All references in this manual to 'this camera' and 'the camera' refer to the CASIO QV-300 Digital Camera. Never try to take pictures or use the built-in display while operating a motor vehicle or while walking. Doing so creates the danger of serious accident. Never try to open the case of the camera or attempt. Casio-qv-r200-manual 1/1 Downloaded from notquitecorrect.com on January 30, 2021 by guest Book Casio Qv R200 Manual When somebody should go to the books stores, search initiation by shop, shelf by shelf, it is really problematic. This is why we provide the ebook compilations in this website. It will certainly ease you to see guide casio. Casio qv-200 2.1mp digital camera-silver All parts, including accessories and cables are only in cluded if pictured or listed in the description. All pictures are taken in house.
Casio, QV-700 Digital Camera A 'Digital Time Machine' with myriad features anda boxful of software! |
| * | 640X480 w/flash, macro modes | |
| * | Multiple time-recording modes | |
| * | Unique panorama-shooting support | |
| * | In-camera image combination/editing | |
| * | Video-out for presentations | |
| * | A LOT of software... |
Consumer electronics giant Casio has been one of the true innovators in theworld of digital photography, although their role is seldom recognized as suchby industry commentators and pundits. Their original QV-10 camera was the firstto include an LCD display panel, a feature that has become nearly ubiquitousacross the entire digital point and shoot camera marketplace. The swivelinglens first seen in the QV-10 has also become more common among other manufacturers.
With the QV-700, Casio is not only making a move toward more mainstream photographicfeatures (with the inclusion of a built-in flash), but continues their historyof innovation with unique timed-exposure modes. These modes are so genuinelyuseful and take such unique advantage of digital capabilities that we expectto see them mimicked by other manufacturers in the near future. All in all,the QV-700 is a dense package of unique imaging capabilities unavailable inany other device on the market.
Overview
The first thing that caught our eye about the QV-700 was the unusually largeLCD panel it carries: 2.5 inches doesn't sound that much bigger than the 1.8inch units that are standard on most digital cameras, but the total viewingarea appears much larger than the 0.7 inches of difference in diagonal measurementwould suggest. The camera fits the hand well, with the bulge of the batterycompartment providing a comfortable bulk to wrap your fingers around. The cameraalso features the by-now-trademark Casio swiveling lens on the left-hand sideof the camera body, rotating through 270 degrees to capture shots below, infront of, above, or behind the camera. A 1/4-inch (6mm), 350,000-pixel CCD sensorcapture images at a basic resolution of 640x480.
As mentioned above, the camera is unique in offering a wide range of unusualfeatures, many of which we found highly useful. Foremost among these are itsvarious timed-exposure modes, which we'll explore further in the 'Exposure'section of this review. Of the timed-exposure modes though, two deserve specialmention: 'Past' and 'Future' shooting. Each of these modesallow you to capture a total of 4 frames in the space of two tenths of a second(0.2 seconds). These modes virtually insure that you won't have to worry aboutyour subject blinking just as you click the shutter. Even better, the 'Past'mode scans the subject continuously, and saves the two frames just before youpressed the shutter, helping to compensate for lagging reflexes that normallyresult in pictures snapped just after the critical moment has passed.
Overall, the QV-700 offers a tremendous package of features, full VGA resolution,a rich software bundle, and an attractive price for the whole package.
Design
The QV-700 is shaped much like a conventional film-based point & shoot camera,but the plethora of buttons, knobs, and switches give away the fact that thisis definitely an electronic-age device. At 5.8x2.7x2.0 inches (147x69x50mm),it will fit into a roomy shirt pocket, but its weight and bulk make it moreat home in a coat or jacket pocket instead. At 10.2 ounces (290g) without batteries,it's about in the middle of the weight range for cameras in its class. Designedto be held primarily by your right hand, the most often-used controls are readilyavailable under either your thumb or forefinger. If you haven't used a camerawith a swiveling lens before, it may take a little getting used to: Conditionedby years of using less flexible devices, we at first found ourselves tiltingthe whole camera body up or down to get the shot we needed. Once we became accustomedto the freedom offered by the swiveling lens, we loved the convenience, andthe opportunities it provided for candid shots.
Viewfinder
Casio originated the concept of an LCD panel as the camera viewfinder, and continuesthat tradition in the QV-700. The advantage of a direct LCD viewfinder is thatit avoids the parallax problems of optical viewfinders at close quarters, lettingyou see exactly what the lens is looking at, a particularly useful feature whendoing macro photography. Likewise, the combination of LCD and swivel lens letsyou unglue your eye from the viewfinder, and hold the camera wherever makesmost sense for the shot you're taking. In a crowd, you can hold the camera overyour head and still see what you're shooting. Alternatively, ground-level close-upsdon't require you to be a contortionist to compose the shot.
Of course, there are downsides to LCD viewfinders too: Direct sunlight canswamp the illumination of the backlight, making them hard to read. LCDs arealso famous for their power consumption, meaning that near-continuous usageas a viewfinder can lead to short battery life.
