Camera

The Exilim joins the fray of handsets with high-quality cameras that shoot 5.0-megapixels or above. Yet unlike the Sony Ericsson C905a, which shoot publishable-quality photos, the handset also earns bragging rights as the only camera phone of its class to meet military standards and can take snaps underwater (though we wouldn't recommend it).

The Exilim will appeal to adventurers seeking a rugged, high-end camera phone. While the handset can take high-quality pictures in harsh conditions, it has considerable delay and not quick to use. Another complaint is that the military-certified phone can take a beating, but it smudges and scratches easily.

Its 5.1-megapixel auto-focus camera features a 3x optical zoom and up to about 24x with digital zoom. Unlike most cameras which offer digital zoom, which merely crops a photo and loses photo quality, the Exilim's lens actually zooms in.

Image stabilizer is an the "anti-shake" feature that can minimize image blur due to moving objects or shaky hands.

Best Shot automatically select the best settings for shooting such as options for Person, Scenery, Night View, Person & Scenery, Twilight, Food, Character, Sports, Party, Monotone, Sepia, Reverse, High Sharpness, High Contrast and Vivid.

Using a matrix with nine separate focus boxes, the auto-focus analyzes a broad area of the scene to take clear and sharp photos from a variety of angles. Users can take single or multiple shots (up to four) at once, with a choice of seven resolution sizes, up to 2560 x 1920 px in resolution in normal or fine quality.

Perspective Adjustment lets users take a photo of a rectangular object, such as a business card, at an angle and adjust it so that it appears to be taken from squarely in front.

Additional options include a self-timer, brightness and white balance control, as well as color effects such as black and white or sepia. The auto-focus setting gives users the choice of single point or 9-point settings.

The camera operates vertically or horizontally, with the flip open or the clamshell twisted into reverse position and closed. Either way, the main screen serves as the viewfinder.

When the flip is open, users can manipulate the camera using the keyboard, which is confusing and difficult to master, or by pressing the keys on the right side of the phone.

The first thing right-handed users will notice when flipping the phone open and turning on the camera for a vertical photo is how easily the hand covers the lens. The lens is positioned in such a way that it's impossible for the user's right hand not to cover (and smudge) it as he or she makes adjustments on the keypad for zoom, brightness, self-timer, etc.

Another problem is that the camera's keyboard controls are complex. Buttons that seem intuitive on a full-sized camera seem confusing when squeezed into an alphanumeric keyboard. After bumbling through them numerous times, and shooting photos of fingers and hands in the process, some users might be tempted to scratch the professional settings and instead hit the quick keys on the right side of the phone.

The camera becomes more user-friendly when the clamshell is twisted and closed and used in more natural "horizontal" position.

A menu appears on the screen, with icons indicating which buttons to press for viewing a slide show, browsing the photo album, recording video or taking pictures. Each icon corresponds to a button on the top edge of the clamshell (in vertical position these buttons are on the right edge of the phone).

As soon as the camera is activated, the menu on the viewfinder changes, providing zoom, a full menu of shooting options, and the ability to toggle through all of the menus in an intuitive manner. In this mode, the Exilim phone most resembles the standalone Exilim camera.

Although the numerous settings and choices in sizing make for a longer setup time, most users are happy with the camera's photo quality. With the option of up to 8 GB of additional microSD memory, users can take hundreds of photos without changing the memory card, depending upon the photo size settings.

The phone also includes complex editing functions such as cropping, renaming and perspective change. Users can send a photo as a MMS or via Bluetooth to another Bluetooth-enabled device.

Using the phone's USB connector, users can transfer photos to their PC after installing the Verizon USB driver for Casio Exilim phones. Unfortunately, the Exilim doesn't transfer video or photos to Macs.

The camcorder functions in the same way as the phone, and shoots video in two resolutions: 176 x 144 px and 320 x 240 px. When shooting, users can also choose a video message option, which times out the video at one minute. Video options include image stabilization, light settings, color effects, self-timer, macro mode, brightness, white balance, and call interruption, which holds calls until the camcorder stops shooting.

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