Casio’s Exilim digital compacts consistently marry attractive design to
lightweight metal construction – just what you’d want from a pocket camera.
However, the one thing they fall down on is image noise; the tiny grain-like
speckles visible in shadow areas of a digital image being more pronounced at
lower
ISO
settings than the competition.
Will the
Casio
Exilim Card EX-S770, available in a trio of colours, be any different?
It certainly turns heads when it comes to looks, being just about the
slimmest (at 13.7mm ‘wide’), most good-looking
Exilim
to date.
A docking cradle is provided for recharging the internal battery and as a
means of connecting the device to your PC via USB.
With no optical viewfinder,
the
rear of the camera is dominated by a bright and wide 2.8in screen that looks
huge given its otherwise credit-card-sized dimensions.
The better-than-average 230,400 pixels resolution makes it perfect for
reviewing widescreen ratio MPEG-4 video (an AV cable is included so you can do
the same on your TV). Attendant controls are minimal and require fingertip
operation, but all the essentials are there.
Like other Casio’s, the S770 features a range of optimised scene modes – here
called ‘Best Shot’ modes – that cover 35 common shooting conditions and
subjects. Theoretically the camera selects the optimum aperture and shutter
speed for everything from portraits to fireworks, leaving you to merely point
and shoot.
Unfortunately you won’t get more than two maximum resolution images on the
stingy 6MB internal memory, so budget for a removable SD or MMC card.
Operationally the camera impresses with its ease of use; it powers up
instantly, and there’s little shutter delay when taking a shot. Images write to
memory in around two seconds.
Casio hasn’t properly addressed the issue of noise; limiting light
sensitivity to ISO400 (we’d stick to ISO200), so it’s less visible, when
competitors now manage up to
ISO3200,
feels like a compromise.
So, this isn’t a camera for natural-looking photography in low light without
flash, but under bright skies and with typical snapshot use, sharp and colourful
are achievable. While it retains some duck-like attributes, the S770 remains
outwardly a swan.
Also Consider
Canon Digital IXUS 65
Overall: A very stylish 6megapixel snapshot camera, boasting a
large 3in screen and credit-card dimensions.
Score: 4
Price: £349
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