There’s a shedload of basic, fixed-lens snapshot cameras from various brand licensees selling remarkably well right now – all instead of traditional, more respected manufacturers issuing their own. And, to quote queen of country pop Shania Twain, that don’t impress me much.
Especially as I’ve tested most of these ‘zombie brands’ and found them lacking a lot of innovation from the past 20 years. It’s as if we’ve rewound the clock to 2006 and removed its battery.
There was, until relatively recently, however, a brand making surprisingly pocketable and successful compacts. One that has, so far, been overlooked in the latest compact camera revival: Casio.
The tech world moves so fast that I’d almost forgotten the digital watch manufacturer also released its own brand of point-and-shoot cameras. They were sold from 2002 until 2018 – and very successfully, too.
Casio’s slender, tiny sensor-incorporating snappers took the adjectives ‘extraordinary’ and ‘slim’ and merged them to fashion the ‘Exilim’ range – which, complete with retractable zoom lenses, was one that could truly claim to be credit card-sized. At least in terms of height and width, if not quite in depth.
But with the widespread decline in compact camera sales towards the end of the decade – and mounting losses prior to the recent revival – Casio shuttered its camera division.
However, given current demand, now feels like the perfect time for Casio to reappraise its fixed lens output. These were marketed as ‘wearable compact cameras’ after all, which I believe would once again appeal perfectly to today’s bling-obsessed youngsters.
Key releases included the likes of the Casio Exilim S100, which introduced the world-first of a ceramic lens, while its EX-F1 model offered a then-lightning-fast 60fps burst capture at full resolution. Prior to that, the QV-10 had been the first digicam with a TFT LCD monitor, while its rotating lens was a much-copied novelty.
So, it’s not like Casio was ever in it purely to make a fast buck with any old tat; it brought real innovation, too. Sadly, though, that wasn’t enough when most casual snappers moved on to just buying the latest camera phone.
The last ever Exilim model was the Japan-only EX-100 in 2014 (the camera at the top of this article), prior to its manufacturer pulling the plug… once and for all? Well, we’ll see.
While Casio cameras never really enticed the photo enthusiast, they did extremely well in sticking to their own small sensor-incorporating, snapshot camera-sized lane.
And, I feel, that’s what positions the brand more perfectly than most to capitalize on the latest revival of that market segment and make a success of it again. Should the infrastructure and desire still exist, of course.
If Casio itself isn’t interested, surely there is a potential licensor out there who might be…
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