Casio peels wraps on 8.1MP slimster

King of Slim Casio unveiled an 8.1 megapixel digital camera today for under $160. The new member of the company's Exilim line, the EX-Z9, is smaller than a three-by-five index card--3.64 inches wide and 2.17 inches high--thin--0.91 inches thick--and light--weighing in at 4.48 ounces. The unit jams more than eight million pixels on a 1/2.5-inch CCD sensor and has a f2.8-5.2 3x optical zoom (37.5 to 112.5mm equivalent) and a "wide" 2.6-inch LCD. Shutter speeds range from four seconds to 1/2000 second. Image sizes available are 8MP (3264x2448), 3:2 (3264x2176), 16:9 (3264x1840), 6MP (2816x2112), 4MP (2304x1728), 2MP(1600x1200) and VGA (640x480). Movie modes include a "YouTube" mode and an HQ Wide offering (848x480). In additon to 18.6MB of internal memory, the DSC accepts SD, SDHC, MMC and MMC-plus memory cards. ISO tops out at 1600 and minimum macro range is about six inches. The DSC also has 23 pre-programmed shooting modes and supports face recognition. It runs on a rechargeable lithium-ion battery and includes a world time clock. Expect to see the camera at retailers this month in an array of colors--pink, black, silver and orange.