Casio toughens up with rugged EX-G1 camera

The likelihood you’ll spend your free time clambering over tyrannous icebergs or abseiling down Mt Everest are slim, but it’s nonetheless good to be prepared. Casio have just released details of the Casio EX-G1, designed to be the camera equivalent of a first class marine. It’s an unusual move for Casio, as they generally tend to target the casual consumer, but it looks like they’re keen to get a slice of the outdoor sports market. The EX-G1 boasts 12.1 megapixels, a 3x optical zoom, and clocks in at a slimline 19.9 mm thick, thereby retaining the slimline contours the Exilim range is so well known for.

The camera has a 2.5 inch LCD screen and is waterproof to 10 feet and freezeproof till -10 degrees. It features a variety of preset modes which include the usual snow scene, beach scene, as well as adjustable ISO settings from 63-3200. There’s a handy interval shooting mode which can be setup to take pictures at timed intervals, allowing you to strap it on whilst on the move, yet still capture your experience.

The camera uses a microSD or SDHC card (common with rugged cameras) and is available in two colours, black and red.

You can see the care taken in creating the camera, as the back of the EX-G1 has a ruggedized finish, with buttons strategically placed to make them accessible if wearing gloves or equipment. They’re raised rather than recessed to be easy to use, and there’s a scroll wheel for circling through modes placed on the right hand side.

This might be quite a smart choice for Casio as the marketplace for this type of camera tends to be quite slim with the main competitors being Canon’s Fisher Price Powershot D10 styled and the Olympus Tough range.

They’re releasing it in January which is a little unusual, as that’s when consumer will be looking to save money on sale bargains, rather than invest in a full priced model, for their upcoming snowboarding holidays.

I’m pleased the marketplace for this type of camera is expanding, and the face that Casio are getting into the game means they recognize this is a sector that should experience some growth. The EX-G1 is the slimmest ruggedized camera on the market, which suggests that Olympus and Canon will have their R&D men working night and day to better them, which means more choice for us.