By Andrew Liszewski
Two of the things I love about using a digital SLR are that as fast as I can turn it on I can start taking pictures, and I’m rarely left waiting for the autofocus to do its thing. I can’t say the same for my backup P&S. So maybe it’s time to give Casio some consideration since they’ve seemed to prioritize speed over megapixel count these days.
I mean their new Exilim EX-ZR15 still packs 16MP which is really far more than most consumers need, and a 7X zoom lens, which is hopefully backed with some image stabilization. But what might pique your curiosity the most is that the camera starts up and is ready to take a photo in just 0.99 seconds. Still slower than a DSLR, but they don’t feature retractable lenses that have to be extended. It’s also no slouch in the autofocus department, promising that focus beep in just 0.13 seconds. And in-between shots you’ll only have to wait about 0.29 seconds. They say the best camera is the one you have on you, but not if it’s so slow you miss the shot. The Exilim EX-ZR15 will be available in gold on September 22 in Japan for ~$520 (¥40,000) and in red, black or white come October.
[ PR – Casio Exilim EX-ZR15 ] VIA [ Newlaunches ]
The point isn’t that 16 MP is “more than consumers need”, it’s that it horribly degrades the image quality on these puny chips. You wind up with a smeared hash by the time the noise reduction is done salvaging an “image” from this POS.
If these morons would release small-chip cameras with low-noise 6 MP sensors, we could get some good-quality pictures.
I mean their new Exilim EX-ZR15 still packs 16MP which is really far more than most consumers need,