Prognostications and other thoughts

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Coolest Tech Gadget in a while


I just bought the Casio Exilim S-500. This is by far the coolest gadget in a long while.

I wanted to have a digital camera available whenever/wherever so I could take pictures of our 3-year old daughter. We have a Nikon Coolpix 4300 and an 8700. The 4300 is small but not really "pocket size". Additionally, Nikons are remarkable because the image quality is outstanding. However, they typically suffer from slow start up time, slow shutter speed, and a propensity toward red eye. In any case, I was intrigued by the Nikon S4 but it turns out it's actually quite big.

Then I saw the little Casio. It is seriously tiny-the size of a deck of cards but less than half as thick. And it has 5 megapixel resolution, plenty for what I need. The real clincher, though, is it's so easy to use.
- Start up time is almost instant
- Shutter lag is very good
- Very easy to change to "rapid fire" mode
- Idiot proof to toggle between take pictures/view pictures/take video
- very simple "best shot" selector
- total cool-when looking at previously snapped pics, you can zoom/pan on the image-up to 8X magnification
- recording movies is so incredibly easy. Just click the "Red button" to start, click again to stop. You can then download mpeg-4 movies (massively compressed) right to your desktop and see 640x480 movies with stereo sound and excellent image quality. No conversion necessary
- pictures seem to be very good quality with no red eye; have not had any printed yet
- in sum, for $350, this is amazing. Wait a few months for the "600" version to come out (6 megapixel) and you'll be able to get these for 70-100$ less.

Drawbacks?
- there is no viewfinder. This is fine for taking photos but for video, it "feels kind of weird" to hold this thing out
- requires a dock to charge and upload photos. There is an optional battery charger ($40) and a card reader can make uploading more versatile.
- should have a lockout for the power button. Power has gone on in my pocket

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