While Casio -- along with most everyone else -- took the time to roll out a gamut of shooters at CES, the EXILIM Zoom EX-Z9 is sashaying in fashionably late. This 8.1-megapixel camera sports a 2.6-inch LCD monitor, face detection technology, anti-shake DSP, a 3x optical zoom, 18.6MB (and not byte more) of built-in storage, an SD / SDHC / MMC expansion slot, a video mode capable of capturing at 848 x 480 pixels and a rechargeable Li-ion for good measure. You'll also find a USB / AV output socket and 23 "Best Shot" modes for those who just love choices, but the hard part will be deciding which of the four colors (pink, silver, black and orange) is really worth your $159.99.

Pfff, 10 megapixels is for sissies. Casio, like Panasonic earlier today, just pumped out their own 12.1 megapixel shooter, the Exilim Zoom EX-Z1200. A 1/1.7-inch CCD and 3x zoom lens will be responsible for collecting the photons while the Exilim Engine 2.0 processing attempts to make sense of it all. Casio's flagship compact also delivers CCD-shift image stabilization and range of blur-reduction technologies bent on making the most of that ISO 1600 sensivity -- if reviews of its EX-Z1000 cuz are anything to go by then that's probably not saying much. Face detection and motion analysis technologies enable the camera to lock focus onto a subject's face and then track it as the person moves. Rounding things out are a decent 2.8-inch wide LCD, SDHC card support, a lazy 3 shot per second burst mode, and H.264 video recordings at a maximum 848 x 480 resolution and just 20fps. No price listed, but it had better slide in for less than the superior spec'd DMC-FX100 if they hope to compete.

[Via Digital Photography Review]