Casio QV 8000SX

The Casio QV8000SX is everything I ever wanted from a camera! For many years, I used an Olympus OM2n SLR camera with which you could do just about anything and everything, provided you were willing to tote around a big and heavy bagful of accessories. With digital cameras now reaching an advanced stage in their development, I decided it was time I "went digital" and spent several weeks surfing the net and investigating the pro's and cons ...
...with the results from the Casio which also includes macro and maximum zoom shots.
It uses Compact Flash removable memory cards and has three quality settings, on the finest setting an 8mb card will hold up to 39 images, on the normal setting up to 48 images and on economy setting 63. A spare 8mb card can be purchased for around £30 and as they are smaller than a book of matches, are easily stored in the pocket thoughtfully provided in the ... more

The Casio QV8000SX is everything I ever wanted from a camera! For many years, I used an Olympus OM2n SLR camera with which you could do just about anything and everything, provided you were willing to tote around a big and heavy bagful of accessories. With digital cameras now reaching an advanced stage in their development, I decided it was time I "went digital" and spent several weeks surfing the net and investigating the pro's and cons of every make and model I could find as I needed one that would do virtually everything my SLR had done. Very few of the digital cameras had a threaded filter ring on the lens which would take interchangeable lenses which for me was a "must have". I also looked for a good optical zoom and swivelling lens, good memory capacity, ease of changing and charging batteries, easy uploadig to the PC, good definition in the pictures and portability etc. etc.
I finally found what I was looking for in the QV8000SX, a camera which had just about everything my SLR had and could be put in the pocket of my coat. It has 8X optical zoom and 2X and 4X digital zoom which by using the threaded filter ring and a 2X converter can be increased to a huge 16X optical zoom, and if you ever needed it as much as 64X digital zoom. With all the criticism about digital cameras compared to film, I was very pleased with the results from the Casio which also includes macro and maximum zoom shots.
It uses Compact Flash removable memory cards and has three quality settings, on the finest setting an 8mb card will hold up to 39 images, on the normal setting up to 48 images and on economy setting 63. A spare 8mb card can be purchased for around £30 and as they are smaller than a book of matches, are easily stored in the pocket thoughtfully provided in the case supplied with the camera.
It comes complete with everything you need including even a remote control which can be used to avoid camera shake when pressing the shutter button among other things.
Uploading to the PC using the USB connection is simlicity itself and is over and done with in seconds, and if you wish, you can then clear the card's memory ready for your next session although this can be done at anytime from within the camera.
It is a full multi purpose camera having Timer, Panorama,Movie,Normal,Night Scene,Portrait, and Landscape modes, all easily set by turning the knob on the top of the camera. It has a built in flash suitable for use in indoor shots etc. with an anti redeye built in.
I found the menu system took a little while to get used to, but the 120 page manual included in the software is very comprehensive and helpful, and the fact that it prints two pages on one does not take too much time or paper to print out.
This camera has so much going for it that it is impossible to record it all here and the only thing I could fault it on is the fact that it does not have an optical viewfinder and as with all LCD screens it is difficult to see the view in bright light. However, the screen is larger than most and I found it quite easy to make a hood to shade it from the light and fix it to the camera using velcro.
At just under £500, I consider it a very good buy and an ideal replacement for anyone used to SLR cameras due to the many features incorporated in it.
 

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