BestMan

Answers

• What are BESTSHOT files? Background information:
  BESTSHOT files are small data files that consist of two parts:
  A header that is specific to your type of camera and a second part that consists of a 160x120 pixel graphic. The header contains the specific settings for the camera. BestMan allows you to change the graphic of an existing BESTSHOT file as well as create a new BESTSHOT file by combining an existing JPEG graphic with the respective values in the header.
  
  BestMan does NOT modify your camera firmware in any way.
  BestMan fully supports the creation of Movie-BESTSHOT scenes

• How do I use BESTSHOT files created with BestMan?
  BestShot files always need to reside in the main camera memory and not on a memory card. If you want to load BESTSHOT files from the camera to your PC or vice versa you need to remove any memory card. Also the camera needs to be set to "Mass storage mode", not to Pict-Bridge-Mode. This setting can be found in the menu "Settings", submenu "USB", it is the default setting of the camera. When you connect your camera to the PC the main memory is mounted as removable disk drive and you can use windows explorer to work with it.
  
  In the main memory you should be seeing a maximum of three folders:
  DCIM contains all photos
  SCENE contains the BESTSHOT files (in case you already have created some on the camera)
  MSCENE contains the Movie BESTSHOT files (in case your camera does support those)
  
  When creating a new BESTSHOT file with BestMan the file needs to be copied to the SCENE folder (MSCENE for Movie-BESTSHOT). In case this folder does not yet exist in the camera memory you can simply create it.
  
  BESTSHOT files always have a file extension of .jpe and a file name that depends on the camera.
  The first 5 letters identify the camera type, e.g. UEZ55 for an Exilim Zoom Z55. The next 3 digits are just a counter from 0 to 999.
  For example the first User-BESTSHOT file for an Exilim Zoom Z55 is called UEZ55001.jpe. The BESTSHOT file number 999 for a Casio Exilim Pro P600 is called UP600999.jpe.
  
  How to use BestMan to create a new BESTSHOT file:
  For the start create a new file by choosing the desired parameters in the "create new BESTSHOT" module of BestMan. Then choose an existing graphic and then save the BESTSHOT file to your PC with the file name fitting your camera (BestMan automatically proposes the right name structure for your camera, you just have to replace the ?xxx? in the filename by a number). Then copy the file to the folder SCENE in your camera.
  

• Can I change the internal BESTSHOT files of my camera?
  The internal BESTSHOT files from Casio are stored in the camera firmware and can´t be modified directly with BestMan as they are not accessible from the SCENE folder.
  
  But there is a workaround:
  You can take a picture with one of the internal BESTHSOTS, make a user BESTSHOT from it within the camera and then change the resulting file with BestMan as you need.

• I have created a BESTSHOT file with a long exposure time, but the camera always sets the shutter speed to 2 seconds
  Older cameras, like some of the "Pro" models allowed shutter times of up to 60 seconds. Some even allowed to set a Bulb-Mode (infinite shutter time).
  Most of the current Casio cameras limit the longest shutter time that you can set via BESTSHOT to a maximum of 4 seconds in Night-Program mode (only available in the registered version of BestMan). In the "normal" metering program the maximum shutter time usually is limited to a maximum of 2 seconds.
  BestMan still offers all options, as there is always hope, that Casio changes this behaviour in one of the future firmware versions. The topic has been addressed to Casio already.