Casio plans to kill off camera shutter button
EX-F1 super camera so fast shutters only hold it back
Casio's new 60 frames-per-second EX-F1 super camera may have some impressive numbers backing it up but what we didn't expect was a claim from the Japanese company that it might be the first step towards doing away with shutter buttons on digital cameras.
The machine, which can shoot 60 six-megapixel still snaps in a second as well as a startling 1,200 frames of video in the same time, is so advanced a manual shutter may even be a hindrance because it introduces camera shake.
Human error
Casio executive Jin Nakayama says the high frame rate means it's no longer necessary for a mere human to try to time the shutter release perfectly when five dozen photos are being snapped every second.
Speaking to Japanese website Tech On, he explained: "A shutter button might even be one of the principal causes of bad pictures. If users did not release a shutter, there [would be] no camera shake. If a camera decided the timing, it would not miss a decisive moment."
Immature technologies
Describing the new £650 F1 as a 'third-generation' digital camera, he went on to set out his goal for a future where video and still cameras merge:
"What [is] the third-generation digital camera like? You often say [that] scenes suited for movies should be recorded as movies, [but] when it is difficult to take a picture of an object, take a movie of it. The wall between movies and still pictures is formed by immature technologies."
As for the high price for what is still a non-SLR camera, Nakayama admitted that Casio needs to sell 10,000 F1s a month to be able to afford to continue research on the high-speed sensors it uses.
Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox
Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.
Should that happen, he suggested that we could see those spectacular frame rates in something a little more affordable before too long - we can't wait.
J Mark Lytle was an International Editor for TechRadar, based out of Tokyo, who now works as a Script Editor, Consultant at NHK, the Japan Broadcasting Corporation. Writer, multi-platform journalist, all-round editorial and PR consultant with many years' experience as a professional writer, their bylines include CNN, Snap Media and IDG.