CELL PHONES
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
» TV: Phones
LAPTOPS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
» TV: Laptops
CAMERAS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
» TV: Cameras
» infoSync TV » Review Center
» Digital Frontier » Expert guides
» RSS & Alerts » Ask The Editors
Home / Digital cameras / Digital SLR cameras
Hands-on with the Casio Exilim Pro EX-F1 high speed cameraBy Philip Berne, 7 January 2008
GALLERY
»
Video review
Casio Exilim Pro EX-F1
Enlarge
Casio Exilim Pro EX-F1
Enlarge
Casio Exilim Pro EX-F1
Enlarge
Casio Exilim Pro EX-F1
Enlarge
Casio Exilim Pro EX-F1
Enlarge
Casio Exilim Pro EX-F1
Enlarge
Casio astounds us with images from its new ultra high speed Exilim F1, which breaks speed records recording high-res video and still images.

Editor's note: Click here to read our in-depth review of the Casio Exilim Pro EX-F1.

Casio has all but invented a new category in the Exilim Pro EX-F1 camera. To say that the camera is the world's fastest digital burst camera is a serious understatement. While a standard DSLR might capture 4-5 frames per second at best, the F1 manages a jaw-dropping 60fps at 6-megapixels. We got our hands on the new camera at CES in Las Vegas, and the performance was truly impressive. The shutter release sounds more like a machine gun or a whirring fan than a camera shutter. And the speedy goodness doesn't end there.

The Casio Exilim Pro EX-F1 can record video at an astounding 1200fps. You read that correctly. At that speed, you can watch the latex slowly peel back from a water balloon as it explodes. You can see the cork twirl across a room as it leaves a bottle of champagne. The speeds are nearly scientific, but the results are impressive. Like, National Geographic impressive. The quality of the video at the highest speeds clearly took a hit, but the details that it managed to capture were literally invisible at slower speeds.

The F1 also features a memory buffer that starts recording video and still images when you depress the shutter release half way. So, you can line up your shot, but if you press the shutter too late and miss the crucial moment, the camera will probably have it in memory.

Amazingly, we also saw the flash keep up with the hyper-fast burst speeds. We can't be sure exactly how quickly it fired, but we would say we saw at least 20 flashes before we stopped the one second burst.

At $1000, the Casio EX-F1 will be a pricey addition to a camera collection, and it certainly serves a specialized purpose, though that isn't to say that the average shutterbug wouldn't benefit from some serious burst power. We can imagine plenty of uses for the camera ourselves, and any parent will appreciate a sensor that can keep up with the, er, spontaneity of their children. So, for some this could be a primary camera, though it is quite large, and probably won't satisfy customers looking for something pocketable.

The camera offers some assistance with picture selection, but we also worry about cluttering our image folders with 60 frame bursts. Unless you really need to capture the split-second moment, perhaps a slower burst would do, and for this Casio lets you adjust burst speed by twisting the lens ring.

We can imagine a new category for high-speed cameras, and a frames-per-second war ensuing, but mostly, we see the EX-F1 as a demonstration of features that will eventually trickle their way down. Perhaps our point-and-shoot cameras won't have 1200fps video recording, but maybe 300fps would offer some cool capabilities. And certainly we can do better than 3.5fps on our DSLR.

Philip Berne, Matthew Ruiz, Edward Distel and Sindre Lia contribute to the CES 2008 coverage.
Best Superzoom compact cameras
Name Score Price
C
FujiFilm FinePix S100FS 85% $700
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 71% $350
Casio Exilim Pro EX-F1 70% $1000
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H10 65% $300
Click here to see full and advanced chart »
 
 
RECOMMENDED
New Panasonic Lumix point-and-shoots up close
 
New top-rated DSLR cameras
 
New top-rated ultra-slim cameras
TOP STORIES
Digital camera model names and numbers explained
 
Canon SD1100 IS review
 
Best 10 megapixel digital cameras
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ50 Wi-Fi camera hands-on
 
Top 15 cameras of the week
 
Best ultrazoom digital cameras
TOP 15 OF THE WEEK
DSLR
 
Standard compacts
 
Superzoom
Ultrazoom
 
Wide-angle compacts
 
Upcoming cameras
Canon
 
Casio
 
Fujifilm
Nikon
 
Olympus
 
Panasonic
Pentax
 
Samsung
 
More...
» Top 15 by megapixels
14 MP, 12 MP, 11 MP, 10 MP, 9 MP, 8 MP, 7 MP, 6 MP
» Search (New!)
Search by digital camera features
» Manual comparison (New!)
Select up to 4 digital cameras side-by-side
» By release
September 2008, Q4 2008
» Ask The Editors
Have a question? Ask The Editors!
NOW IN DIGITAL SLR CAMERAS
Sony DSLR-A900 full-frame DSLR camera announced
 
Nikon D90 prosumer DSLR camera with HD movie recording
 
Canon EOS 50D prosumer DSLR announced
 
Canon EOS 1000D (Rebel XS) officially announced
 
Nikon D700 full-frame DSLR camera
Pentax K20D review
Pentax K20D video review
Nikon D60 DSLR camera video review
Nikon D60 DSLR camera review
Video review: Panasonic Lumix DMC-L10 DSLR camera
NOW IN DIGITAL CAMERAS
Pentax K2000 DSLR camera announced
 
Canon EOS 5D Mark II full-frame DSLR with Full HD video
 
Canon PowerShot SD880 IS, SD990 IS stylish cameras
 
Canon PowerShot G10 14.7 megapixels camera
 
Casio Exilim EX-FH20 20x ultrazoom joins the Casio Pro EX-F1
Digital camera model names and numbers explained
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 Micro Four Thirds camera announced
Sony DSLR-A900 full-frame DSLR camera announced
Next 25 stories
MUST READ
CELL PHONES
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
LAPTOPS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
CAMERAS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
MP3 players
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
INTERNET TABLETS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
GPS NAVIGATORS
HDTVs
CAMCORDERS
Refreshed VZW lineup
Hot WinMo Gear (!)
Touch me, if you Dare
MOTO flips out
Yes, Palm still makes good smartphones
Connecting People U.S. Tour
Chocolate to the masses
Who needs cell towers nowadays?
About us | Site map | How to advertise | Feedback | RSS Feeds | | Archive
Copyright 1999-2008 © infoSync World