Optics
We've already talked quite a bit about the swiveling lens mount on the QV-700,so won't spend more time on it here. The lens itself is a very fast f2.0 design,with a focal length equivalent to 38mm on a 35mm film camera. The lens is afixed-focus design, with two modes; normal and macro. In the 'normal'setting, everything from 2.3 feet (0.7m) to infinity is in focus, while at the'macro' setting, the focal range is reduced to 5.5 to 6.3 inches (14to 16cm). At closest approach in macro mode, the QV-700 can capture an areaas small as 3.2x4.2 inches (8.0x10.7cm). (This was one of the best macro performancesamong the VGA-level cameras we'd tested as of this writing - 3/15/98.)
The lens uses a switchable iris, with two fixed aperture settings. The widersetting corresponds to a very fast f2.0, while the smaller opening stops thelens down to f8. When moving from a brightly-lit scene to a dimmer one, there'sa delay of four or five seconds while the smaller aperture is switched in orout. Accordingly, if there's a sudden, drastic change in illumination, allowa few seconds for the camera to get things sorted out before attempting to takea picture. One consequence of the QV-700's switchable aperture is that imagesshot with lots of light are noticeably sharper than those taken under dimmerconditions. If you're shooting a subject for which sharpness is critical, youmay want to use the manual override on the aperture to choose the f8 setting.
Exposure
Casio doesn't give the QV-700 an explicit equivalent ISO speed in their literature,but does claim a usable exposure range of EV 5 to EV 18. This is a very widerange, and extends quite a bit lower than most other digital cameras. Exposuretime is controlled electronically at the CCD, and 'shutter' speedsrange from 1/8th to 1/4000th of a second. Working backward from the 1/8th secondmaximum exposure time and the f2.0 lens aperture, you arrive at an equivalentISO speed of 3200! This is pretty remarkable, and one might ask why Casio doesn'ttout it more in their marketing literature.
The answer probably lies in the fact that the standard methodology for calculating'equivalent ISO speed' hasn't been defined yet for digital cameras,and Casio doesn't want to run afoul of any future direction taken by the internationalstandards committees. (And be blamed for falsely 'hyping' their products.)What Casio has done in the QV-700 (and in most of their other QV-series cameras)is to use greater amplification on the CCD signal when shooting in low lightthan is common among other manufacturers. This lets you capture pictures thatyou otherwise couldn't, but at the cost of increased 'noise' in theimage.
When the 'ISO equivalent' standard is defined, it will most likelytake image noise levels into account, meaning that the Casio devices will probablyhave ISO ratings lower than the value of 3200 we calculated above. Perhaps thebest way to understand what the QV-700 offers is to liken it to 'push processing'of film, in which changes are made during development to increase the film'ssensitivity, at the expense of larger grain and less resolution. Bottom line,however you interpret it, the QV-700 lets you capture usable images in verylow light conditions, albeit with a somewhat higher level of image noise thanyou would see under brighter conditions.
Many third or fourth-generation digital cameras such as the QV-700 are allowingmuch longer exposure times than were possible with earlier devices. This hasproved to be somewhat of a mixed blessing for the manufacturers though, in thatthey often are wrongly blamed for fuzzy images that may be the fault of thephotographer. The QV-700 has a fixed-focus lens, so blurry pictures can't beblamed on poor autofocus performance, but we're concerned that novice photographersadequately understand the steadiness required by a 1/8 second shutter speed:The general rule of thumb for amateur photographers is to use a tripod wheneverthe shutter speed drops below 1 over the lens focal length in millimeters. Withthe QV-700's 38mm-equivalent lens, this guideline would suggest a tripod forany shutter speed slower than 1/38th of a second. When you realize that thelongest exposure time the camera is capable of is over four times slower, youcan appreciate the need to brace or otherwise support the camera in some fashionwhen shooting under dim conditions. Don't blame blurry pictures on the camerawhen you're blithely hand-holding shots even a pro would shy away from.
Like any other auto-exposure system, that of the QV-700 is prone to being 'fooled'by unusual lighting conditions, such as a bright subject against a dark background,or strong backlighting. To allow for this, Casio has provided an exposure compensationcapability, permitting a +/- 2EV adjustment in the base exposure, in nominal0.5 EV steps. (There are four compensation steps available in each direction.)We liked how easy it was to change the exposure compensation during shooting,simply by pressing the '+' or '-' buttons prior to eachshot. In practice though, we found the steps between compensation levels weren'tuniform, sometimes making it difficult to achieve exactly the exposure we weretrying for. Also, the camera would sometimes take a few seconds to respond toan exposure compensation change, which could result in losing a critical shot.
The built-in automatic flash has a specified working range of 2.3-9.8 ft (0.7-3.0m),and has three operating modes: On ('forced on' or 'fill'),Off, and Automatic. The QV-700 is the first Casio digital camera to includean on-board flash, and we found it a welcome addition.
