Clock it is Friend of Time

Casio's recently introduced Exilim EX-G1 arduous 12 megapixel compact marks the company's first entry in their new Exilim G brand of digital cameras - the "G" denoting an "lasting quality category" of camera intended for "top athletes" and "adventurers" ... "who never quit challenging both extreme conditions and their own limits." To that end the G1 is scare-resistant, waterproof and dustproof: rated to survive falls from 7 feet and waterproof for up to 1 hour at depths to 10 feet.

The camera can hold out against temperatures as low as 14 degrees F. Sounds good, but when you read the fine print the drop testing tangled dropping the camera onto plywood at 26 different angles and survival is not guaranteed for all drops from 7 feet. Also, camera shocks from a dive(s) may compromise watertight integrity. Still it's safe to say the G1 is apt to fare better under adverse treatment/conditions than most any other compact on the planet, while present an increased possibility of survival due to operator-induced sloppy handling.

I found the body fairly attractive - it dispenses with the classic mostly rectangular box that characterizes most compacts and instead presents an angular, quasi-rectangular collection of ridges and lose contoured edges. The body exterior of our test unit is stainless steel finished in a matte dull two-tone paint (there is a red version available) and the camera has the solid and substantial feel one would hope for in a unit designed to carry on in adverse conditions. The battery cover is a two-handed proposition to open - a latch needs to be held aside to unlock the obscure, but the end of the cover that is the lift point sits adjacent to the latch, and two fingers just don't fit into this same area very well.