The Best Digital Camera

The new Casio Exilim S10 snaps 10.1-megapixel images and can record videos in a format that makes it easy to import directly to iTunes and YouTube. The S10 is the world’s smallest and thinnest 10.1-megapixel digital camera, according to Casio. It just might be, with its trim 0.6-inch width. The Casio Exilim EX-S10 makes it possible to record a video and watch it on your iPhone or iPod minutes later. It will retail for $249 when it is available in March.

Summary
The Casio Exilim EX-S10 has a lot of cool features and a very sexy body, but a few very unfortunate characteristics. The ability to drag and drop into iTunes will be convenient and the YouTube uploading program will save a few minutes for budding videographers (who happen to use tiny Casios). There are scores of editing features and effects, but if your fingers don’t get chopped off by the sharp zoom ring, then they will get confounded by the awful multi-selector. The buttons are too small and the camera is so skinny that you have to pinch it to keep from eating the pavement. Yes, being skinny is cool. But a little meat on the bones is a functional thing, too. Handling is a painful endeavor on the S10.

The S10 has some speed issues. The Burst mode and autofocus systems are very slow and the face detection system doesn't come through as promised. Granted, this is considered a preproduction camera because it doesn’t come out until March. There is still time to fix these problems. But almost all of the features on the S10 were fully functional at the show – as in, nothing froze up and no dancing bears appeared on the LCD when I recorded a video (the only exception was the manual focus that turned on the tracking autofocus). We have to give Casio the benefit of the doubt though when it comes to performance, and we don't have our imaging labs in our pocket when checking cameras out at conventions. Performance aside, though, the tiny buttons and horrible handling are enough to scare me off – even if the $249 price tag is tempting.