Although we list 'cycle time' (the minimum time between successiveexposures) in our camera data sheets, we don't normally cover it explicitlyin the camera reviews themselves. In the case of the QV-700 though, we feelit deserves special mention, since it is so fast compared to other popular cameras.We found that we could take picture after picture very rapidly, with as littleas 1 second between successive frames! This addresses a frequent user complaintwith digital cameras, as most take a minimum of 10-15 seconds to process eachimage. (Note though, that the flash still takes 5-6 seconds to cycle, so you'llstill need to be patient with flash shooting. - This flash cycle time thoughis very much on a par with typical film-based point & shoots.)
White Balance
The QV-700 normally operates with a fairly effective automatic white balancecontrol enabled. Alternatively, you can manually select a fixed white balanceto compensate for incandescent, fluorescent, or daylight lighting. While theautomatic white balance setting works well in most circumstances, we found thatthe incandescent setting provides a much more neutral color cast under incandescentlighting. (Minor interface quibble: We would liked to have had the white balancesettings labeled more descriptively, instead of the cryptic 'WB-1,'WB-2,' etc.)
Timed Exposure Modes
We've mentioned the QV-700's timed exposure modes several times already, butfeel they're so important that we're giving them their own section here.
The most interesting exposure modes on the QV-700 take advantage of the sensor'sability to continuously capture images every 0.05 seconds (!), and the availabilityof high-speed 'buffer' memory capable of storing four full-frame imagestemporarily, until the camera can save them permanently.
The neatest trick is the QV-700's 'Past' mode, in which the cameracaptures three frames of data before you press the shutter button! How can thisbe? Does the camera read your mind and know when you're about to press the button?Of course, the answer is no, the camera can't read your mind. What happens insteadis that, when operating in 'past' mode, the sensor and camera electronicsrun all the time, constantly grabbing frame after frame, one new image every0.05 seconds. At any moment, the three previous frames are held in memory, untilthe next one arrives and pushes the oldest one out. When the shutter buttonis finally pressed, all that happens is that the camera stops overwriting theoldest image each time, saving it to permanent memory instead. The net resultis you capture a total of four images, the last captured shortly after you pressedthe shutter button.
The 'Past' mode can be a real boon, if you're trying to catch a fleetingevent or expression, and don't have the reflexes of Superman: If you can manageto push the shutter button within as much as a tenth of a second or so of theevent itself, it will be safely recorded.
The QV-700's 'Future' mode is the same trick in reverse: Insteadof stopping its continuous recording with the button-press, it starts it instead.The end result here is a sequence of four images taken about 0.05 seconds apart,beginning at the moment you pressed the shutter trigger.
The final 'rapid exposure' mode is 'Continuous' recording,in which pictures are taken about every second, as long as the shutter buttonis held down, and there's space available in memory.
Sadly, none of the short-interval timed-exposure modes can be used with theflash, as it can't cycle nearly fast enough to keep up with such rapid-fireexposures.
In addition to the short-interval timed-exposure modes, the QV-700 can alsoautomatically capture images over longer periods of time. The simplest of these'Timer' modes is the familiar self-timer, in which the camera countsdown for either 10 or 2 seconds before taking the picture. Even here though,Casio goes the conventional approach one or two better: First, you have a choiceof three different settings. Two single-shot modes give you either 2 or 10 secondsbefore the picture is taken. A third, multi-shot mode counts down a 10 seconddelay, and then takes four pictures at about one second intervals. (How manytimes have you set up your camera for a self-timer shot, and later discoveredthat someone blinked when the shutter went off?) Finally, thanks to the swivelinglens, you can turn the camera so the LCD faces the subjects, so everyone cansee the big, bright numbers counting down the time until the exposure.
More complex (and unique to the QV-700 as of this writing, in early 1998) isa powerful time-lapse exposure mode, in which the camera can be programmed totake a series of pictures, at fixed intervals ranging from 1 to 60 minutes betweenshots. In this mode, you can also specify a delay until the first picture ofthe sequence is captured, up to 24 hours from the time the shutter button ispressed. (You can also configure the camera to take a single shot, after a delayof up to 24 hours.)
The time-lapse exposure mode can be a lot of fun, and could be really usefulfor school science projects. (We had a lot of fun making time-lapse movies ofthe clouds racing by outside our window.) We could also imagine industrial orsecurity applications as well. With a large memory card (see the later discussionon image storage), you could capture large numbers of frames to produce longer-running'movies:' A 20-megabyte CompactFlash card could hold nearly 500 imagesin 'economy' mode. (Note though, that you'll need additional softwareto produce true animated movie files.)
Panorama Shooting
With recent software innovations, 'panorama' shooting has become increasinglypopular, and Casio provides unique features in the QV-700 to support this. Tocreate a panorama, a series of images are taken in sequence, panning the camerabetween each shot. Then, software such as Spin Panorama (included in the boxwith the QV-700) can be used to 'stitch' the separate images togetherinto a single, super-wide picture.
