Casio Exilim EX-H10 Enters the Pocket-Megazoom Fray

While the last few Casio point-and-shoot announcements have been strongly geared toward high-speed shooting, the just-announced Casio Exilim Hi-Zoom EX-H10 is focused squarely on its zoom range and battery life.

The 12-megapixel EX-H10 offers a 24mm ultra-wide-angle lens as part of its ample 10X optical zoom (24mm to 240mm), along with a sensor-shifting mechanical image stabilization system.

Video: See the Exilim Hi-Zoom EX-H10 in action.

To go along with those optics, the EX-H10 has a 3-inch LCD screen, an HD movie mode that shoots 1280-by-720 AVI clips at 24 frames per second, and an in-camera Dynamic Photo feature that automatically crops out a subject from a shot's background and then lets you superimpose it on other images or backgrounds of your choice (think "in-camera green screen").

Casio is also claiming that the EX-H10 has phenomenal battery life, with the ability to fire off 1000 shots on a single charge of its rechargeable lithium ion battery. Most point-and-shoots we've seen in PC World Test Center battery tests top out at about 350 shots per charge--and that's on the high end of the spectrum.

The EX-H10 also packs in Casio's newest image-processing engine, the Exilim Engine 4.0, which features separate processors for image processing and other in-camera features.

Alas, the EX-H10 doesn't have the same high-speed burst mode chops as the Casio Exilim EX-F1, EX-FH20, EX-FC100, and EX-FS1, but it's nothing to sneeze at. Its burst mode maxes out at 10 frames per second.

Available in mid-July, the Casio Exilim Hi-Zoom EX-H10 will be available in black for $300.