Record Screens & Menus

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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).



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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).


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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).


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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.


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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.



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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.



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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).



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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.


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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

casio_h15_memory_menu_anim.gifThe 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.


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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.