I had an exilim ex-z8 for 4 years only having a problem with it once with the screen saying lens error but i think that aws due to keeping it in a case and the camera turning on so blocking. It quickly fixed itself after that. I gave that camera to my boyfriend and bought myself a new one. I wanted to stay with casio because i love the Best Shot feature which I always used for Backlight/Sunsets/Multishot/Candles etc etc. Makes it so quick and effective to pick a setting instead of having to be a pro changing all the lighting and shutter time yourself. This one is smaller than the ex-z8, being smaller is very sleek and feel sturdy. This one also has a different zoom button as a flicky one on top whereas the older version had 2 buttons on the back, I prefer the latter but then you just get used to small changes like that. This one has a new button which is the video record button. This is very useful for taking a video within seconds of spotting something good.

I have just come back from 6 week holiday in Colombia using it under water in a special case and using all the different modes. Photos come out great. I feel like it doesn't work as well in the dark as the ex-z8 but this could have been because I had it on the wrong setting some times and most of my darker photos have come out fine.


The only downside is that the Continuous Shooting mode found in the Menu only allows you to shoot for about 4 seconds at a time which is about 6 shots whereas the ex-z8 allowed for infinite..or at least 15/20 seconds from what I remember, ensuring you never miss a bird that's flying past or people jumping in the air. The price was a lot less that expected at £45 on Argos's eBay outlet store, which comes with a warranty.

All in all very happy - compact, light, durable, user friendly. Best features of Casio have got to be the soft flash and the Best Shot button.