NEW YORK –
Casio America gave its unique twistable
Tryx digital camera a hip-hop send-off by combining
a launch party with a concert by Nicki Minaj and
the Roots at the Best Buy Theater in Times Square.
The location for the Tryx Out: NYC 2011 event was
no accident, as the big-box retailer will have a national
exclusive on a white version of the camera and was the
first to start taking pre-orders in early April.
The retail chain’s Future Shop operation also has a
Canadian exclusive on all iterations of the camera.
Casio gave away tickets to the Minaj and the Roots
concert through recent sweepstakes on social-network
sites and through a special contest on the Casio
Imaging Square HDR-ART services website that
awarded five all-expense-paid trips for two the show.
The Tryx camera, which incorporates an HDRART
function as part of its feature set, will hit retail
shelves within the next few weeks at a $250 suggested
retail.
Casio is targeting Tryx at “connected young adults”
between the ages of 18 and 34 years of age. Its combination
of compact size, multiple shooting angles,
easy uploading of images to social-networking sites
and integrated HDR-ART (high dynamic range) photo
treatments was designed to engage young trendsetters
with a wide range of effects for both stills and video, the company said.
“With HDR-ART at their fingertips, consumers of all
skill levels, whether they are advanced or beginners,
can now achieve the kind of effects that used to require
costly and intimidating software,” said Toshiharu
Okimuro, Casio America chairman. “It is this kind of
photo enhancement which will encourage consumers
to explore their own video creativity, and embrace all
that digital imaging has to offer.”
Tryx was said to have been designed on three levels
— design, creativity and sharing. A key feature of
the camera is its 180-degree pivoting 3-inch LCD
screen inset in a surrounding frame. The screen can
adapt to fit the user’s preferred shooting style and
to capture images from virtually any angle or lighting
environment.
A second hinge point connecting the screen and
lens elements enables the frame to twist away from
the screen to act as a hoop that can be positioned as
a camera support stand for tabletop placement. Alternatively
the frame can serve as a hook so the camera
can be hung from a wall or a doorknob for hands-free
shooting.
The screen can be rotated 180 degrees so that users
can take self portraits and see themselves in the
frame.
The Tryx features a 12-megapixel backside illuminated
high-speed CMOS sensor with strong low-light
shooting capability, a 3-inch 460,000-dot touchscreen
display, 720p HD video capture and an ultrawide-
angle lens.