The big challenge in creating panoramas is to have all the initial images lineup properly, and include enough overlap between them to allow the software tosmoothly blend from one image to the next. Normally, this requires either aspecial tripod head, or a lot of guesswork. In the QV-700 though, a clever panoramamode saves a slice of the image from the right-hand side of the previous frameand moves it over to the left-hand side as an aid to alignment. Even better,the reference image is translucent, meaning you can 'see through it'to the current scene coming from the sensor. This lets you achieve almost perfectalignment effortlessly. The ability to achieve such good alignment between shotsmakes the final stitching process much easier, and reduces the likelihood you'llhave visible seams in your final panorama.
Operation and User Interface
Given all its operating modes and features, you might expect the QV-700 to becomplex to operate. While it's true that there are a lot of buttons, and a rotatingthumbwheel with no fewer than six different positions, Casio's extensive useof the LCD panel makes accessing the different functions pretty straightforward:The key is to familiarize yourself with the meaning of the six symbols on thethumbwheel. Once you know which setting to turn to for a particular function,feedback from notations on the LCD panel make setup easy.
Given the vast array of functions on the QV-700, we can't possibly step througheach one here, but we'll describe several of the major modes to provide a generalflavor of what it's like to operate the device.
Normal picture-taking
Most of your picture-taking will be done in the 'normal recording'mode, conveniently marked with a green rectangle. (It's the only green markingon the thumbwheel, so it immediately suggests 'go here.') With theback-panel switch set to 'Rec,' you're ready to take a picture. Inthis mode, the LCD panel acts as a viewfinder, but also gives you some informationon camera settings: Indicators in the upper left-hand corner show the flashmode (no icon means auto-flash), and whether or not the lens is set to macromode. Other information displays on the LCD are controlled by the 'Disp'push-button on the top panel. You can turn on or off a date/time display; astorage indicator showing resolution setting, frames remaining in memory, andthe current storage folder (more on this later); and a battery-condition indicator.
While previewing the scene, the viewfinder display gives a fairly good representationof what the final image will look like. Assuming you don't have direct sunlightfalling on the LCD panel, you can generally get a pretty good idea of what theexposure will look like on the final image. If the image seems too light ortoo dark, you can adjust the exposure by up to 2EV units in either direction,simply by pressing the '+' or '-' buttons on the top panel.(As mentioned earlier though, you may need to wait a few seconds after makinga change, as there seems to be a slight time lag built into the camera's autoexposurecircuitry.)
You can change the image resolution setting (fine, normal, or economy) at anytime while in recording mode, simply by pressing the 'F>N>E'button on the camera's top panel. If the camera isn't set to display resolutionand remaining image capacity, that indicator will briefly illuminate in theLCD when you change the resolution setting.
In normal recording mode, the 'Menu' button brings up a screen allowingyou to select 'manual' mode, by forcing the aperture to either f2or f8, or by explicitly selecting one of the fixed white balance settings.
Continuous Mode
In 'Continuous' mode, the menu button brings up choices for Continuous,Past, or Future recording modes. You select a mode by pressing the +/- buttonsuntil the desired mode is highlighted, then the shutter button to select it.When in any of the continuous modes, the flash is disabled, and the flash iconblinks on the LCD screen.
Timer Mode
In 'Timer' mode, an 'INT' (Interval?) indicator illuminateson the LCD screen, and the menu button takes you to a screen where you can setthe number of shots you want to capture, the interval between them, and thetime at which you want the image capture to start. (The start time is optional.If not specified, capture will begin when you press the shutter button.)
Panorama Mode
We discussed panorama mode at some length earlier. When in panorama mode, themenu button takes you to a screen that lets you choose between vertical or horizontalcamera orientation.
Image Review
Once you've taken one or more pictures, you can view them on the LCD panel byflipping the back-panel switch to 'Play.' In this mode, the last picturetaken is displayed first, and you can page back and forth between shots by pressingthe '+' and '-' buttons. To review your images more quickly,you can switch to a 4-up or 9-up index display. In these modes, the +/- buttonsstep you through the camera's memory 4 or 9 images at a time.
In Play mode, you also have the option of zooming in on the image, using theLCD screen as a 'window' into the full picture. Zoomed in, the fullimage is about twice as large as the LCD screen, and you can pan around to inspectthe full detail of the picture. Panning is controlled by the ubiquitous +/-buttons, and a small icon in the upper right-hand corner of the LCD shows youwhat part of the image you're looking at.
In-Camera Image Manipulation
As digital cameras become increasingly 'smarter,' it becomes practicalto do more and more image manipulation within the camera itself. Casio has takenthis capability to new heights with the QV-700, allowing you to cut-out oneimage (in any of several different shapes) and overlay it on another; changethe color of an image; rotate an image in the display, filling the sides ofthe horizontal frame with any of a choice of colors; or add titles to your images.Titles are created by capturing a high-contrast image using a special recordingmode, selecting one of several standard banner formats, choosing title and bannercolors, and finally picking an image to drop the title onto. Title backgroundscan even have varying degrees of transparency!
