Stuff Geeks Want

In high school, a decade ago now (ugh), I remember buying a Casio computer watch from onsale.com, back when that site was one of the first auction houses on the Web. This wasn’t your typical dorky square digital computer watch, this one looked like a regular round analog watch—and functioned as one—until you flipped up the face James Bond style to reveal a tiny keypad and screen.

It got me some attention, but unfortunately not much from the opposite sex (I graduated a virgin—can you believe it?).

I don’t know if it’s because that watch broke just a few months later, but I’ve always been skeptical of the Casio brand. It’s like the Radio Shack of electronics companies: huge brand recognition, but you can’t really ever name anything unique that they make. And you always feel like you’re not getting a very good deal.

But damn if Casio’s Exilim digital camera line isn’t trying to prove itself worthy to stand alongside the Sonys, Canonons, and Nikons out there.

The new EX-FC100 looks like pretty standard fare:

9 megapixels
• 5x optical zoom with image stabilization
• 2.7-inch LCD
• 720p (1280×720) movie mode
• 1000 fps capture

Wait—720p movie capture? 1000fps? HD movie mode is a rarity on point and shoots, and 1000fps is downright insane. And that’s why we want the EX-FC100: it’s the only camera that can pull that trick off.

Pre-order for $399.99 from Amazon. Shipping in March.