Casio goes superfast with compact megazoom

CES 2010 Casio is shipping the EX-FH100 – the world’s first “high-speed, high-zoom” compact camera.

Casio's EX-FH100 Exilim: fast shooting

Supporting Casio's claim is a 10.1Mp compact with high-speed burst still shooting of 40fps, 1280 x 720 resolution video capture at up to 1000fps and a wide-angle, 10x optical zoom lens.

But to achieve its breakneck 40 shots-per-second the EX-FH100’s image capture quality drops to just 9Mp. The EX-FH100 comes in at £280 ($446/€310), which looks a bit pricey to us, especially as you can get adequate enough pocket cameras for £70 these days. So is the superfast megazoominess of the EX-FH100 worth the premium that Casio demands? Readers, let us know what you think.

The Exilim EX-H15: 14.1Mp and a 10x optical zoom

Casio has also launched three slower sister pocket cameras. The EX-H15 Exilim offers 14.1Mp, a 24mm wide-angle lens and 10x optical zoom for £250. The model features a “moving photo” mode thatlets you cut people out from the background of images taken during continuous shooting and combine them with another still image.

The Exilim EX-Z2000 has a 26mm wide-angle lens

This feature is available on both the new EX-Z550 and EX-Z2000 Exilim compacts. They are also 14.1Mp models, but make do with 4x and 5x optical zoom capabilities, respectively.

Both models have 26mm wide-angle lenses.

Exilim EX-Z550: cheapest of the bunch

The EX-Z550 and EX-Z2000 cost £150 and £180 ($286/€200), respectively. All four Casio Exilim models are available to buy in the UK now. ®