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106 of 108 found the following review helpful:
 A Mixed Bag of "Goods"...Feb 26, 2007
By Vladimir Ratner
"vratner"
I bought this camera as a Valentine's Day gift for my wife. I chose this particular model not because of the slimness, or the flashy red color (although both factors were considered as well), but mainly because of all the positive reviews I've read about it, and also the fact that I'm familiar with Casio cameras in general, and I consider myself somewhat of a fan. I've owned 4 other models prior to purchasing this one, namely Z60, Z600, Z850, and P700, and all of them were good cameras, with some advantages and disadvantages, just like any other product on the market today. This one, however, turned out to be somewhat of an unpleasant surprise, especially since it was a present for a special occasion. But before I get to the actual explanation as to why I didn't like this camera, I feel that I need to mention a few things first. As you might already know from my previous reviews, I'm not a complete newbie to the world of digital of photography - I used to work for Kodak, doing hands-on professional digital cameras testing. It's been about a decade now, but I didn't loose all that knowledge that I got from that place, and in fact only gained more in that department over the years, since digital photography is sort of my hobby now. So I do know a thing or two about apertures, shutter speeds, sensitivity, and ... yes, Picture Quality. But I'm not going to "torture" you any longer, so here is why I think this camera is overrated, and why I can't really recommend it to other people. Good things first though:
PROS:
- It's by far the best looking camera that I have ever seen. It's slim. Very slim to be exact. It's aesthetically pleasing to the eye. The red color is also nice - one of the reasons I chose it for Valentine's Day - it went great with the bouquet of red roses that I also picked up for my wife;
- This camera is extremely Easy to Use. The menus are very intuitive, and the Panel navigation mode is great. A bunch of preprogrammed Best Shots is also a big plus, especially for someone who wants a simple point and shoot type of camera, and doesn't want to be overwhelmed with manual controls;
- Big, bright LCD (also see Cons);
- MPEG-4 Movie Mode is excellent. First, it saves a lot of space, comparing to the regular .AVI format, and also can be used in 16:9 format, which is designed for widescreen TV's;
- I was very impressed to find out that this camera can actually be used for storing and viewing Data. Regular text, Word documents, e-mail attachments - it can all be converted to the camera supported format with the supplied software, and then be viewed on the display.
Now, the Bad things:
CONS:
- Slimness comes at a price - sometimes it's hard to press the right button, even if you don't have large fingers, so be prepared for some frustration;
- One of the reasons I chose this camera was its Best Shot modes, eBay one in particular. My wife occasionally sells stuff on eBay, and always wanted to have an easy way of posting pictures. What eBay mode does is it allows to take a picture of an object up-close, and then automatically compresses it to the allowed by eBay size. Very simple. What's not so simple, however, is taking that shot. It's very hard to focus in eBay mode, and in Macro mode for that matter. Z60, Z600, and Z850 all had eBay mode, but none of them had this problem. Only later I found out (it's not been hugely advertised) that the closest range for Macro mode on S770 is 15 cm (centimeters that is), comparing to 10 cm on the other cameras that I mentioned. That's quite a bit of difference actually. But even at that distance it's very hard to take a sharp picture of an item. Forget it if you want a nice picture of a ring, or any other jewelry piece. The camera has to be properly focused, and unfortunately it's not that great at doing it up-close;
- Yes, the LCD (display) is big and bright. However, it's pretty much useless in low light conditions. It becomes grainy, and it's very hard to use for taking a picture. That's where you'll miss a viewfinder! It's also not very good if you want to judge whether the shot was good or not by looking at the display. What looks good on it might not look so good after you transfer the image to your computer, and vice versa;
- Battery Life is not as good comparing to other Casio models that I've had. Z600, and Z850's batteries seemed like they lasted forever. S770, on the other hand, is not even close. Don't get me wrong, it's not that bad, but I guess I just got spoiled. What's also of inconvenience is that you have to use USB cradle in order to charge the battery - it's not the most efficient way, and you also have to very careful not to scratch the paint on the camera;
- Weak Flash. Did I say weak? I meant pathetic. It's practically useless. If the object that you are shooting is located beyond approximately 4-5 feet, forget about using the flash - you won't gain anything - might as well just turn it off, or cover it with you finger;
- Image Quality is average at best, and I'm been modest here. Once again, because the camera is so slim, the sensor size is very small. What do you get when you have a small sensor? - Poor picture quality. On a bright, sunny day, it's actually not that bad. But indoors, or in low light situations, you will get blurry, grainy pictures, and will have to spend hours fixing it with editing software.
CONCLUSION:
I wish I spent more time reading reviews about this camera before I bought it. If I did, I would've noticed that all the ones that are praising it, have to do with the fact that it's small, good looking, and easy to use. The very few mention picture quality at all, and the ones that actually do, say that it's not very good. So, to summarize, if all you're looking for in a camera is how appealing it looks, and how easy it is to use, then this is the right camera for you. However, if picture quality is important to you (and I would imagine it is, because otherwise what's the point of buying the camera in the first place), then I would suggest you look elsewhere. Check out other Casio models - they might be not as compact or pretty as this one, but they certainly deliver in areas where this one fails. I actually chose a completely different route - I went with Panasonic DMC-LX2 (look for my review shortly). It's definitely not your typical point and shoot type of camera, but rather intended for someone who wants manual control, and who wants to learn more about digital photography in general, as well as post processing aspect of it, since it also allows you to shoot in RAW. In any case... as always, all of my commentaries are not intended to be taken word for word, but rather help you in your camera purchasing decisions. Good luck.
