Casio Exilim EX-Z80 8MP Digital Camera - Black

Very nice camera. Worked for six months of light use, then the "set" button failed. Casio Repair wants $79 to fix their faulty product. Good luck!

The camera is very compact and simple to use. The buttons are the perfect size for small Japanese women's fingers but I knew they would be small. Video quality is very nice when set to UHQ (ultra high quality) mode... you probably won't want to use anything less than that mode. Of course, like any compact camera with a small light sensor (which all compact digital cameras have) pictures in low lighting conditions like indoors and evening and night can be touchy...they blur easily and the digital image stabilization is not as effective as the image stabilization in a larger camera. However, I knew this buying it and am enjoying its small footprint, high video quality, ease of use, quick shutter/picture recovery time, and it is hardly noticeable in my pocket. Also, I find the sound recording option unique and have used it a few times at a concert and to record a woodpecker although, it is not a professional sound recording device.

This is my 3rd Exilim and I am sure I'll buy a 4th; as a matter of fact, I think there are at least five of these cameras in our family since I bought the first one.
The reason I am on my 3rd is because I am tough on these cameras; I take it everywhere, from a night on the town, on camping trips, fishing, hiking the desert... where ever I go. It is small, lightweight, quick and easy to use and takes great pictures/video for it's size. Keep it dry and try not to bang it around to much and you will get thousands of pictures you may not have gotten with a larger more cumbersome camera.

This is a great little camera.

Now, I am the kind of person who researches pretty much everything before making a purchase. I was looking for an affordable, small, good quality camera. I was about to make the decision bewteen a Sony or a Canon but I had difficulty with both, Sony uses it's own memory card type and Canon didn't have a rechargeable battery.

But luckily I came across this Casio camera. Right out of the box I could tell that the build quality was fantastic. It's small, compact, and doesn't feel 'cheap'.

Now on to the picture quality, it's good enough. I'm not expecting spectacular quality photos from a camera in this price range. But I can say I was mildly surprised. The quality is fine for vacations and family times.

Now on to the video quality, what a shock that was! I am very pleased to say that I no longer need a video camera! :) It is crisp, clear, and the audio is great too. One of the best features is that there is a record button, press it and you're recording. Simple as that.

Very good camera, highly recommend!

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2UZK81CR67346 I was playing around with my son's camera and just wanted to show how nice it captured video. The video is even nicer when I play on my computer and also burned to DVD. I also posted some pictures above so you could see. If you play around with the camera, you will find it gives amazingnly clear, vivid photos. I was so impressed with Chase's camera, I went and bought the Casio Exilim ex-z85. (Same camera but with the 9.1 megapixels. I posted a revied for that camera (with photos) as well. This camera really does take nice photos and video and I highly recommend!

Note I found the best quality by playing with the picture quality as far as megapixel count, contrast, sharpness and staturatin (increasing those). Once you find the settings that work for you and overall take the nicesest photos, go in to the Best Shot feature (BS) button at bottom right of camera, choose Register User Scene, and then it will ask you which photo to use (choose one of the photos that you took at the settings you like and then it will save it under Best Shot). That way when you want to those settings again, turn camera on, press best shot button, choose that photo, and it will change the settings to what you used to take that photo you liked. Works nicely.