Casio has announced two new compact cameras, both featuring its practical H.264 YouTube Capture Mode.
The tiny 8.1 megapixel Exilim EX-V8 sports a 7X non protruding lens. Just a few years back 8X cameras were marketed as ultra zoom cameras. Having 7X in such a small package sounds very impressive, and you can also count on CCD-shift image stabilization. Pentax is launching a similar camera soon, we wrote about it a few days ago, here.
Another interesting thing is the F2.8- F4.5 aperture, since most non portruding lenses tend to be do a lot worse in this department.The screen is a 230k pixel 2.5 inch TFT and the camera will sell for $329.99. Availability set for September and you can get it in silver and black.
The EX-Z1080 is a bit more down to earth, offering a 3X lens and a 10.1 megapixel sensor. The screen measures 2.6 inches, but with only 115k pixels it not exactly hi res. It will ship for $279.99, and should be available in gray, black, blue, pink. One thing it could do without is the painfully ugly YouTube sticker.
The movie mode is impressive on both models, 848x480 at 30fps with electronic image stabilization.