Casio’s New Exilim Cams Soften Your Face

By Nick Mokey Published August 20, 2008

It’s been a good last few years for those of us who aren’t very photogenic. Face detection can make sure your face is in focus and exposed properly, smile detection can make sure the photo’s snapped at the right time, and now, thanks to the new Exilim 3.0 processing engine in Casio’s latest cams, your features will look a little better, too.

Casio debuted two new cameras with the feature on Wednesday: the 10.1-megapixel EX-Z300, 9.1-megapixel EX-Z250, as well as the lower-end 9.1-megapixel EX-Z85. Using the Exilim Engine 3.0, the Z300 and Z250 cameras can actually, according to Casio, “smooth skin and soften facial shadows,” along with a bundle of other tricks. For instance, the processing engine also detects and corrects for low light in night photography, backlighting, and camera shake.

Recommended Videos

Although the Z85 doesn’t get the full package in terms of image processing, it still gets more standard functions like face detection and an auto shutter function that minimizes camera shake.

All three cameras will hit store shelves in October, with the EX-Z300 priced at $300, the EX-Z250 at $250, and the EX-Z85 at $180.

Editor in Chief

As Digital Trends’ Editor in Chief, Nick Mokey oversees an editorial team covering every gadget under the sun, along with…

Photography

Nikon’s new 120-300mm is a bright point for DSLRs, as Z-mount gains a 70-200mm

nikon nikkor 120 300mm z 70 200mm announced ces 2020 pbs z70 200 f2 8s

Nikon’s latest lenses pair wide apertures with a long reach. On Monday, January 6, Nikon unveiled the new AF-S Nikkor 120-300mm f/2.8 SL VR DSLR lens and the Nikkor Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S mirrorless lens during CES in Las Vegas. The new lenses provide sports and wildlife photographers with a bright alternative to telephoto primes, while the 70-200mm fills in a gap in the young Z-mount family with a popular workhorse lens.

Super telephoto zoom lenses rarely have bright apertures, but the upcoming AF-S Nikkor 120-300mm f/2.8E FL SR VR lens bucks the trend with an f/2.8. Nikon also says that the lens is just as sharp, if not sharper than, the Nikkor 300mm f/2.8 prime lens with similar autofocus performance, while eliminating the need to carry around several lenses.

Photography

You can now get RAW video on your Nikon Z6 or Z7 — but you probably shouldn’t

Nikon Z6 Hands-on

Nikon launched a long-promised firmware update for its Z series cameras on Monday, December 16, bringing two high-end features to its full-frame mirrorless models. Firmware 2.20 brings support for CFexpress cards, a relatively new type of memory card that promises incredibly fast transfer speeds. Additionally, RAW video output is now an optional add-on for both the 24-megapixel Z 6 and 46MP Z 7 -- but you'll need to fork over $200 for it and you can't install the update yourself.

Customers interested in the RAW video update will have to send their cameras in to a Nikon service center. Nikon did not provide a turnaround time for this service. While the cost and hassle will undoubtedly prevent some people from installing the update, RAW video is not a feature that the average photographer or videographer needs. It produces huge files that require massive amounts of storage space and a powerful computer to process them. As such, only a certain level of professional is likely to take advantage of this upgrade, for whom the $200 cost may be a non-issue.

Photography

My favorite SD card reader is a mere $15 for Prime Big Deal Days

The Lexar USB-C SD card reader.

I take a lot of pictures on a daily basis. And while I usually get to offload them in the comfort of my home, sometimes I need to export as quickly as possible. Maybe even straight from my phone.

That's where my new favorite SD card reader comes in.