Casio Adds GPS to New Compact Zoomer

Hybrid GPS technology allows users to geo-tag images, even in places where the camera’s GPS can’t get a signal.

A few months ago, I wrote about the disappointing lack of built-in GPS capabilities in the summer’s line-up of new cameras. Casio may have heard my whining: The company has just announced a new campact camera that includes advanced GPS and geo-tagging capabilities.
The $350 Exilim EX-H20G employs a new Hybrid GPS technology that enables you to geo-tag photos and videos so that you can pinpoint the exact location where they were taken, should you want to return or plot them on a map. That, and a 10X zoom in a compact package, should make it a pretty great travel buddy.
The GPS function works indoors (and in dense cities like Manhattan) even when you can’t get a GPS signal. The Hybrid GPS technology pairs a GPS receiver with an internal motion sensor that enables autonomic positioning to track your last known satellite-acquired position against map data stored in the camera’s memory.
Like many GPS devices, the camera can apply tags for sightseeing spots (like the Empire State Building), and Casio says the camera will automatically notify you if you’re near a point of interest in its database. Photos are saved with location information (the camera has one million items in its name database) as well as longitude and latitude data, and shooting direction.
But wait, it’s more than a camera! The EX-H20G can display your location on a map on its 3-inch LCD; it also has a database that contains detailed maps of 140 cities worldwide, putting it in the realm of a navigational device.
Casio says the Hybrid GPS system won’t degrade battery life, but we’ll have to wait for a hands-on review to verify that. (Battery life information has not yet been added to the camera’s spec sheet.) Seems to me like there is a lot going on that could potentially drain the battery.
Other than the Hybrid GPS, the EX-H20G has a pretty standard feature set. Its 10X optical zoom starts at a wide 24mm, and the camera can capture 720p HD video at 30 frames per second. It comes with features like fully automatic shooting mode, CCD-shift image stabilization and a Panorama Photo mode to help take 360-degree photos.