High-Sensitivity, High-Speed CameraDriven by New EXILIM ENGINE HS Offers the Fun of Creating and Displaying Digital Art

TOKYO, September 20, 2010 — Casio Computer Co., Ltd., announced today the release of a new model in its lineup of EXILIM digital cameras, the EX-ZR10. Powered by the new EXILIM ENGINE HS that integrates high-speed shooting and high-speed image processing, the EX-ZR10 creates amazingly artistic photographs using Casio’s high dynamic range (HDR) technology. This next-generation high-speed camera represents a dramatic advancement beyond existing digital cameras.

The EX-ZR10 comes with the new EXILIM ENGINE HS and a high-sensitivity, 12-megapixel, back-illuminated CMOS sensor. Its high-speed burst shooting greatly enhance the performance of basic camera functions like shooting, viewing and recording. Meanwhile, Casio’s new HDR ART function produces artistic photographs that are radically different from conventional photographs. The EX-ZR10 offers a whole new way of enjoying the unique capability of digital cameras for creating and displaying images.

With Casio’s HDR technology, each press of the shutter button actually takes several shots with different exposures and instantly combines them into a single, great-looking image with a high dynamic range. This ensures that both light and dark areas are clearly visible in the photograph and minimizes washed out or overly dark areas. The HDR-ART function uses this HDR technology to create beautifully artistic photographs. It locally controls the contrast and the level of color saturation of the analyzed subject, and achieves the kind of novel effects that used to be possible only using specialist PC software — with a single press of the shutter. Now anyone can create dramatic, eye-catching authentic HDR images with ease.

The wide-angle 28 mm 7X optical zoom lens achieves zoom performance equivalent to 14X optical zoom with Casio’s Multi SR Zoom, which actually combines a number of still images to create a sharp, clear photo. In addition, the dual image processing circuits built into the new engine dramatically reduce the interval between shots, and ultra-high speed burst shooting captures crucial moments at a maximum speed of 40 shots per second. These functions let nothing slip by unrecorded.

The wide range of shooting options also includes Premium Auto which takes beautiful photos with just a press of the shutter button, and Slide Panorama that allows users to easily capture 360-degree panoramic images. The camera also offers a full range of movie functions. In addition to high-speed movie recording at up to 480 fps for slow motion movies, the EX-ZR10 also takes Full HD movies (H.264). While shooting a movie, users can also capture still images with the optical zoom and burst shooting function.

Starting with the EX-ZR10, Casio is positioning the EXILIM brand as “Amazing Gear”—a brand that never fails to deliver new surprises and excitement. Casio is driving a Digital Image Revolution, creating new value by developing digital cameras that go beyond the limits of cameras in the past.

A High-Sensitivity, High-Speed Camera with Functions Far Beyond the Capability of Conventional Digital Cameras

New EXILIM ENGINE HS with high-speed shooting and high-speed image processing
The EX-ZR10 incorporates the newly developed EXILIM ENGINE HS for high-speed shooting and high-speed processing. Equipped with multiple CPUs, a reconfigurable processor that delivers functional and performance flexibility plus high-speed processing, and dual image processing circuits, Casio's new engine achieves functions that were simply impossible before, such as HDR ART, which creates artistic photographs, and simultaneously movie and continuous still shooting. Further, the compositing function using high precision image analysis and processing records highly detailed images without losing any of the fine texture with high speed.

HDR technology faithfully represents living color
With Casio’s HDR technology, each press of the shutter button actually takes several shots with different exposures and instantly combines them into a single image with a high dynamic range. This ensures that both light and dark areas are vividly reproduced in the photograph, minimizing washed out or overly dark areas, reproducing the scene just as seen by the human eye. The EX-ZR10 uses newly developed algorithms that expand the dynamic range while maintaining high contrast, even when shooting subjects in difficult, strong contrast situations.

HDR ART creates artistic photographs
HDR ART combines continuous shots with differing exposures, performing high precision image analysis to locally change the contrast and the level of color saturation. This allows users to create truly artistic photographs radically different than anything possible on conventional digital cameras.

Zoom up to 14X while maintaining refined image quality
The wide-angle 28 mm 7X optical zoom lens offers zoom performance equivalent to a maximum of 14X optical zoom while maintaining the image quality needed for high-resolution photography. This is achieved using multi-frame super-resolution technology which makes a composite image.

Ultra-high speed burst shooting captures crucial moments at a speed of 40 shots per second
The EX-ZR10 can take up to 30 shots of 10 megapixel high-resolution images with high-speed burst shooting at a maximum speed of 40 shots per second. What is more, if the camera is set to Prerecord Continuous Shutter, users will not miss a single critical moment even if they press the shutter a little late, since the camera starts shooting when the shutter button is only depressed halfway.

High-sensitivity, 12-megapixel, back-illuminated CMOS sensor
The EX-ZR10 uses a back-illuminated CMOS sensor. With 12-megapixel, high-resolution images, the EX-ZR10 achieves low-noise, high-quality photography even in dim lighting. The model also comes with CMOS-shift image stabilization.

Premium Auto produces beautiful photos with just a press of the shutter button
Premium Auto enables the camera to automatically analyze the scene being photographed — including distinguishing night scenes, back lighting, a blue sky, green trees or a sunset — as well as sensing whether there is a face in the frame, the movement and position of the subject, and whether a tripod is being used. It simultaneously optimizes settings for exposure, ISO sensitivity, focus location, photo blur correction, tonal range and color balance, and level of noise reduction. Images are analyzed pixel by pixel to apply different correction to people and backgrounds. Premium Auto delivers an advanced level of full auto photography, ensuring high quality photos with just a press of the shutter button. With Premium Auto, the camera automatically applies Makeup Mode processing to the image when people are the subject, and Landscape Mode processing when scenery is the subject, creating beautiful photos in all kinds of situations.

Slide Panorama for capturing 360-degree panoramic images
Even when panning the camera across the scene, this function can detect moving subjects or peoples' faces, making it easy to take panoramic images with minimal photo blur.

High-speed movie recording at up to 480 fps for dramatic, ultra slow-motion movies
The EX-ZR10 can record high-speed movies of motion that is ordinarily too fast for the human eye to see (480 fps, 240 fps, 30-240 fps,).

Beautiful high-resolution Full HD movies
The Full HD Movie function records beautiful videos at a size of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. Even while shooting a movie, users can take still images with high-speed burst shooting using the Still In Movie function, and can also use the optical zoom and continuous auto focus.

Dynamic Photo function for creating composite moving images
Dynamic Photo creates moving photos by combining moving characters with a background selected by the user, which can be either a still image or moving images.

EXILIM, Dynamic Photo and BEST SHOT are registered trademarks of CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD. Any other company or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.