Casio 2008 Annual Report Download - page 13

Driven by replacement demand in
advanced industrialized countries and
demand from first-time buyers in the
developing world, the global market
for digital cameras grew strongly in the
reporting period, ended March 2008,
contrary to initial expectations.
Casio brought to market 10 new
models in the reporting period. These
included the EX-S10 in the category of
10-megapixel resolution cameras, which
featured the world’s most compact
and thinnest body (as of January 2008,
according to our own survey). Another
model, the EX-Z200, offers an automatic
“best shot” function and a digital zoom
function equivalent to a 28mm wide-angle
4X optical zoom lens. Thanks to these
new cameras, we realized solid growth in
Digital Cameras
EXILIM PRO EX-F1
business scale from the
previous term.
Beginning in 1995 with
the launch of the QV-10 – the world’s
first consumer-use digital camera featuring
an LCD display, Casio has developed and
marketed – ahead of its rivals — a wide
range of cameras with completely new
features and applications. Particularly
notable was the 2002 launch of the first
“card-sized” digital camera, which users
can easily carry about in their pockets,
enabling them to take pictures wherever
and whenever they like.
In the reporting period, Casio came
up with yet another new function to add
to its digital cameras — the world’s first
model to offer 60 high-quality still pictures
per second as well as high-speed moving
image performance. This model, the
Exilim Pro EX-F1, was put on the market
at the end of March 2008. We expect the
technology incorporated in this new model
to generate a significant expansion in our
product lineup over the next few years.
Casio will be investing aggressively in
the development of new technologies to
further differentiate its lineup from those
of competitors. By launching products
incorporating new and functionally
sophisticated concepts, we intend to
further expand our share of the world
market for digital cameras.
By combining recently-developed high-speed CMOS sensors with high-speed LSIs that are the fruit of Casio’s image processing technology, we
have succeeded in creating the world’s fastest consumer-use digital image camera (according to a survey by the Company of consumer-use digital
cameras conducted on January 6, 2008). The Exilim Pro EX-F1 boasts a speed of 60 frames per second for high-definition still pictures, and 1,200
frames per second for moving images.
Features of the Exilim Pro EX-F1
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Annual Report 2008