Casio's EXILIM EX-H10 ultra-compact gets 12.1 megapixels 10x closer

Casio's just pushed another 10x zoom compact camera into the market with its EXILIM EX-H10. Here we've got a 24-mm wide-angle lens stabilized by a 12.1 megapixel 1/2.3-inch CCD-shift sensor with up to ISO 3200 sensitivity, a 3-inch LCD, and the ability to grab Motion-JPEG video at 720/24p. EXILIM 4.0 image processing and a 10 frames per second burst mode for 1,280 x 960 pixel images too in a point-and-shoot measuring just 102.5 x 24.3 x 62-mm. Watch for it to hit Japanese retailers first starting next month for ¥40,000 (about $400). Pink rear-end after the break.

[The Mad Mule Posted Jun 11th 2009 4:21AM]

Oh, THAT kind of "pink rear-end."

[m854 Posted Jun 11th 2009 4:37AM]

This looks like it is intended to compete with the Canon SX200 and the Panasonic TZ7/ZS3. I did a detailed comparison of the two, and neither had everything I want.

Panasonic cons:
No manual mode
Hard to edit h.264 format (AVCHD light is hard to work with)
Slow lens (Panasonic is 3.3-6.3 while Canon is 3.4-5.3)
Noise reduction artifacts
White balance isn't great
Small sensor has limited dynamic range
No possibility of CHDK
Proprietary, expensive battery with chip

Canon cons:
No stereo sound
No zooming while recording video
No bracketing
Slower burst mode (1FPS vs 1.8FPS)
Purple fringing (Panasonic digitally removes it)
Image quality slightly worse than Panasonic
CHDK doesn't work yet
Small sensor has limited dynamic range
Pop up flash always up


Problems I can already see with this one:
HD video only 24FPS
10FPS burst mode is only 1,280 x 960 (I assume there is a full-rez burst mode)
MJPEG not as good as h.264
I don't see holes for a stereo microphone
Limited buttons, probably doesn't have manual controls
Small sensor has limited dynamic range
No CHDK
Flash under your finger

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 11th 2009 5:29AM]

I'm sure any P&S you get will have a small sensor. -__-

[Sweet Dude Posted Jun 11th 2009 9:20AM]

Why do you care about stereo on something that small? The channel separation would be so small would you really be missing out on all that much?

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 11th 2009 9:37AM]

MJPEG is not great, but I think most other Casios have MPEG4 or h.264 or something, so I would be surprised if this one didn't. I too hope it has a reasonable burst mode (some Casios are pretty slow, ironically considering their line of ultra-fast cameras). Two of your issues are non-issues though: 24fps is the movie standard, and it's the frame rate of the best-looking shows on television. Many actually prefer that look. When you speed up the framerate it ends up looking like public access TV. And the sensor is exactly the same size as the competition.

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 11th 2009 4:51AM]

Compact cameras FTL!

Buy a DSLR you cheapskates.

[superhobo Posted Jun 11th 2009 4:59AM]

When you invent transdimensional pockets, we will!

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 11th 2009 5:06AM]

OK ninja2126... How about you CARRY that DSLR, mr Camerabag McNeckstrap! This is for the quick and agile. Even DSLR owners can benefit from carrying a compact camera.

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 11th 2009 5:19AM]

ninja2126
Buy a DSLR? Why?

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 11th 2009 5:49AM]

I got one and its heavy. For that reason I got a nice Canon SD960 IS. Really happy with it especially with the 720p video. Its not better than my HV20 but way more portable.

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 11th 2009 6:13AM]

I wish the high megapixel count in small cameras would end some day soon. Once we got over say 6MP, overall image quality and camera flexibility starts to suffer. Either start go back to producing smaller MP cameras or give us larger sensors.

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 11th 2009 6:13AM]

12mp in a small camera is almost pointless.

[superhobo Posted Jun 11th 2009 6:28AM]

No.

In a phone, maybe, but in a camera, no.

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 11th 2009 8:40AM]

Have you seen the image quality of some of these latest gen cameras? The noise they generate makes them useless at ISO 400.

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 11th 2009 9:43AM]

BarCODE, while I'm no fan of pointless megapixels, the ISO400 shots from today are much better than they were when the megapixel numbers were lower. Go back and look at some of the shots from those cameras and you'll see chroma noise running rampant. The increase in megapixels has brought with it an increase in the technology used to suppress noise, and this has had some nasty-looking results. Not all cameras suffer from this though. And even in the worst cases, when you scale down the results to match the resolution of their forefathers, the modern cameras look as good or better. Have you tried this? Try it! I have.

[superhobo Posted Jun 11th 2009 2:07PM]

I have rarely used my P&S above ISO 100, and I have reaped the benefits of the extra resolution.

[nDy Posted Jun 11th 2009 6:17AM]

The new styling has improved.
You simply don't shot night shot for magazine big print
on a Casio.

Other than that it is excellent for day pic and parties.

[MikeWard1701 Posted Jun 11th 2009 8:28AM]

Was wondering when a successor to my EX-Z1200 would come along.

Look like good improvements, especially the 10x zoom.

Only downer is that now my EX-Z1200 will depreciate, c'est la vie.

[Mehul360yahoocom Posted Jun 11th 2009 9:39PM]

I am just amazed at how thin this camera looks considering its 10X zoom!