Casio unveils 1,000FPS compact cameras

Casio today upgraded its Exilim cameras with the first two point-and-shoot cameras ever to shoot at extremely high frame rates. The EX-FC100 and EX-FS10 both take conventional pictures at 9 megapixels but have a new imaging engine that can record lower-resolution videos at up to 1,000 frames per second, allowing extremely slow motion footage despite the cameras' compact footprints. They can also step down to 6 megapixels to burst shoot at 30 frames per second and will record 720p movies at the same speed.

The FC100 is the high-end variant and at $400 sports a 5X optical zoom lens with a 2.7-inch preview LCD, while the FS10 drops to $350 through 3X zoom and a 2.5-inch display. Casio hasn't issued release dates for these or other cameras.

In the conventional range, the EX-S5 ($180) shares the style of the FS10 but sheds the high frame rate and 720p video for a 10-megapixel sensor and 3X zoom. The EX-Z270 ($230) improves on this with 4X zoom and optical stabilization, while the Z400 ($300) restores 720p video and moves up to 12 megapixels.

Casio hasn't pinpointed specific release dates for the new wave of cameras.

EX-FC100

EX-FS10