Casio EX-V7 Review

The Casio EXILIM Hi-Zoom EX-V7 is said to be the world's slimmest digital camera with a 7x optical zoom lens, as of the current date (January 8, 2007). Just 25mm thick, the EX-V7 also crams in a seven megapixel CCD image sensor and a CCD-shift type mechanical image stabilization function - something users are bound to appreciate when using the telephoto end of that powerful prism-folded lens. A new EXILIM Engine 2.0 image processor boasts features such as Auto Tracking AF and selective noise removal.

The Casio EX-V7 also boasts a 30 frames-per-second movie mode that reaches a maximum of 848 x 480 pixels, with stereo sound - something found on few compact digicams, let alone an ultracompact. Even more unusually, the traditional MotionJPEG AVI file format is supplemented with an optional H.264 AVC MOV-encoded format (also known as MPEG-4 Part 10). H.264 encoding is intended to offer good video quality at substantially lower bitrates than other codecs, which should translate to exceptional video quality, reduced movie file size, or both. A silent lens motor enables optical zooming while recording movies.

The Casio EXILIM Hi-ZOOM EX-V7 ships Spring 2007 at a suggested price of US$399.99.