0-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 16 x 22-inch prints
- 3x optical zoom; 2.5-inch Super Bright LCD display
- Super Life Battery allows up to approximately 440 still images per charge
- Auto Macro mode allows for automatic switching between macro mode and autofocus mode
- Powered by lithium-ion battery; stores images on SD memory cards (includes 8 MB internal memory)
Excellent for 2 years only. [Posted on 2008-03-14]
This "camera" outperforms many camcorders I've seen. Its picture quality could hardly be improved. Its ease of use and menu structure is intuitive and easy to remember. The long life battery lasts for several hours on video. The high speed SD card option makes it an all-in-one.
HOWEVER
After a couple years, it just stops working; lens out and power on. Just stops functioning. Send it off. "Downloaded software". Works great. 2 months later - exact same thing only nobody can tell you why it turnips on you. Repeat the cycle until your lens gets bumped because you can't retract it, then the warranty people say "the lens isn't part of the camera, so it's time for you to buy another one."
So as long as you're not wanting a camera to last for 5 years like I am, this is great but if you want one that doens't leave you feel like you've been romanced by the prince and then consummated by his porcupine, I strongly recommend you stay away from this POJ. -rod
great little camera..when it works [Posted on 2008-03-17]
I've had this camera for about two years. It has been wonderful. Easy to use, took great pictures, no complaints. A few months ago it started having problems turning off. I'd have to remove the battery when I was done taking pictures every once in awhile. This wasn't an all the time issue, so I dealt with it. Then last weekend at my son's wedding it just stopped. I was turning the camera off when it just froze up, lens still sticking out, and won't do a darn thing anymore. The battery is fully charged, I have never damaged the camera, and really can't justify spending the money to repair it when a new camera will set me back about the same amount. Just makes me sick.
Better and worse than ex-z750, but an outstanding p&s camera [Posted on 2008-06-30]
I've owned both of these cameras for a couple of years, and I appreciate the optical viewfinder, excellent picture quality, large LCD, fast shutter delay, and manual operating modes. While I agree with the excellent review written by D.Nash praising the 850's virtues, I will say that the 850 does not take as good a picture as the 750.
I've done a considerable amount of testing and comparison, and with all auto settings at default, compared with the 750, the contrast and brightness are too high and the saturation is too low. The contrast and saturation are easily compensated, but the brightness adjustment requires a -0.3 EV setting that is not "sticky" - it isn't remembered when you turn the camera off. The only way to save this so that you don't have to reset it every time you turn the camera on is with your own Best Shot setting. This gives the desired results, but compared with the 750, which gets it correct right out of the box, this is an unfortunate inconvenience.
Do I prefer the 750? Probably not. The better LCD and additional flash settings are worth it. And the "lens error" problem seems to be gone on the 850. Too bad they didn't get the picture as good, though. And there's one feature lacking on both of these cameras, or I would consider them nearly perfect: no raw image mode.
Great Camera with a lot of Flexibility [Posted on 2008-07-09]
I own the z750 as well, and bought this one used after I broke the lcd screen on the 750. What I mainly like about this camera is the flexibility in shooting modes. Unlike the vast majority of pocket-sized digital cameras nowadays, this camera has a manual exposure mode. For most, that is not a big deal, but I really like that feature myself. They moved some features around from the 750, and created a aperature priority mode, a shutter priority mode, and manual exposure mode, all on the mode dial. I'm no expert photographer, but this flexibility has helped me take better long-exposure photos, or making HDR's with different exposures. One thing I like about these older Casio's is the format of the movies is MPEG. We bought one of the newer Casio models (since returned), and I did not like that they changed the format to Quicktime.
PROS:
-very simple controls. Once you learn the mode dial, everything is self-explanatory.
-shoots great pictures (8MP) with decent default settings.
-has most of the bells and whistles (and then some) that other compact digital cameras have.
-greater flexibilty than most pocket sized digicams\
-movies record in MPEG format, which is a nice all-purpose format.
CONS:
-an older model, slightly bulkier than today's compact cameras.
-screen is a little on the small side (2.5" lcd)
-movie quality seems to have gotten worse than on the previous model, z750.
Even though this camera is ancient now in 2008 (it came out in 2006, hah!), I still had to find a used one because I'm not as impressed with today's moron-point-and-click cameras that seemingly do all the thinking for you and take away all the flexibility in shooting. Yeah, I could get an SLR, but I'm looking for something I can take on a long hike, or put in my pocket, but still be able to get decent shots.
Camera has known problems. Poor customer service. Going back to Sony or Canon [Posted on 2008-08-04]
I've had this camera for about a year and a half. This camera has a *known defect* - the zoom, set button and display button frequently quit working. Here is a link to people having this problem: http://www.fixya.com/support/t238623-lost_functionality.
I take very good care of my electronics and research a purchase like this thoroughly since I want to get a very good product that I can use for a long time. Until this problem cropped up, it was a pretty good camera overall. No complaints. I expect a quality product to last more than 1 1/2 years. Casio "customer service" will not tell you anything over the phone, except that you have to send it in and then they will tell you how much the repair will be. I will go back to a Canon or another reputable manufacturer with my next purchase.
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