Casio Qv-200
The image manipulation and titling capability is clearly directed at thosewho would use the camera's video-out capability (see below) for presentationsdriven directly from the camera. Some may question the benefit of assemblingpresentations in the camera, rather than on a computer and simply uploadingthe results back to the camera for display. While the camera's standalone capabilitiesare obviously less than those of a software package running on a host PC, wefound the in-camera capabilities both more useful and more fun than we had anticipated:You might not want to rely on the QV-700's presentation capabilities to sella multi million-dollar business deal, but they'd be absolutely great for family'slide shows,' or school projects.
Image Storage and Interface
Memory
The QV-700 stores images on CompactFlash memory cards. The included 2 megabytecard can hold 14 images in 'fine' mode, 26 in 'normal' mode,and 47 in 'economy' mode. Larger CF memory cards are available, bothfrom Casio and on the open market. (Presently, CF cards are available in sizesup to 48MB, and larger models become available every few months.)
Folders
As an aid to managing your images (and in a tip of the hat to the common practiceof mixing business and personal use of digital cameras), Casio provides a systemof 'folders' to help organize your images. At any time, one of sixdifferent folders is active. Any images captured will be stored in that folder,and you'll only see images in that folder when in playback mode. Images maybe deleted singly, an entire folder can be cleared, or all images in the cameracan be erased at once. Images can also easily be moved from one folder to another.Especially in the case a camera with a large memory card used for multiple purposes,we believe the 'folders' organization would be very useful.
Computer Interface
Images can be read from the camera either by popping the CF card into an optionaladapter, which then plugs into a PCMCIA card slot on your computer, or by usingthe included QV-Link or TWAIN driver software. The QV-Link software is quitestraightforward in its operation, and versions for both Mac and PC platformsship with the camera. The normal mode of operation for QV-Link would most likelybe to begin by opening the camera's memory as an index of thumbnail images.From there, it's easy to select multiple images for download, and then pulldown all the selected shots in a single operation. Alternatively, the camera'sentire memory image can be pulled down for later sorting and culling in a singleoperation. Images from the host can also be uploaded back to the camera, increasingthe QV-700's usefulness as a presentation device.
On the Windows platform, the maximum>Video Output
Casio was one of the first companies to include video output capability on theircameras, a function that is now commonplace. We've mentioned this ability earlier,and the concept of using the camera as a presentation tool. We vacillate somewhatthough, as to how frequently the typical user will take advantage of this capability.For casual one-on-one sharing, the built-in LCD screen (especially the largerthan normal one on the QV-700) is often sufficient. For a better viewing experience,whether in home or office, there's frequently a computer handy, and computerCRTs always look better than televisions. On the other hand though, regardlessof where you are, you can probably find a television handy that will eitherhave a jack for direct video input, or have a VCR attached that does. Overall,video-out is a handy feature, and one that we'd rather have than do without.(QV-700 models sold in the US only support the NTSC signal standard: Presumablythose sold in other countries would support some flavor of PAL.)
Power
The QV-700 is powered by four standard 1.5v AA batteries, or the included ACpower adapter. Casio recommends either alkaline or lithium primary cells, butwe also had good luck with Rayovac Renewal rechargeable alkalines, NiCd, andNiMH batteries. (A word of caution though: Casio specifically doesn't recommendNiCd or NiMH batteries for their cameras, due to their tendency to drop outputvoltage very rapidly at the end of their capacity. This can lead to a varietyof memory errors, the most severe of which (although rare) requires you to returnthe camera to Casio for service! We've had good luck with rechargeables in Casiocameras ourselves, but suggest you be very careful not to push your batteriestoo far: Recharge them fully at the first hint of a low-battery warning!)
As with most similarly-equipped cameras, the LCD panel on the QV-700 consumeslarge amounts of power. Extended viewing of images will drastically shortenyour battery life. That said, although we didn't conduct any formal tests, ourgeneral impression was that batteries lasted somewhat longer in the QV-700 thanin other LCD-equipped cameras. Nonetheless, our standard recommendation thatyou use high-capacity NiMH rechargeable batteries for all your digital camerasholds here as well.
Included Software
The QV-700 has one of the richest assortments of included software we've seenin any digital camera to date. The software package includes Casio's own driversoftware, Adobe's PhotoDeluxe, ISR's Ixlaphoto, a trial version of InMedia'sSlides & Sound, ColorDesk Photo, Spin Panorama, and Microsoft's InternetExplorer.
Basic camera operation and connectivity is provided by Casio's own QV-Linkapplication for both Mac and Windows platforms. Also included from Casio area Photoshop plug-in driver for Macintosh computers, and a TWAIN driver for Windowsones. All of these basic applications allow full control over uploading anddownloading to or from the camera, and are all you really need to get imagesinto or out of the QV-700.
