Casio Inc. will expand its Exilim family of compact digital cameras with the new EX-S20U and EX-M20U 2-megapixel models, which will retail for US$279.99 and $329.99, respectively. The company has also announced is first 4-megapixel Exilim camera: the $399.99 Exilim Zoom EX-Z4U. All will be available in October.
EX-S20U and EX-M20U
The EX-S20U and EX-M20U cameras measure 3.27 by 2.08 by .44 inches, making them about 10 percent smaller than the previous Exilim EX-S2. They have a startup time of under a second (with the flash off), a release time lag of approximately 0.01 seconds, and an interval between shots of about one second. The new cameras also feature high-speed playback image scrolling that operates at a speed of about 0.1 seconds per image.
The battery life of these cameras has been extended by 85 percent over previous models, thanks to a new low-power design. The EX-S20U and EX-M20U sport a new lens that can handle macro mode imaging and allows close-up photos to be taken from as little as 30 centimeters.
The Best Shot mode provides access to 15 pre-installed camera setups. Choose the sample scene that’s similar to the image you want to record, and the camera’s exposure compensation, white balance and other settings are configured automatically.
Other features of the EX-S20U and EX-M20U are a Photo Stand feature (which lets you view a slideshow of images with the camera on its USB cradle); a full month calendar screen; World Time, which lets you select one of 162 cities in 32 time zones around the world as your home time; an alarm function; a triple self-timer that records three consecutive images; and a Favorites folder that stores your favorite or private images. Images are stored in a Web browser-viewable format that lets you browse images in an album on your computer screen. Each camera comes with 10MB of Flash memory built in; a card slot supports use of an SD memory card or MMC.
The EX-M20U also supports MP3 file playback, voice recording and audio snapshots. Additionally, it offers selectable sounds for start up, shutter release and other functions.
EX-Z4U
The new EX-Z4U features a CCD with 4 million effective pixels, plus a 3X zoom lens. It has a startup time of approximately 1.6 seconds (with the flash off) and a 0.01 second release time lag. A new Pan Focus mode eliminates the need for focusing, while the Multi-Auto Focus feature automatically selects one of seven different focus point positions to ensure that images are always focused correctly, regardless of how the subjects are arranged.
The EX-Z4U packs a 2.0-inch digital interface TFT LCD scratch-resistant acrylic panel monitor screen and built-in speaker for audio output. A low-power design has extended battery life to allow approximately 540 snapshots to be taken. Additionally, the EX-Z4U has all the previously listed features of the 2-megapixel EX-M20U.