Casio pops out three slimsters

Casio peeled the covers from three new digital camera models today--all with the company's new Exilim Engine 3.0 image processor.

"The image processing speed and power of Casio's new engine make possible entirely new functions that deliver fantastic photos of people's faces, night scenes and other subjects that have challenged photographers for years," the company said in a statement.

The new Exilim Zoom EX-Z300 packs 10.1 megapixels on a 1/2.3-inch square pixel CCD sensor. It has a 4x optical zoom (28-112mm equivalent) with an aperture range of F/2.6-5.8 and three-inch LCD with a resolution of 230,400 dots. Light sensitivity ranges from a super low ISO 64 to ISO 3200.

The Exilim Zoom EX-Z250 supports 9.1MP on a slightly smaller 1/2.5-inch square pixel CCD sensor. The aperture range, F/2.6-5.9, of its 4x optical zoom varies slightly from the Z300, although its LCD size and light sensitivity ranges are the same.

Both cameras support a new "Makeup" function which will automatically smooth skin and soften facial shadows caused by sunlight. The process can be applied at one of 12 levels.

They also have function for shooting handheld night scenes and for improving the dynamic range of scenes with high contrast lighting conditions.

Both cameras can shoot high-definition video in iPod compatible H.264. Maximum resolution for video shot with the Z300 is 1280 x 720; for the Z250, 848 x 480. In addition, both have a special YouTube capture mode.

Also introduced today was the Exilim Zoom EX-Z85. The 9.1MP snapper has a 1/2.5-inch square pixel CCD sensor and a 3x optical zoom (38-114mm equivalent) with an aperture range of F/3.1-5.9. Its LCD is 2.6-inches wide with a resolution of 114,960 dots, and it supports light sensitivity settings from ISO 64-1600.

The Z85 also supports H.264 video at 848 x 480 and touts among its features blur detection technology that will delay taking a picture until the camera stops shaking or a subject stops moving and face recognition technology that can detect the presence of up to 10 faces.

The new Casio models are expected to be available in October, the Z300 at $299.99; the Z250 at $249.99; and the Z85 at $179.99.