Several of the included software packages provide for image manipulation, andthe creation of various creative items such as calendars, cards, etc. Adobe'sPhotoDeluxe program supports both Mac and Windows environments, while IxlaPhotoand ColorDesk Photo work only on Windows 95 machines. All of these provide forbasic image manipulation and project creation. PhotoDeluxe includes the greatestnumber of 'guided activities,' and the most fonts and project templates,while Ixlaphoto includes 'album' organization capabilities, toolsfor business presentations, and the ability to create simple web pages. ColorDesk'sclaim to fame is more extensive image manipulation, and a special color-matchingsystem to insure good-looking printouts.
Slides & Sound is a very powerful and easy-to-use presentation package,letting you create slide shows with animated transitions, background sound and/ornarration, on either Mac or Windows computers. Finished presentations are actuallystandalone applications: You can send them over the internet or via email, andthe recipient can play them back even if they don't themselves have Slides andSound. You can even make presentations on the Mac that play under Windows, andvice versa. The version included with the QV-700 is a 'trial' copy,that expires 30 days after installation. Even the expired version still letsyou create slide shows that will run on your own computer: You just lose theability to make standalone presentations.
Spin Panorama is a panorama 'stitching' program, that lets you combinemultiple shots into wide panoramic views. Used in conjunction with the specialpanorama mode of the QV-700, it is particularly easy to assemble panoramic images.(The panorama shooting mode helps you line up successive shots, making the finalstitching process easier, and the seams between images less evident.)
Casio Qv-200
Finally, Microsoft's Internet Explorer is a great 'browser' applicationfor the World Wide Web portion of the internet. Although freely available on-linefor download, it's a big program, and having all of it available on a CD willsave you a lot of download time!
Test Results
As with all Imaging Resource camera tests, we encourage you to let your owneyes be the judge of how well the devices performed: Explore the links at thebottom of this page, to see how well the QV-700 performed, and how its imagescompare to other cameras you may be considering buying.
Overall, we found the image quality of the QV-700 to be about in the middleof the pack for VGA-resolution cameras. Its resolution measured-out at about400 line pairs per picture height in the vertical direction, and roughly 375lp/ph horizontally. This is a bit lower than some VGA-level cameras we tested,and may be due to Casio's use of a 1/4 inch CCD, rather than the larger 1/3inch one that the higher-performing devices used. On a positive note though,the QV-700's images were almost completely free of the color artifacts thatplague many digital cameras when taking pictures of high-contrast objects withfine detail.
We found the 'live' LCD viewfinder was both reasonably accurate,and very predictable: In common with most point & shoot camera viewfinders,it displays slightly less of the image than is actually captured. (The capturedimage is about 8-9% larger than what you see on the LCD panel.) To its creditthough, the displayed area is very accurately centered in the final image, avoidingthe problems off-center viewfinder framing we've seen on several digital point& shoots.
Color accuracy on the QV-700 was quite good, although saturation (color intensity)was lower than that of the highest-performing units we tested. The fact thatthe color hues were fairly accurate though, means that a slight bump in saturationin an image-editing program should improve the color rendition with few side-effects.
Continuous Mode
In 'Continuous' mode, the menu button brings up choices for Continuous,Past, or Future recording modes. You select a mode by pressing the +/- buttonsuntil the desired mode is highlighted, then the shutter button to select it.When in any of the continuous modes, the flash is disabled, and the flash iconblinks on the LCD screen.
Timer Mode
In 'Timer' mode, an 'INT' (Interval?) indicator illuminateson the LCD screen, and the menu button takes you to a screen where you can setthe number of shots you want to capture, the interval between them, and thetime at which you want the image capture to start. (The start time is optional.If not specified, capture will begin when you press the shutter button.)
Panorama Mode
We discussed panorama mode at some length earlier. When in panorama mode, themenu button takes you to a screen that lets you choose between vertical or horizontalcamera orientation.
Image Review
Once you've taken one or more pictures, you can view them on the LCD panel byflipping the back-panel switch to 'Play.' In this mode, the last picturetaken is displayed first, and you can page back and forth between shots by pressingthe '+' and '-' buttons. To review your images more quickly,you can switch to a 4-up or 9-up index display. In these modes, the +/- buttonsstep you through the camera's memory 4 or 9 images at a time.
In Play mode, you also have the option of zooming in on the image, using theLCD screen as a 'window' into the full picture. Zoomed in, the fullimage is about twice as large as the LCD screen, and you can pan around to inspectthe full detail of the picture. Panning is controlled by the ubiquitous +/-buttons, and a small icon in the upper right-hand corner of the LCD shows youwhat part of the image you're looking at.
