Casio Exilim EX-Z500 5mp digicam

When it comes to taking pictures the EX-Z500 does very well, with a quick response time. Additionally with 31 Best Shot modes, ranging from standard Portrait to an Autumn Colours, there is a setting for virtually every situation. Using the Best Shot mode certainly improved the pictures we took as does the addition of Casio's anti-shake feature. For the lazy, the camera also sports an all round Best Shot mode that tries its best to cope with every situation.

The modes are selected using a button on the back of the camera, and our only concern is that you can easily spend more time looking for which mode to shoot in, rather than actually getting on with taking the picture at hand.

Taking the picture will require you first invest in a SD card. The camera comes with a pathetic 8.7MB of available built-in memory, which equates to about three images at optimum settings.

In our tests the camera coped well with the different shots we tested it on, especially the berries and the green-lit party pictures. Likewise the London night scene with its varying light sources, moving vehicles and black sky shows the camera coped well in tough situations.

Verdict

At £280 the Casio is a solid camera that will produce good results. The large screen will appeal to the party set that like to share the images as soon as they've taken them, and the end results are good for printing too.

Things to bear in mind are the need to lug the docking station around with you if you're hoping to copy pictures on the move and the fact that you'll have to invest in an SD card from day one if you are looking to take more than three pictures at a time.

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