31 of 32 found the following review helpful:
Good overall but indoor shots are poorOct 30, 2006
By G. Arrieta
"SanMateoTech"
This is my third digital camera and I wanted one for travel and for special occasions. This camera looked very sharp and seemed to have the same qualities as the well rated Z600. Overall, I like the camera but really found the indoor shots to be very poor quality. Here are some other specific findings:
Pros
1. Can set things up to memorize your settings
2. soft flash good feature
3. Bright display
4. Outdoor shots are excellent
5. Best shot modes
6. Easy access to exposure compensation
7. Navigation is easy
8. Steel body
Cons
1. Indoor shots (e.g. in a restaurant with low lights) turn out very coarse.
2. Slim profile makes it very hard to stabilize the camera.
3. Battery is very hard to take out if you happen to put it in the wrong way.
4. Hand strap is very small. A bigger person cannot operate the camera comfortably with it. Had to use one from an old Nikon camera.
5. Red camera paint can easily scratch off just by loading it onto the dock.
6. Sound is very soft
I also bought an extra battery, 2 gb sd card and an Exilim leather case from Amazon. The first 2 are good buys. The black horizon Exilim leather case however has a very flimpsy snap. If you carry the camera on your belt, expect the camera to fall out. Wish they had a better design on the snap.
27 of 28 found the following review helpful:
 Best ultracompact camera on the marketOct 04, 2006
By S. Johnson
I bought this camera a couple of weeks ago for a trip to Vegas. I also have a Canon S30 that I feel is just too much of a brick to carry, plus the capture lag is very frustrating. I looked at most of the sub compact models on the market and was really impressed with the features and more importantly the size of the Casio EX-S600 that a friend of mine has (I wanted something I could put in my pocket and not know it's there). I liked the similar size of some of the Sony models, but wanted an SD card camera (not a Sony proprietary model). I was ready to buy the S600 but was then tipped off to the new release of the 770.
By no means am I a digital photography aficionado so I cannot talk about the manual adjust capabilities of the 770. But I can tell the difference between a good picture and a bad picture and I have to say the picture quality in Best Shot mode is great. There's little thought involved - just point and shoot and the shot is nearly instantaneous (the lag was a concern of mine). Colors are crisp and flash lighting is good. The large wide screen on the back is great (way better than any of the other sub compacts I considered). The battery life is also very impressive.
Pros:
-ultra small and light form factor
-super quick startup
-practically no lag on shot taking
-awesome large widescreen LCD
-fast 3x optical zoom (plus 7MP means digital zooming is finally really practical)
-great battery life
-SD card storage
-great widescreen MPEG4 video w/ dedicated button
Cons:
-almost too small to handle (I recommend egrips or equivalent grip tape for handling)
-zoom buttons could be easier to navigate
-screen susceptible to scratching (I recommend a screen protector)
-picture is a bit grainy in really low light
-sound recording just OK
-wrist tether that comes with unit too short
Overall I highly recommend this camera.
22 of 23 found the following review helpful:
Great point and shootOct 04, 2006
By StPaddy
Bought this last week for a trip from California to New York City, and I wasn't disappointed with the picture quality of this camera. Remember: this isn't a professional camera, and many manual options like Aperature Priority and Shutter Speed aren't available to manually set. Using the "Best Shot" modes can change this (Fireworks, Night Scene, etc...), and increase the exposure time, but the camera decides what is "Best" for the shot.
A definite plus is the MPEG-4 codec for the video which increases video recording time significantly in comparison to similarly priced and targeted Canon cameras that use MPEG-2. When compared to the video from the Canon Powershot S2 IS (Which I also own) the video quality stacks up well. The audio is only OK, but I'm spoiled by the stereo recording of the S2 IS. There is a dedicated "Record" button right next to your thumb on the right side of the back panel which lets you record videos with one touch (rather than having to change to a different mode, and possibly miss your shot)
All in all, I was pretty impressed with the quality and the ease of use. There are many features, 32 "Best Shot" modes, decent operation time (the camera doesn't really lag very much at all).
The only con is while the screen is VERY good - high resolution, crystal clear and more than bright enough to see on sunny days - the hard plastic coating did scratch pretty easily. I ordered a screen protector on ebay for this reason, and I'll treat it with kid gloves until it arrives.
23 of 25 found the following review helpful:
Lukewarm reviewNov 15, 2006
By NJ Digital Photo
The EX-s770 has a lot going for it. Its size and weight make it a great pocket camera. It starts up very quickly and has a very short lag time between pressing the shutter button and taking the pic. The screen is beautiful and clear, and the menu navigation is very intuitive. I can make adjustments to white balance, flash, and ISO without having to fumble around with a bunch of different buttons. It's stylish and sturdy. The video recording feature is easy to use too. So many good things....except the picture quality. Because this camera is so small, they need to use a lens the size of a pinhead. And so there is horrible barrel distortion and (much to my dismay) significant blurring in the corners of the pictures, especially in wide-angle shots. And on top of all that, the noise on low-light shots is downright nasty. I realize this camera is not a top-of-the-line SLR, but after being dazzled by how great the camera looks and operates, the quality of the pictures really broke my heart. I feel like I have a brand new sports car, and every time I put it into gear and press the accelerator, it stalls.
Think of this camera as the digital version of the Kodak Instamatic from the 1970s. A small, fun, pocketsized camera. Only now it costs $300
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