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Record Screens & Menus
Here we can see the EX-Z550's standard Auto or Point-n-shoot
exposure program. This mode handles all of
the exposure
process for you. However, you do have access to settings like ISO, AF
mode, Exposure compensation, white balance, etc. Icons on the screen are
the AF frame, battery level indicator, Anti-Shake is set to Auto (shaky
hand
symbol), number of frames remaining and along the right you can see
image mode (14m/Fine), flash
mode (Soft), etc. These settings can be accessed by the short-cut menu
(shown below).
When
you half-press the shutter release the autofocus is locked and the
exposure is calculated and set. If autofocus was successful the AF
marks will turn green, if it fails they turn red and blink. The camera
also indicates the aperture and shutter speed values it chose. A red lighting bolt icon indicates that the flash is charged and will fire (not shown above).
Next is Casio's version of intelligent auto, called Premium Auto mode. This program tries to help you achieve
the best image quality possible by recognizing the shooting
environment, and selecting the best scene mode settings. This is more
draining on the battery than shooting is standard Auto mode and takes
longer to process photos (meaning a slower shot-to-shot time).
Here you can see
the camera in action when using Super Macro focus mode. This allows the EX-Z550 to focus as close as 1.9-inched (5cm) from the front of the lens.
Recording movies is as easy as pressing the
movie record button on the back of the camera. Press the button again
to stop recording. Using the optical zoom while recording is disabled, although you can use
the digital zoom (which we recommend using sparingly as it degrades
quality). Movie clips are saved as Motion JPEG (.AVI) files.
Next is Casio's version of intelligent auto, called Premium Auto mode. This program tries to help you achieve
the best image quality possible by recognizing the shooting
environment, and selecting the best scene mode settings. This is more
draining on the battery than shooting is standard Auto mode and takes
longer to process photos (meaning a slower shot-to-shot time).Here you can see
the camera in action when using Super Macro focus mode. This allows the EX-Z550 to focus as close as 1.9-inched (5cm) from the front of the lens. Recording movies is as easy as pressing the
movie record button on the back of the camera. Press the button again
to stop recording. Using the optical zoom while recording is disabled, although you can use
the digital zoom (which we recommend using sparingly as it degrades
quality). Movie clips are saved as Motion JPEG (.AVI) files. 
The Casio EX-Z550 has 42 Best Shot Presets for a wide variety of
shooting conditions. Pressing the telephoto Zoom control allows you to
see a brief description of the mode that you currently have selected.
These are accessed by
pressing the "BS" button on the back of the camera.
Pressing DISP or
"Up" on the 4-way controller allows you the option to control how much
information is shown on the LCD screen. You have the choice of standard
information (default), extended info with histogram, or no icons at all.
There is also a grid display option available in the Rec. menu that
helps with orientation (not shown above).
To
access the shortcut menu, you simply press the SET button. Then
using the Up/Down directions of the 4-way control, you can scroll
through the
list. To change a desired setting use the left/right keys of the 4-way
control. The shortcut
list can be customized to your needs by pressing the Menu button at any
time when using this interface.
Rec Menu:
- Focus - AF, Macro, Super Macro, Pan Focus, Infinity, MF
- Focus Frame - Here you can change the focus frame to different icons such as a heart, a flower, etc. or set the camera to select randomly
- AF Area - Intelligent,Spot,
Multi, Tracking
- CS
- Normal Speed CS, High Speed CS, Off
- Self Timer - 10 Sec, 2 Sec, x3, Off
- Auto Shutter - Detect Blur, Detect Panning, Detect Smile, Off, Sensitivity
- Face Detection - On or Off
- Anti Shake - Auto, Camera AS, Image AS, DEMO, Off
- Quick Shutter - On or Off
- Grid - On or Off
- Digital Zoom - On or Off
- Review - On or Off
- Icon Help - On or Off
- Memory - Allows the camera to save your last setting for certain features
The Memory tab
in the REC menu is used to set the defaults of listed functions. When
the camera is powered back on the camera it will either restore any
changed items
to their original default settings or remember the last setting used.
Quality Menu:
- Size - 14M, 3:2, 16:9, 10M, 6M, 3M, VGA
- Image Quality - Fine, Normal, Economy
- Movie Quality - HD, STD, LP
- Effect - Make-up, Landscape,
Off
- EV Shift - ±2.0 EV
- White Balance - Auto, Daylight, Overcast, Shade, Day White Fluorescent, Daylight Fluorescent, Tungsten, Manual WB
- ISO - Auto, 64,
100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200
- Metering - Multi, Center Weighted, Spot
- Lighting - On, Extra or Off
- Color Filter - Off, B&W, Sepia, Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, Pink, Purple
- Sharpness - +2, +1, 0, -1, -
- Saturation - +2, +1, 0, -1, -
- Contrast
- +2, +1, 0, -1, -2
- Flash Intensity - +2, +1, 0, -1, -2
Visitors of Steves can visit the stores below for real-time pricing and availability. You can also find hot, soon to expire online offers on a variety of cameras and accessories at our very own Camera Deals page.
 | Compatible for Casio EX-ZS5, EX-Z16, EX-H5, EX-G1, EX-Z35, EX-S7, EX-Z550, EX-Z280, EX-S6, EX-Z33, EX-S5, FujiFilm FinePix JZ100, FinePix JZ250, FinePix JX500, FinePix ... | $11 |
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 | 8 Slot SD Card Clear Plastic Case - Includes 2 MicroSD Card Slots Clear Plastic Case Fits 8 SD Cards - Includes 2 MicroSD Card Slots | $5 |
 | Compatible with Casio EX-ZS5, EX-H5;FujiFilm FinePix T500/ T510, FinePix T550 / T560, FinePix XP60, Z1000EXR / Z1010EXR, FinePix JZ100, FinePix JZ250, FinePix JX500, FinePix ... | $7 |
