Casio has today announced its first camera to incorporate ceramic lens technology, which has a higher refractive index and is stronger and thinner than glass. The 3.2 megapixel Casio Exilim Card EX-S100 is made of stainless steel, which gives it a nice heavy feel, and is the smallest 2.8x optical zoom camera in the world, just 17mm thick. A large 2-inch screen dominates the back of the credit card-sized camera, which has no optical viewfinder. It will be priced £349 ($399).

Press Release:

CASIO Launches The World’s Smallest Digital Camera With Optical Zoom,
The EXILIM CARD EX-S100

Stylish & Elegant EXILIM CARD pushes the boundaries of design and photography

August 25th, 2004, LONDON, UK – CASIO ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. has announced the world’s smallest* digital camera with an optical zoom (2.8x), the “EXILIMÆ CARD” EX-S100. The camera owes its exceptionally compact design to another world first – the application of ceramic lens technology, providing a great advance in optical quality with a strength even greater than glass.

In 2002, CASIO launched the first EXILIM digital camera, an ultra-thin credit card sized camera designed as the ultimate in point and shoot photography. The camera could be carried easily, and enabled photography for any occasion, anytime and anywhere, having a huge impact on the digital camera market overnight and helping the ultra-slim genre to become a major segment of its own. Since that first EXILIM, CASIO has continued to create even thinner cameras with more rapid responsiveness and superior performance, creating an EXILIM lineup that has

expanded to become a trend setting force in the marketplace.

The new “EXILIM CARD” EX-S100 was developed as the defining model of the series, and as such, represents all the brand concepts. The key features of the EX-S100 are the use of the world’s first transparent ceramic lens within an ultra-slim 2.8x optical zoom lens unit, and CASIO’s original EXILIM Engine, an ultra-compact image processing LSI module that enables the camera to achieve high image quality, high speed operation and low power consumption – all within an extremely slim and compact body package. As a result, the EX-S100 is the world’s smallest optical zoom equipped digital camera, with a volume of just 79 cc and measuring a very compact 88 x 57 mm. Moreover, it is only 16.7mm thick, and just 14.2mm at the thinnest point.

The EX-S100 features a stainless steel body, a hallmark of the EXILIM CARD series, which has been polished to a brilliant shine through a special process. It is created entirely of metal, right down to the screws, for a true feeling of high quality. The front of the camera has been given a fresh look, with a theme of circular patterns to highlight the shape of the lens, while the back of the unit features a more square look that matches the impressively large 2.0” TFT LCD screen. In keeping with the distinctive form of the other models in the EXILIM CARD series, the lens area itself protrudes slightly from the body of the camera.

With a 3.2 megapixel CCD for superior high resolution photo imaging, a unique quick response design and the BESTSHOT function making it easier to capture desired scenes, CASIO has again proven that it is the leader in ultra-compact cameras that offer astonishingly advanced performance.
*as of August 25, 2004

EX-S100 Features

2.8x optical zoom

• 2.8x optical zoom lens using the world’s first transparent ceramics
• 3.2 Megapixel CCD

Only 16.7 mm ‘thin’ – stylish body that’s the size of a credit card

• Ultra-thin zoom lens unit and cutting edge technology packed into a body just 16.7 mm in thickness – only 14.2 mm at the thinnest point.
• Large 2.0 inch digital interface TFT LCD screen for easy viewing
• Stainless steel body construction, as on all EXILIM CARD series cameras
• Ex-Fine Blast Treatment surface finish for a brilliant and attractive body
• Simple and timelessly beautiful body shape
• Easy to use operation buttons
• All metal construction, from body and lens down to the screws for a high precision design

Comprehensive design approach for rapid response

• The camera automatically switches to Auto Pan Focus when the shutter is pressed rapidly
• Rapid start up allows pictures to be taken approximately 1.4 seconds* after the power is turned on
• Class-leading shutter release lag time of approx 0.01 seconds*
• High speed operation; images can be taken at approximately 1.2 second intervals, with high speed image playback of approximately 0.1 seconds between images when scrolling
• Direct-On function for one touch operation of picture taking or playback modes
  * with the flash off

Other features

• Business Shot function compensates for photos taken at an angle and records them as if taken from straight ahead
• BESTSHOT function allows settings to be selected using sample scene images
• Auto Macro function enables automatic switching between Macro and AF modes
• Flash Assist function provides exposure compensation for areas not reached by the flash
• Icon Help function uses pop-ups to guide the user when switching settings
  Noise Reduction Processing makes night scenes more beautiful
• Photostand feature allowing a slide slideshow of images while the camera sits in its cradle.
• USB cradle also functions as a battery charger
  

Casio Exilim Card EX-S100 specifications