Casio unveils 10.1Mp anti-shake digicam

Very fast too, company claims

By Tony Smith, 27th April 2006

Casio has unveiled its highest spec compact digital camera yet: a 10.1-megapixel job that also sports an ultra-bright 2.8in, 230,400-pixel viewfinder display and the latest in anti-shake technology.

The slimline point-and-shoot Exilim Zoom EX-Z1000 features a 3x optical zoom, but Casio claims the lens and the electronics behind it can zoom in by between 4.3x and 17.1x with "no reduction in image quality". The anti-blur feature is part of the camera's digital signal processing chippery, which also provides a high-sensitivity shooting mode equivalent to ISO 3200.

casio exilim zoom ex-z1000

Casio said the EX-Z1000 takes just 1.3s to from power-on to photography readiness. It also touted the camera's 'near-instantaneous' 0.002s between the press of the shutter and the capture of the image. The device has 37 scene pre-set modes, and a three shot per second Rapid Flash feature. The camera can shoot 640 x 480 video at 25fps.

The camera uses MMC and SD cards for storage, but it comes with 8MB of on-board memory. Casio said the device's rechargeable battery will take up to 360 shots on a single charge.

The EX-Z1000 will go on sale next month for around £380. It will be available in silver and black. ®

casio exilim zoom ex-z1000