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Announced at the beginning of August and available in September 2006, the Casio Exilim EX-Z700 comes to the market with 7.2 megapixels and all the typical bells and whistles of a Casio camera. It is skinny with a 3x telescoping optical zoom lens on the front and a 2.7-inch LCD screen on the back. This camera adds two more scene modes to the already extensive list for a total of 37 Best Shot modes. The middle-tier Casio Z700 will retail for $299 and is offered in blue, silver, and gray…

Bottom line - I was a little disappointed with this latest addition to Casio’s Exilim Zoom line. While image quality is up to par with many other manufacture’s 7-megapixel models, the obvious Anti-shake high ISO noise issue and the average shooting performance might turn many users away. Therefore, with an MSRP of about US$250, I feel the EX-Z70 offers an Ok value for an “ultra-compact” 7-megapixel model.

Bottom line - I was a bit surprised after testing the Z700. While image quality is a bit better than its predecessor, performance was a great deal slower, which is the opposite of what you’d expect from a newer model. The noise issue with the high ISO (800) mode that the Anti-Shake system uses is still present, however it has improved slightly. That said, I feel with an MSRP of about US$280, the Z700 offers an Ok value for a 7-megapixel model.

DivX, Inc. (NASDAQ:DIVX) announced today that Casio will introduce a new model to its line of DivX Certified digital still cameras in Europe. The DivX Certified Casio EXILIM(R) Card EX-S770D model will be available online throughout Europe in November. The new model is a successor to the popular EX-S600D, the first DivX Certified camera from Casio. The EX-S770D improves on its predecessor by increasing the megapixel count to 7.2 and allowing for video capture in a wide-format movie function (16:9 aspect ratio) that combines with DivX functionality to create breath-taking video.

The Casio Exilim EX-Z850 was released earlier this year at PMA 2006 and while not the most appealing model in terms of innovative styling, this camera does have some impressive specifications.  Housed inside of a metal shell, this 8 MP camera has a 3x optical zoom lens, 34 preset scene modes, a full movie mode with editing in playback and both shutter and aperture priority modes.  This camera will certainly appeal to beginning users looking for a camera to grow into with manual control over focus, white balance, exposure and ISO…