Purchased 1/8/08 - Second Update 3/1/08

I used the Quick Start Guide to get started by charging the battery for 2 hours. Already had purchased a 2gb SD card for $13.99. Make sure you get a fast one at 150x in order to avoid waiting to take another picture due to it taking awhile to write the pic onto a slow memory card.

I can't tell you how many people return cameras because they think their camera is slow between shots when actually it's that they bought a 1gb SD card in-store for $30 that has a super slow write speed.

I had already downloaded the manual from Casio's site too in pdf which makes it very easy to skip to whatever section you desire than finding in the physical manual which I'll never use. I also updated the firmware to 1.01 as well from their site.

It has ebay & youtube features built-in, but I don't use either site. It's handy though especially for youtube so you wouldn't have to convert your video to their requirements. One negative is that this model only shoots video in 10 minute lengths probably due to file sizes. Not a big deal, but important to remember. In best quality the video would fill a 2gb card in 10 minutes anyway, plus youtube limits video to 10 minutes or 100MB anyway.

It also comes with a CD for software to organize your photos and a youtube uploader to automatically load to your account, but I prefer to stay away from proprietary software that comes from the manufacturer. Stick with something free like Picasa from google. It's amazing. No, you do NOT need to install anything for virtually any device to plug into your computer any more. This even works on my Mac from 1995 without drivers!

The battery life is amazing. The screen counts down how many shots left on the memory card as well which is a nice feature.

It starts up super fast as well & snaps pics fast too. My friends don't take pics this fast.

The 2.6" LCD is HUGE and my friends are jealous.

The menus are quite intuitive and easy to use as well.

I found other reviews stating the LCD had only 115,000 pixels and was fuzzy or unclear compared to other models with 230,000. I couldn't tell at all. Pictures looked very clear and it's amazing how much you can zoom in on a pic, print out, and still look good. You can zoom in all the way and see people's pores in their skin with 10 megapixels!

Got this 1/8/08 for $199.99 from Toys 'R' Us + tax. Found it on a few other online stores too for up to $35 less at one and usually only $15 cheaper, but those stores will place your order only to be called back by someone to upsell you with expensive cleaning kits, bags, memory cards, batteries, etc.

The cheapest at $165 doesn't tell you that the camera is the non-USA version and charges you $30-$50 if you cancel your order.

Buying from a physical store at this price is worth it to avoid all that.

File Format

Still Picture: JPEG (Exif Ver. 2.2), DCF1.0, DPOF. Video: AVI File Format, Motion JPEG. Voice: WAV.

Recording Media:

Built-in Flash Memory 11.4 MB , SDHC/ SD Memory Card, Multi-Media Card, Multi-Media Card Plus

Number of Pixels:

3648 x 2736/ 3648 x 2432 (3:2)/ 3648 x 2048 (16:9)/ 2560 x 1920/ 2048 x 1536/ 1600 x 1200/ 640 x 480. Video: 640 x 480 (HQ)/ 512 x 384 (Normal)/ 320 x 240 (LP).

Image Deletion:
One image / all images with Memory Protection Function

Effective # of Pixels:

Approx. 10.1 Megapixels

Imaging Element:

1/1.75 CCD" Square Primary Color CCD, Total 10.3 million pixels

Lens:

F2.8 - 5.1, F=7.9 - 23.7mm (equivalent to 38 - 114mm for 35mm film)

Zoom:

3x Optical Zoom, 4x Digital Zoom (12x with both Optical & Digital Zoom)

Focusing Control:

Contrast Detection AF, Auto Focus, Macro Mode, Pan Focus (Video Recording Only), Infinity Mode, Manual Focus; AF Area: Spot, Multi or Tracking; with AF Assist Lamp

Focus Range:

Focus Range: Auto: Approx. 40 cm - infinity (1.3' to infinity). Macro: Approx. 10 cm - 50 cm (3.9"* - 19.7"). Infinity Mode: Infinity. Manual: Approx. 10 cm - Infinity (3.9" - Infinity). *Using the Optical Zoom causes the above ranges to change.

Exposure Control:

Metering: Multi pattern/ Center Weighted/ Center Spot by CCD; Control: Programmed AE; Exposure Compensation: -2EV - +2EV (by 1/3 EV Step)

Shutter/Shutter Speed:

CCD electronic shutter and mechanical shutter, 1/2 to 1/1000 second; *Shutter Speed Range may be different depending on the following BEST SHOT scenes: Night Scene: 4 - 1/1000 second; Fireworks: 2 seconds (fixed).

Aperture:

Auto F2.8/ F8.0*. *F8.0 is the aperture when an ND filter is being used. *It varies on some Optical Zoom.

White Balance:

Auto/ Fixed (6 Modes)/ Manual.

Sensitivity Setting:

napshots (standard): Auto/ ISO 80 100 200 400 800 1600 3200. Snapshots (when Anti-Shake setting is "Auto"): ISO6400 (maximum). Snapshots (when BEST SHOT scene is Anti-Shake): ISO6400 (maximum). Video: Auto

Self-Timer:
10 Second Countdown, 2 Second Countdown, Triple Self-timer

Built-in Flash:
Flash Modes: Auto/ Flash On/ Flash Off/ Soft Flash/ Red Eye Reduction. Flash Range: 0.1m - 3.3m (W), 0.5m - 1.8m (T). Flash Continuous Shutter: Approx. 0.4m - 2.0m (W), Approx. 0.5m - 1.1m (T). *ISO Sensitivity: Auto. *Depends on zoom factor.

Recording Functions:

Snapshot (with Audio), Macro, Self-Timer, Continuous Shutter, BEST SHOT mode, Video (w/ Audio), Voice Recorder. *Audio recording is monaural.

Audio Recording Time:

Time: Still Pictures w/Voice: 30 sec. / 1 Snap; Voice Recorder: Approx. 48 Min. (Built-in Flash Memory); After Recording: 30 sec. / 1 Snapp

Monitor Screen:
2.6" Digital Interface TFT Color Wide LCD, 114,960 (479 x 240) Pixels

Playback:

Enlarge (8x), Resize, Trimming, Video Playback, Video Edit, MOTION PRINT, 12-Picture Display, Rotate, White Balance, Brightness, Color Correction, Calendar, Slide Show, Customizable, Startup Screen, AV Output

Finder:

LCD Monitor

Input/Output:

USB/AV Connection

Microphone/Speaker:

Monaural Microphone / Monaural Speaker

Power Source:

1 x Rechargeable Li-Ion Battery (NP-40)

Battery Life:

Approx. 370 Images w/Li-Ion Battery (CIPA Standards)
Approx. 9 Hrs. 50 Min. with Li-Ion Battery @normal recording
Approx. 2 Hrs. 50 Min. with Li-Ion Battery (video) @continuous playback
Approx. 12 Hrs. 20 Min. with Li-Ion Battery (voice) @continuous video recording

Battery Charge:

Approx. 150 Min.

Power Consumption:

3.7V DC, Approx. 3.8W

Dimensions:

3.6" (W) x 2.3" (H) x .95" (D) (excluding projections, .81" at thinnest part)

Weight:

Approx. 4.4 oz (excluding battery and accessories)