There's a certain sub-category of compact digital cameras that ought to have its own label along the lines of ‘Just For Fun', where the emphasis is squarely on seeing how many different ways you can shoot an image using effects and filters whilst using the minimum of effort. The Casio EXILIM EX-Z550 would definitely be a banner leader in this division.

Released in a range of five funky colours (blue, pink, black, silver and red), the EX-Z550 is an ultra-slim compact that fits snugly in the palm of your hand, weighing just 137g with battery and SD memory card installed and measuring a comfortable 99.5 x 55.4 x 22.4mm.

Although small in stature, it's surprisingly generous in features, offering 14.1-megapixel resolution, a 4x optical zoom with CCD-shift mechanical image stabiliser and a 26-104mm wide-angle lens. It carries an upgraded EXILIM Engine 5.0 which is 30 percent faster than its predecessor, and a 2.7-inch TFT colour LCD monitor with 230,400 dots which is bright enough and sharp enough to handle everything but overly hot sunlight.

However, as you might expect at this price point, controls are fairly limited. On the top are the standard basics - power, shutter and zoom ring - with dedicated buttons for camera, review and menu. Where the EX-Z550 does raise an eyebrow, though, is by providing a quick set-up side menu using the D-pad as well as additional proprietary buttons for movie mode (for instant start no matter what your previous setting) and the company's popular Best Shot.

And it's the Best Shot feature that is the principal selling point here, with Casio cramming no fewer than 42 shooting options into the one menu, all illustrated with an icon and text description. The only slight gripe with this is that the order is somewhat haphazard. There's a whole section of impressive arty effects (water colour, oil, crayon, etc.) about two-thirds of the way down, yet text, whiteboard and business cards are at opposite ends, ID photo is beside multi-motion image while Dynamic Photo is alongside Portrait, with YouTube designed video pushed to the end.

Despite this jumble (a further Makeup mode and Landscape mode are discovered in a completely separate Menu), the EX-Z550 will provide hours of fun for people who like to experiment. Although there are two Auto settings (one concentrating on faster operation and longer battery life and the other on best image capture for the environment), there's also some room for manual variation of saturation, white balance, exposure compensation, colour filters and ISO.

HD video can be recorded at 1280 x 720 resolution at 24fps, but unfortunately there's no HDMI port to play the results back through your TV; just a standard AV/USB port. Picture quality throughout is good without being exceptional, and certainly well within the expectations of this price bracket.

Verdict
Although externally the Casio EXILIM EX-Z550 looks indistinguishable from so many other digital compacts, the wide lens, huge range of shooting options and the dedicated video button make it stand out from the herd.

Company: Casio

Contact: 020 8450 9131

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