Snapshot photographers make splash with Casio Exilim camera phone
Fourteen photographers get up close with the Casio Exilim mobile phone.
(Credit:
WireImage/J. McCarthy)
Casio might be ripe to the world of mobile phones, but it certainly made a splash last night with a unique party for the launch of its Exilim C721, a versatile phone that combines rugged durability and a 5.1-megapixel camera in a stylish handset.
Casio canonized the launch by offering the Exilim mobile to several handpicked photographers with the challenge to use the short-form medium to document a week of their lives. Ricky Powell, Richard Kern, Dave Potes, and 11 other prominent artists were all in attendance at last night's event at the Stephen Weiss Studio in downtown New York, where several wall-to-wall digital projects were used to bring their distinctively playful snapshots to elaborate scale.
Casio also had the Exilim C721 handsets on display, cleverly submerged in a sterile tank to show off their military-spec (code MIL-STD 810F) resistance to water, rain, shock, dust, salt, fog, and high altitudes. The phones continued to play their video and photo slideshows underwater, and surprisingly maintained their monochrome OLED display as well.
While the phone does come with a pretty stiff price tag ($280 with a two-year service agreement and a $50 mail-in rebate), last night's gala proved that its creative innovation and tough-guy attitude may very well be worth the cost.
