Casio unveils lightweight all-terrain compact camera, Exilim EX-G1

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Given Casio's heritage with the G-Shock range, the well-known collection of shock-resistant watches, it's perfectly normal to find it producing an all-terrain digital camera--and it's very thin too, another of the manufacturer's distinctive features.  The model in question is the Exilim EX-G1.

It might not be as tough as a G-Shock watch, water-resistant to a depth of 200 m, but it seems that Casio's engineers have been inspired by the futuristic forms of the various watches to create an entirely new digital camera.  It has an unusual asymmetric design with rounded corners.  The EX-G1 looks like it comes straight out of a slightly dated sci-fi movie, and whether you like this style or not, it's certainly not a camera that will go unnoticed.


The other attraction of this new Casio is how small it is, measuring just 103.5 x 64.2 x 19.9 mm and weighting around 150 g.  Despite its diminutive size, it can go up to 3 m below the surface, fall from a height of up to 2 m and resist temperatures of -10 °C.

Unfortunately, it seems that there are fewer innovations inside the camera: it has a 12 Megapixel CCD sensor that we've seen plenty of times before, rather than the new backlit CMOS sensor in some of the manufacturer's other new cameras.  The 38-114 mm f/3.9-5.4 zoom has no wide-angle, the video mode only supports SVGA, there's no optical or mechanical stabilisation, the macro mode can't get closer than 10 cm and the LCD screen only measures 2.5''.  It's not exactly a stunning spec, and it means the Exilim EX-G1 is likely to appeal to adventurers rather than photography fans.

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