Casio Announces Four Cameras and a Digital Photo Frame

Casio’s CES camera announcements included the high-speed Exilim EX-FH100 ($349), the kind of offbeat, awesomely versatile camera that’s become Casio’s signature since we marveled over the Exilim EX-F1 almost two years ago. Like the EX-F1 and its follow-ups, such as the FC100, it can shoot batches of high-res photos in burst mode, as well as film slow-motion video.

The company also introduced three 14.1-megapixel traditional point-and-shoots, which shows Casio is still fighting in the unnecessary megapixel race. Finally, the company announced a digital photo frame that allows users to apply artistic effects to pictures.

Are Casio’s cameras poised to win more Editors’ Choice awards from us in 2010? Only hands-on testing will tell, but in the meantime, take a gander at the specs to see what you can expect from the newest models.

High Speed Exilim EX-FH100 ($349)

• 10.1-megapixel resolution.
• The lens looks pretty versatile: it’s 24mm wide (the typical lens is only 35mm wide) and has 10X optical zoom (all the more impressive given how relatively slim the camera looks).
• Shoots slow-motion video at up to 1,000 frames per second (note that the higher the frame rate, the darker the picture and the lower the resolution). Other options include 120 fps, 240 fps, and 420 fps. These settings won’t be quite as slow, but the picture won’t be as dim, and the resolution won’t shrink quite as much.
• Can take up to 30 9-megapixel photos at a rate of 40 shots per second.
• A prerecord mode caches images even before you press the shutter. In the past, we’ve found this useful at sporting events, for one (say, waiting for a pitcher to throw).
• 720p and HDMI out. Pretty standard on a high-end camera at this point.
• An upgrade to the fifth generation of Casio’s processing engine promises up to 30 percent shorter photo processing speeds.

EX-H15 ($299)

• 14.1-megapixel resolution
• 10X optical zoom
• The lens is 24mm wide
• 3-inch LCD display
• Records 720p video
• Battery promises to last 1,000 shots.

EX-Z2000 ($199)

• 14.1-megapixel resolution
• 5X optical zoom
• The lens is 26mm wide
• 3-inch LCD display
• Recods 720p video
• Battery promises to last 580 shots.

EX-Z550 ($169)

• 14.1-megapixel resolution
• 4X optical zoom
• The lens is 26mm wide
• 2.7-inch LCD display
• Records 720p video.

A Photo Frame With Artistic Effects

Finally, Casio also announced the Digital Art Frame, a 10.2-inch LCD frame that allows users to layer artistic effects over their photos. These effects include water color painting, color pencil sketch, pastel painting, pointillism, air brush, and three kinds of oil painting. The frame has 2GB of internal storage, as well as a card slot supporting the SD/SDHC format.

The frame supports a fairly accomodating range of photo formats. In addition to JPEGs, it can read the BMP, PNG, and RAW formats. It also supports MP3 audio files and Motion JPEG videos. In addition to multimedia playback, expect other standard features, such as an alarm and calendar.

All of the cameras mentioned here as well as the Digital Art Frame will be available during the April/May timeframe.