In-Camera Image Manipulation
As digital cameras become increasingly 'smarter,' it becomes practicalto do more and more image manipulation within the camera itself. Casio has takenthis capability to new heights with the QV-700, allowing you to cut-out oneimage (in any of several different shapes) and overlay it on another; changethe color of an image; rotate an image in the display, filling the sides ofthe horizontal frame with any of a choice of colors; or add titles to your images.Titles are created by capturing a high-contrast image using a special recordingmode, selecting one of several standard banner formats, choosing title and bannercolors, and finally picking an image to drop the title onto. Title backgroundscan even have varying degrees of transparency!
Casio Qv-200
The image manipulation and titling capability is clearly directed at thosewho would use the camera's video-out capability (see below) for presentationsdriven directly from the camera. Some may question the benefit of assemblingpresentations in the camera, rather than on a computer and simply uploadingthe results back to the camera for display. While the camera's standalone capabilitiesare obviously less than those of a software package running on a host PC, wefound the in-camera capabilities both more useful and more fun than we had anticipated:You might not want to rely on the QV-700's presentation capabilities to sella multi million-dollar business deal, but they'd be absolutely great for family'slide shows,' or school projects.
Image Storage and Interface
Memory
The QV-700 stores images on CompactFlash memory cards. The included 2 megabytecard can hold 14 images in 'fine' mode, 26 in 'normal' mode,and 47 in 'economy' mode. Larger CF memory cards are available, bothfrom Casio and on the open market. (Presently, CF cards are available in sizesup to 48MB, and larger models become available every few months.)
Folders
As an aid to managing your images (and in a tip of the hat to the common practiceof mixing business and personal use of digital cameras), Casio provides a systemof 'folders' to help organize your images. At any time, one of sixdifferent folders is active. Any images captured will be stored in that folder,and you'll only see images in that folder when in playback mode. Images maybe deleted singly, an entire folder can be cleared, or all images in the cameracan be erased at once. Images can also easily be moved from one folder to another.Especially in the case a camera with a large memory card used for multiple purposes,we believe the 'folders' organization would be very useful.
Computer Interface
Images can be read from the camera either by popping the CF card into an optionaladapter, which then plugs into a PCMCIA card slot on your computer, or by usingthe included QV-Link or TWAIN driver software. The QV-Link software is quitestraightforward in its operation, and versions for both Mac and PC platformsship with the camera. The normal mode of operation for QV-Link would most likelybe to begin by opening the camera's memory as an index of thumbnail images.From there, it's easy to select multiple images for download, and then pulldown all the selected shots in a single operation. Alternatively, the camera'sentire memory image can be pulled down for later sorting and culling in a singleoperation. Images from the host can also be uploaded back to the camera, increasingthe QV-700's usefulness as a presentation device.
On the Windows platform, the maximum>Video Output
Casio was one of the first companies to include video output capability on theircameras, a function that is now commonplace. We've mentioned this ability earlier,and the concept of using the camera as a presentation tool. We vacillate somewhatthough, as to how frequently the typical user will take advantage of this capability.For casual one-on-one sharing, the built-in LCD screen (especially the largerthan normal one on the QV-700) is often sufficient. For a better viewing experience,whether in home or office, there's frequently a computer handy, and computerCRTs always look better than televisions. On the other hand though, regardlessof where you are, you can probably find a television handy that will eitherhave a jack for direct video input, or have a VCR attached that does. Overall,video-out is a handy feature, and one that we'd rather have than do without.(QV-700 models sold in the US only support the NTSC signal standard: Presumablythose sold in other countries would support some flavor of PAL.)
Power
The QV-700 is powered by four standard 1.5v AA batteries, or the included ACpower adapter. Casio recommends either alkaline or lithium primary cells, butwe also had good luck with Rayovac Renewal rechargeable alkalines, NiCd, andNiMH batteries. (A word of caution though: Casio specifically doesn't recommendNiCd or NiMH batteries for their cameras, due to their tendency to drop outputvoltage very rapidly at the end of their capacity. This can lead to a varietyof memory errors, the most severe of which (although rare) requires you to returnthe camera to Casio for service! We've had good luck with rechargeables in Casiocameras ourselves, but suggest you be very careful not to push your batteriestoo far: Recharge them fully at the first hint of a low-battery warning!)
As with most similarly-equipped cameras, the LCD panel on the QV-700 consumeslarge amounts of power. Extended viewing of images will drastically shortenyour battery life. That said, although we didn't conduct any formal tests, ourgeneral impression was that batteries lasted somewhat longer in the QV-700 thanin other LCD-equipped cameras. Nonetheless, our standard recommendation thatyou use high-capacity NiMH rechargeable batteries for all your digital camerasholds here as well.
Included Software
The QV-700 has one of the richest assortments of included software we've seenin any digital camera to date. The software package includes Casio's own driversoftware, Adobe's PhotoDeluxe, ISR's Ixlaphoto, a trial version of InMedia'sSlides & Sound, ColorDesk Photo, Spin Panorama, and Microsoft's InternetExplorer.
