Casio's current flagship Exilim point-and-shoot camera, the EX-ZR1000, is an intriguing offering that targets users who want to be able to capture life's special moments quickly and in high quality. It's very speedy to start up, and shooting at 16 megapixels the image quality is great, performing well in low-light at a maximum 25,600 ISO. The camera features a 24 mm 12.5x optical zoom, but it also has wide-angle shooting modes which put it at a 14 mm or 18 mm equivalent. And it's fast, capable of shooting at 1/2,000th of a second, and there's a 30 frame-per-second burst mode too (6 fps on autofocus), which is especially handy for moving subjects.

One of the camera's primary features is the 3-inch TFT color LCD panel on the back, which can flip up 180 degrees so it can be used as a viewfinder while taking self-portraits. I mean, I'll be the first to admit smartphone pictures in the bathroom mirror are fun and all, but as technology moves on, so should we. And with the wide-angle modes, taking photos of yourself with a friend or two is really easy when the LCD screen is flipped toward you. When folded out, you can also put up the camera's kickstand (yes, it really has a kickstand!) and then use the clever hand-wave activated timer feature to have the camera shoot only when you and your friends give the hand-wave signal.

Another key feature of the EX-ZR1000 is the ring around the lens on its front, to which you can assign a number of camera functions, including zoom, shutter speed, manual focus, or even white balance.