CES 2011: Casio unveils new camera design and digital art service

Consumer Reports News: January 05, 2011 08:15 PM

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UPDATE: Check out CR's Terry Sullivan as he gets hands-on time with the Casio TRYX at CES, in our video.

Casio just announced what it claims is a new type of digital point-and-shoot. As the product shot reveals, the 12-megapixel TRYX has an unusual body design, featuring what what Casio calls a "variable frame." That's supposed to make it easier to get hard-to-reach shots, self-portraits and other challenging subjects.

The frame also acts as a built-in tripod to help reduce blur and produce more pleasing video. The TRYX is exceptionally thin, at about .6 inches thick, and can capture 1080i full-resolution HD video.

The TRYX's lens is also unusual; it's a fixed non-zoom (although the camera does offer digital zoom) with what appears to be one of the widest wide-angle lenses on the market: 21mm. It will be interesting to see how much barrel distortion this model has. The TRYX will be available in April for around $250.

Casio also announced Imaging Square, an online service that the company claims will be able to transform your "prized photos into compelling pieces of art." It will go live in the U.S. in February.

Casio has also developed various art filters, some of which will be included with newer Casio cameras like the TRYX and the Imaging Square service. One, called Digital Craft, will incorporate some HDR-type filters or technologies. These filters, however, will work only on still images.

I think this service would be much more interesting if you could use it to process video clips. If the filters were a little more original, they'd stand out, but they seem to mimic the ones found in image-editing programs.

—Terry Sullivan