Casio's Exilim EX-S770 ultra-compact digital camera looks good at first glance, with a high resolution, a large LCD, and a sharp-looking and thin camera body. But sharp looks can't carry the EX-S770 alone, and its few deficiencies become apparent after taking a closer look at this model.

The EX-S770 measures only 0.7 inches in thickness, and it fits comfortably in a pocket. It's a good-looking digital camera that's available in deep blue, red and silver. The unit's 2.8-inch LCD is very bright and sharp, and it occupies almost the entire back panel of the EX-S770. (Not surprisingly with such a large LCD, it's easy to smudge the display as you attempt to hold and use the camera.) Because the LCD serves as the camera's only viewfinder, having a high-quality LCD is important. The lack of a separate viewfinder will annoy some photographers, but the tradeoff is the larger-than-normal LCD.

You'll find a 3X optical zoom lens with the EX-S770, which is average. Unfortunately, this unit's lens has six distinct "stops" in its zoom range, which lessens its effectiveness versus a "smooth" zoom lens. Even more unfortunately, the EX-S770's lens doesn't yield even average image quality. The EX-S770 offers 7.2 megapixels of resolution, which should be enough to easily create film-quality prints of at least 8x10 inches. However, with the EX-S770, you'll need ideal lighting conditions to be able to create such large prints. Under less-than-ideal lighting, this model's image sharpness begins to suffer. Color reproduction is good, but your photos will seem a little soft with the EX-S770.

Response times with the EX-S770 are about average. You can shoot your first photo about two seconds after pressing the power button. Shutter lag measurements could be better; it is less than one-half second most of the time, but it can measure almost 1 second when shooting in low-light conditions. Shot-to-shot delays range from 1 second to about 3 seconds, depending on whether you're using the flash.

Finally, the EX-S770 has very few manual-control features; it's designed as a simple, fully automatic camera. You can select from up to 35 "scene" modes with this model, allowing you to easily match the camera's settings to the lighting conditions.

With its drawbacks, the EX-S770's price -- around $300 -- seems a little high. Keep in mind that you'll also have to purchase a memory card for this camera immediately; the EX-S770 contains only 6MB of internal memory, and it doesn't ship with a memory card. Another slight problem: The EX-S770 requires a cradle to transfer photos from the camera to a computer, rather than a simple USB cable connection. Some photographers might find it a bit annoying to have to carry around the cradle.

The EX-S770 has some nice features, and it's a good-looking camera. But it has just enough annoying drawbacks to make it tough to recommend. If you don't plan to make large prints, and style is a big deal for you, the EX-S770 may fit your needs. But you'll definitely want to make sure that this model's weaknesses won't significantly affect what you want the camera to do.


Pros: Small camera body, large and bright LCD, 35 scene modes available
Cons: Images seem soft, shutter lag should be better, price is a little high, no separate viewfinder, requires a cradle for transferring photos

Warranty
1 year, limited