Full Review
Features and Design The LCD screen is 2.6 inches, has a 14:9 ratio (almost 16:9), and displays 479 x 240 pixels. The screen is more than three-quarters of the size of the entire camera, which makes it look even larger than it already is. Casio uses a smart combination of icons, images, and text to make for instantly understandable controls. Even if you've never used a Casio camera before, the menus are quite easy to follow. The LCD screen itself is coated in a relatively scratch-resistant plastic. It'll stand up to most common abuse, but it may fall victim to the sharp edges of keys if placed in a pocket, purse, or briefcase. Opposite the LCD screen is the zoom lens. Encircled by a bright, silvery aluminum disc, the zoom lens pops out about 1" from the body of the camera when turned on. Zooming in and out does not extend or retract the lens itself. The lens has a 3x optical zoom and f/3.1-6.3. It's an 18.9mm lens, so you'll be able to get some decent wide-angle shots. When the optical zoom is used at 3x, the lens functions as if it was 56.7mm. The 7.2-megapixel sensor is certainly not cutting-edge in the latter part of 2007. Most cameras are being released with 10 megapixel sensors. That said, the numeric value of megapixels has less bearing on overall quality than the sensor itself. The EX-Z77 uses a 1/2.5-inch square pixel color CCD, which is good, but not great. Stills are captured in JPEG/JPG mode, video is captured in QuickTime H.264, and audio is captured in WAV format. Still and video quality/sizes can be customized, but audio recording seems to be limited to a single (albeit perfectly sufficient) mono setting. Because Casio endowed the EX-Z77 with so many custom settings, it's wasteful to list all the possibilities in this review. Let's just say that there are more settings than on most point-and-shoot digital cameras. The physical buttons and controls on the EX-Z77 are kept to a simple minimum. On the top of the camera are two buttons: on/off and capture (for video, stills, and audio). On the bottom of the camera, you'll find the universal tripod mount, USB/AV jack, and the battery/memory card slot. On the back of the camera, just to the right of the LCD screen, you'll find the wide and telephoto buttons (zoom out and in, respectively), two buttons to select playback versus record modes, an iPod-like five-way controller for navigating menus and changing settings, a menu button, and the very poorly named BS button. The BS button is not what you push when people are giving you “BS” about taking their photo — it's the button you push to select any of the 42 pre-set "Best Shot" modes for video and stills.
The Casio Exilim EX-Z77 is a super compact 7.2-megapixel camera with a huge LCD screen and a long list of features that even a novice photographer can master. The body of the Exilim EX-Z77 is only slightly larger than a Motorola RAZR or RIZR phone, measuring a mere 3.74” (W) x 2.32” (H) x 0.78” (D) and weighing roughly 4 ounces. The EX-Z77 fits comfortably in the palm of one's hand (assuming one has an average-sized hand) and it slips into a shirt pocket without a noticeable bulge. The housing of the EX-Z77 is made of brushed, coated, and painted aluminum.
One of the coolest features of the EX-Z77 is its ability to shoot stills and video in standard format or the ultra-sleek 16:9 format. If you want to take videos for playback on a widescreen laptop or TV, the "wide" modes are best. Video resolutions are: 848 × 480 (UHQ Wide/HQ Wide), 640 × 480 (UHQ/HQ/Normal), and 320 × 240 (LP).
Sadly, Casio felt it necessary to equip the Exilim EX-Z77 with a proprietary mini-USB jack, forcing users to keep yet another USB cable at hand. With so many other camera manufacturers using standard mini-USB ports, it's a wonder Casio doesn't make it easier on consumers by hopping on the universal mini-USB bandwagon.
What you get in the box: Exilim EX-Z77 camera, battery charger (BC-11L) and AC power cord, proprietary USB cable, AV cable, wrist strap, CD with software, Lithium ion battery (NP-20), and a healthy dose of instructions and user guides.
The Casio EX-Z77
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by Andrew Zaprzala on April 6, 2008:
“I purchased the camera at Office Max $107 + tax and was very excited to try it out. I was very disappointed with both the indoor and out door photos -- very grainy and the colors were very bland. I like the size and weight of the unit but without good photos...” More...