The Stylish Shooter - Casio's EX-S770

Casio Computer Co., Ltd. recently launched Exilim Card EX-S770, a 7.2-megapixel compact digital camera which is perhaps thinner than you might think but nevertheless looks stunning. It’s the company’s slimmest model being just 13.7mm thin at the narrowest point.

EX-S770 shoots still images and records high-quality movies in MPEG-4 format. In addition, it features Casio’s Super Bright 2.8-inch wide-screen LCD, but still retains the ultra-slim card size of its predecessors. A true widescreen support is provided by the 230,000-pixel LCD screen.

An F2.7, 3X zoom lens provides 38-114mm focal range offering a pretty standard range at this level but says Andrae Jones, a user, “the lens performance is marred by barrel distortion at the wide end.”

The camera is equipped with an anti-shake DSP set up, a software processing system that helps to reduce the effects of wobble.

The EX-S770 is capable of recording 16:9 aspect ratio movies compatible with wide-screen TVs, which are growing in popularity. Movies can be recorded with a simple press of the movie button.

The included Data Transport software enables computer data — including business documents, e-mail, and Web pages — to be automatically converted to JPEG format and transferred to the camera. For instance, tourist attractions and maps that users have looked up on the internet can be viewed on the camera's LCD. Pictures stored in the PC can be transferred easily to the camera with the help of ‘Photo Transport’, which is included in the camera.

EX-S770 suffers with noise issues like other small chipped cameras with high resolution. The noise is intrusive at ISO 200 and above.

Available in red, silver and blue EX-S770 carries a price tag of £279 ($530) and can be a good buy if you are looking for a stylish, pocketable gadget to capture your preferred moments and do not mind the noise.