Casio developing world's fastest-shooting digital camera

Casio announced today that it is developing an entirely new digital camera which will be able to take still images at an astonishing shooting speed. It will also take movies that capture movement so fast that it cannot even be seen by the human eye.

The prototype of Casio’s latest revolutionary camera features a new high speed CMOS sensor and a high speed LSI image processing chip. This 6.0-megapixel, 12x optical zoom, high-performance digital camera prototype with CMOS-shift image stabilization function offers not only ultra-high speed burst shooting for still images, but also high speed movie recording.

For still images, the camera achieves ultra-high speed burst shooting of 60 images per second at maximum resolution — the fastest in the world.

The camera can also capture movies at VGA resolution at an incredible 300 frames per second, which means it can record movies for replay in ultra-slow motion, a function that has only been possible so far with a limited range of professional movie equipment.

Main Specifications of Prototype

Effective pixels: 6.0 million
Imaging element: 1/1.8 inch high speed CMOS sensor (total pixels: 6.6 million)
High speed burst shooting: 60 images per second at 6.0 million pixels, JPEG
High speed movie: 300fps, Motion JPEG, AVI format, VGA
Lens/focal distance: 12 lenses in 9 groups, F2.7 to 4.6, equivalent to approximately 35 to 420 mm on a 35 mm film camera
Zoom: 12X optical zoom
Image stabilization mechanism: CMOS-shift image stabilization
Monitor screen: 2.8-inch widescreen TFT color LCD, approx. 230,000 pixels
Viewfinder: Color LCD, approx. 200,000 pixels

The precise product release date, pricing, brand name and specifications remain to be determined. Casio will continue working on the camera to further improve performance and functionality, and is determined to produce an amazing digital camera that offers brand new ways of enjoying photography and creates new applications for digital photography.