Basic camera operation and connectivity is provided by Casio's own QV-Linkapplication for both Mac and Windows platforms. Also included from Casio area Photoshop plug-in driver for Macintosh computers, and a TWAIN driver for Windowsones. All of these basic applications allow full control over uploading anddownloading to or from the camera, and are all you really need to get imagesinto or out of the QV-700.
Several of the included software packages provide for image manipulation, andthe creation of various creative items such as calendars, cards, etc. Adobe'sPhotoDeluxe program supports both Mac and Windows environments, while IxlaPhotoand ColorDesk Photo work only on Windows 95 machines. All of these provide forbasic image manipulation and project creation. PhotoDeluxe includes the greatestnumber of 'guided activities,' and the most fonts and project templates,while Ixlaphoto includes 'album' organization capabilities, toolsfor business presentations, and the ability to create simple web pages. ColorDesk'sclaim to fame is more extensive image manipulation, and a special color-matchingsystem to insure good-looking printouts.
Slides & Sound is a very powerful and easy-to-use presentation package,letting you create slide shows with animated transitions, background sound and/ornarration, on either Mac or Windows computers. Finished presentations are actuallystandalone applications: You can send them over the internet or via email, andthe recipient can play them back even if they don't themselves have Slides andSound. You can even make presentations on the Mac that play under Windows, andvice versa. The version included with the QV-700 is a 'trial' copy,that expires 30 days after installation. Even the expired version still letsyou create slide shows that will run on your own computer: You just lose theability to make standalone presentations.
Spin Panorama is a panorama 'stitching' program, that lets you combinemultiple shots into wide panoramic views. Used in conjunction with the specialpanorama mode of the QV-700, it is particularly easy to assemble panoramic images.(The panorama shooting mode helps you line up successive shots, making the finalstitching process easier, and the seams between images less evident.)
Casio Qv-200
Finally, Microsoft's Internet Explorer is a great 'browser' applicationfor the World Wide Web portion of the internet. Although freely available on-linefor download, it's a big program, and having all of it available on a CD willsave you a lot of download time!
Test Results
As with all Imaging Resource camera tests, we encourage you to let your owneyes be the judge of how well the devices performed: Explore the links at thebottom of this page, to see how well the QV-700 performed, and how its imagescompare to other cameras you may be considering buying.
Overall, we found the image quality of the QV-700 to be about in the middleof the pack for VGA-resolution cameras. Its resolution measured-out at about400 line pairs per picture height in the vertical direction, and roughly 375lp/ph horizontally. This is a bit lower than some VGA-level cameras we tested,and may be due to Casio's use of a 1/4 inch CCD, rather than the larger 1/3inch one that the higher-performing devices used. On a positive note though,the QV-700's images were almost completely free of the color artifacts thatplague many digital cameras when taking pictures of high-contrast objects withfine detail.
We found the 'live' LCD viewfinder was both reasonably accurate,and very predictable: In common with most point & shoot camera viewfinders,it displays slightly less of the image than is actually captured. (The capturedimage is about 8-9% larger than what you see on the LCD panel.) To its creditthough, the displayed area is very accurately centered in the final image, avoidingthe problems off-center viewfinder framing we've seen on several digital point& shoots.
Color accuracy on the QV-700 was quite good, although saturation (color intensity)was lower than that of the highest-performing units we tested. The fact thatthe color hues were fairly accurate though, means that a slight bump in saturationin an image-editing program should improve the color rendition with few side-effects.
While it didn't prove to be much of a problem under normal shooting conditions,the tonal range of the QV-700 is somewhat compressed: In scenes with contrastylighting, you're likely to lose detail in both the shadows and the highlights.This tendency was more evident in strong highlights, but we found we could generallycompensate fairly well by using the manual exposure compensation to bring downthe overall exposure level one notch.
Casio Qv-200
The QV-700's macro lens setting performed well: At closest approach, it capturedan area as small as 3.2x4.2 inches (8.0x10.7cm). This was one of the best macroperformances among the VGA-level cameras we'd tested to date.
See for Yourself!
Take a look at the test images from the QV-700,or jump to the Comparometer(tm)page to compare its reference images to those from other digital cameras.
Conclusion
Overall, the QV-700 is quite a package! It offers a number of features and capabilitiesthat simply aren't available anywhere else in the market (the unique timed exposuremodes, and its slick support for panorama images), and its image quality isquite respectable as well. Combine this with the unusually robust software packagethat Casio includes, and the result is a very compelling combination: You probablyget more capability in one box (in terms of ways you can capture images, andthings you can do with them) than with any other product on the market.
Casio Qv-2000ux
Reader Sample Images!
Do you have a QV-700 camera? If you'll post an album of your sampleson one of the photo-sharing services and email us at [email protected],we'll list the album here for others to see!
Casio Qv-2000ux
For More Info:
View the data sheet for the QV-700
View the test images from the QV-700
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Casio Qv 4000 Manual
