Rounding out this week's camera announcements are three models from Casio. The
first two are stylish ultra-compacts with wide-angle zoom lenses. Here are their
specs:
Exilim EX-Z250 [specs]
- 9.1 effective Megapixel CCD
- F2.6-5.9, 4X optical zoom lens, equivalent to 28 - 112 mm
- Ultra-compact metal body comes in silver and black
- Sensor-shift image stabilization
- 3-inch LCD display with 230,000 pixels
- Uses new Exilim Engine 3.0 image processor
- Point-and-shoot operation, with more scene modes than you'd ever need
- New features include "handheld night scene" (I'll believe that one when
I see it), some kind of automatic contrast adjustment, and a facial skin
smoother called "make-up shot"
- Face detection, plus an Auto Shutter mode which waits for your subject
to smile, or for camera shake to stop
- Records movies at 848 x 480 (30 fps) using the H.264/AVC codec
- 38.5MB onboard memory + SD/SDHC/MMC/MMCplus slot
- Uses NP-70 li-ion battery; 280 shots per charge
- Ships in October for $250
Exilim EX-Z300 [specs] - changes:
- 10.1 effective Megapixel CCD
- Slightly different lens; F2.8 - F5.8 maximum aperture range
- AF-assist lamp
- Can record movies at 1280 x 720 (720p) at 24 fps
- Uses NP-40 battery; 300 shots per charge
- USB 2.0 High Speed support
- Comes in silver, black, and pink
- Priced at $300
EXILIM Zoom EX-Z300 and EX-Z250 — Two high quality digital cameras with
excellent functionality that allows users to take beautiful pictures of people’s
faces and night scenes
One model with 10.1 effective megapixels and the other with 9.1 effective
megapixels
The two new cameras are the 10.1 effective megapixel EX-Z300 and
the 9.1 effective megapixel EX-Z250. Thanks to Casio’s original image
processing technologies, these cameras achieve an extremely precise, smooth
rendering of high-resolution images, reducing a great deal of noise in pictures
taken at high sensitivity levels. This is the result of Casio’s pursuit
of the beautiful image quality that users expect from cameras with very high
resolution.
28mm wide angle, 4X optical zoom lenses
These lenses zoom from 28mm to 112mm
(35mm film camera equivalent). Users can enjoy a wide range of shooting options,
from wide angle photography that is convenient when shooting large objects
or many people in a small space, to telephoto shooting which brings distant
subjects close.
New functions that take advantage of the high speed image processing of
Casio’s
newly developed EXILIM Engine 3.0:
- Handheld night scene: The cameras can automatically detect night situations
where there would normally be camera shake if a tripod wasn’t used.
Users get clear, bright photographs of both people and night scenes as the
camera compensates for camera shake.
- Lighting function: When blue skies are washed
out, or when faces are dark because subjects have their backs to the light,
these cameras are able to automatically detect such situations and select
just the right balance between light and dark. Washed out and overly dark
areas are controlled, allowing for a natural tonal range to be reproduced,
so both people and backgrounds are evenly exposed.
- Makeup
function: When users want to smooth facial skin, or reduce the depth of facial
shadows in sunlight, etc., they can apply image processing from a relatively
low level 1 right through to a high level 12, all the while checking the
effect of the processing level chosen in the LCD monitor. The higher-end
model EX-Z300 also has a “Makeup button” that allows effects
to be applied with one touch.
- Multi-motion: Just as if multi-exposure had been
used, the EX-Z300 (only) can take a series of shots of a moving subject and
combine them in a single photo (image size must be set to 3 megapixels.)
CCD shift stabilization
Camera shake is compensated for by the mechanical movement
of the imaging element in the camera. Of course, both cameras also incorporate
Anti Shake DSP, which reduces photo blur due to moving subjects by raising
the camera’s sensitivity
and allowing faster shutter speeds.
EX-Z300 comes with HD Movie function, which enables high definition (1280x720
pixel) movie recording
The EX-Z300 comes equipped with a high definition movie
recording function, which allows beautiful movies with an image size of 1280
by 720 pixels to be recorded with just a push of the Movie button. They also
feature the H.264 video standard, which records beautiful, high quality movies
in highly compressed video files.
iTunes-compatible H.264 video
Both cameras use the H.264 video standard, which
utilizes the AAC audio codec widely used in Apple’s iPod and other mobile
devices.
Large, high definition 230,000 pixel 3.0 inch LCD monitor
These cameras use
a large, clear 3.0 inch LCD monitor. The high contrast screen produces sharp,
bright images that can be viewed easily from any angle, and the monitor’s
high brightness means that it can be easily viewed even when the surrounding
light is bright.