Casio EX-S600 Performance

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Casio EXILIM EX-S600 Performance

Timing and Performance

Good to very slow speed for a consumer camera.

Startup/Shutdown
Power on to first shot	2.0 seconds	Time it takes for LCD to turn on and lens to deploy
Shutdown	1.6 seconds	How long it takes to retract lens
Buffer clearing time	5 seconds (5 seconds buffer clearing in LF JPEG)	Worst case buffer clearing time. -- This is the delay after a set of shots before you can remove the card. Some cameras won't retract their lenses and shut down until the buffer is cleared.
Mode switching
Play to Record, first shot	0.2 seconds	Time until first shot is captured
Record to play	2.4 seconds	Time to display a large/fine file immediately after capture
Display recorded image	0.2 second	Time to display a large/fine file already on the memory card.
Shutter response (Lag Time):
Full Autofocus Wide	0.47 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at wide angle position.
Full Autofocus Tele	0.53 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at telephoto position.
Prefocused	0.010 second	Time to capture, after half-pressing and holding shutter button.
Manual focus	0.066 second	For most cameras, shutter lag is less in manual focus than autofocus, but usually not as fast as when the camera is "prefocused"
Cycle time (shot to shot)
Single Shot mode Large Fine JPEG	5.41 seconds	Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots
Single Shot mode 640x480 JPEG	0.97 seconds	Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots
Early shutter penalty?	YES	Some cameras refuse to snap another shot if you release and press the shutter too quickly in Single Shot mode, making "No" the preferred answer
Continuous mode Large Fine JPEG	1.99 second (0.50 frames per second); 5 seconds to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first
Continuous mode 640x480 JPEG	0.81 second (1.24 frames per second); 1 second to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first
Flash recycling	5 seconds	Flash at maximum output
Download speed
Windows Computer, USB 2.0	1,674 KBytes/sec	Typical Values: Less than 600=USB 1.1; 600-770=USB 2.0 Low; Above 700=USB 2.0 High

The Casio Exilim EX-S600's performance ranges from quite fast to well below average, depending on what you're trying to do. Start-up time is a little sluggish at 2.0 seconds, but shutter lag at wide angle and telephoto is very good. "Prefocus" times (half-pressing and holding down the shutter button before the final exposure) are blazingly fast, with a shutter delay of only 0.010 second. Shot-to-shot cycle times leave much to be desired, however, at about 5.41 seconds for large/fine JPEGs, and the camera captures frames continuously at this rate. (Time speed up for the lowest resolution, to about 0.97 second.) Continuous-mode speed is also on the slower side, at about 0.50 frame/second, for 20 shots in a row. Flash recycle time is pretty good, at about five seconds. Connected to a computer, download speeds are fast, so you won't feel a need for a separate card reader. Bottom line, the EX-S600 has great shutter lag, but the shot-to-shot cycle time is a killer. Thus, the camera is good for snap shots of scenery and general picture taking, but it won't be fast enough to keep up with children or action shots.

Battery and Storage Capacity

Battery
Good battery life with the custom Li-Ion battery.

Operating Mode	Number of Shots
LiIon Rechargeable Battery	300

The Casio Exilim EX-S600 uses a custom rechargeable Li-Ion battery for power, and comes with a battery and charger. Though runtime is pretty good, I strongly recommend picking up a spare battery and keeping it freshly charged and on-hand for extended outings.

The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of (on a fully-charged rechargeable battery), based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))

Storage
The EX-S600 accepts SD/MMC memory cards, though no card is included; 8.3MB RAM is built into the camera.

Image Capacity with 8.3MB Internal Memory		Fine	Normal	Basic
2,816 x 2,112	Images	2	3	6
2,816 x 2,112	File Size	3.9MB	2.5MB	1.4MB
2,304 x 1,728	Images	3	4	8
2,304 x 1,728	File Size	2.6MB	1.8MB	953KB
2,048 x 1,536	Images	4	5	11
2,048 x 1,536	File Size	2.1MB	1.4MB	741KB
1,600 x 1,200	Images	6	9	17
1,600 x 1,200	File Size	1.3MB	901KB	487KB
640 x 480	Images	20	30	57
640 x 480	File Size	413KB	275KB	148KB