Hey Folks, Valkor here. Thanks to the good people at Casio, I was able to get my hands on their latest digi-cam aka the Exilim EX-S600 6mp. I had the chance to meet with Casio reps at CES 2005 and I briefly talked about their 3.2 Exilim cam in that report. Now here it is 2006 and I’m REVIEWING their best model yet. (Well not THE best, but the best for now) Aahhhhh sweet, sweet fate. But right away I have to say that this is the most fun I’ve had with a digicam ever! It’s small, easy to use and easy to navigate. Read on and you’ll see just why.
Let’s get to the meat of this
review. The first thing you will notice about the s600 is the size: it is damn
slim, slimmer than my
Once I was settled in with the
size, I charged the S600 using the included dock that is not only used for
charging but also for plugging in the USB to pull off the pictures and for
viewing your pics on your television. I guess since so much of the mechanics are
crammed inside this small device, they didn’t have the room for a USB plug. I’m
used to plugging right into the cam and retrieving my pics, not docking first.
But this is a minor thing, not even a negative. After charging I had to get a
feel for the options... my stars and garters... there are many, many, MANY
options to play with; Too many to mention here, but I’ll go over some of my
favorites, which I think add such a nice touch to owning and using this camera.
First (and my personal favorite) there is the sound option. When you first turn
on your camera, or scrolling through the menu, or even take a picture, you get a
corresponding sound to go with that action. There aren’t too many, but what’s
there really gives it a nice level of customization. Then there’s the start up
image option. I love it! I took a picture of my favorite spawn action figure
(seen below) and now whenever I turn on my camera, there he is. Next there is
the anti-shake, which is something yours truly really needs. Too many times I’m
taking pictures at an event or for product reviews that I end up with a fuzzy
pic. With this option turned on for pictures or movies, we eliminate the blur
and get the best shot we can take. Awesome! And speaking of best shot, there is
a button called BS which stands for... guess what? Best Shot! You get 32
templates to choose from, depending on where you are or what type of shot you
wish to take, and the cam will automatically set the proper setting so that you
are able to take the “Best Shot” possible.. On a plus note, in the BS menu you
have an option to take pictures of text and business cards. How quirkyl is that?
Finally you get an option called “Flash intensity”, with this feature you can
set how bright the flash is. By default it’s really bright, but depending on the
situation you can lower the setting. It’s these little add touches that make
owning the S600 that much nicer, because even though this is a novice camera, it
makes you feel like a pro.
Yea, yea, yea, Val all this talk
about options, but how does the damn thing take pictures? DAMN good! I wasn’t
expecting too much to begin with, but I walk away satisfied with the end
results. Just take a look at these sample pics, I wish I could post em all, but
these work just fine; Fine being the key word. Look how green the tree in the
front of my house is. You can even see the dusts that’s been gathering on my
Spawn. And it’s fast too. It has a quick shutter option so you won’t get stuck
with closed eyes or an arm getting in the way just when everything was set
right, or even when you have everyone set up for a nice family pic and one of
the youngins decide to make a mad dash. You just click and it’s captured.
Another feature is a movie mode, which uses a high quality Mpeg 4. Mpeg 4 is the
best video quality you can get, to use on a portable device because the video
gets compressed enough that it doesn’t eat up memory card space. And if you want
to watch your vids or view your pics without having to download them first, you
can use the ever trust A/V cable. You can also adjust the quality level of the
vids too, you wanna get more vid for your card. Then there is the all
importantly battery life. I am proud to say that the S600 withstood the test of
time. I spent a full day snapping pics, shooting movies without completely
draining the battery. And that comes in handy when your out with the family or
an event that could last all day, at least with S600 you know that your gonna be
ready. Finally the device takes SD cards limited only to the size you decide to
purchase. For my testing I used a 512, normally I use that much because I’m not
really video focused. But to you our readers I say use what suits you best.
I could go on and on and on about
the EX S600, but then this review would be entirely too long and there are more
“serious” sites out there that will really cover this baby in-depth. TOV is all
about the quick. I don’t mean we get it one day then review it the next, we
actually field test all items for days. And the S600 is no exception. It’s
passed the Val-test with flying colors and gets the ultimate score of 5 because
it’s just so damn perfect for us casual users. It takes great shots, has a nice
movie mode, and with the “Best Shot” feature you know you will always get the
best shot wherever you are. And sure it’s small in size, but even big hands can
handle the S600 proper. Retail is $399 and the Casio Exilim EX-S600 is Valkor
tested, TOV approved.
Email: valkor@the-other-view.com
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