New Casio Camera Automatically Airbrushes Photos And Makes You Picture Perfect

Picture perfect. That's how we all like to look when a photo is snapped.....vibrant, bright-eyed, with smooth young skin and just the right amount of makeup on.

And now there is a new camera, with a built-in automatic 'makeup-mode' feature. It's called the Casio Exilim Ex-S12 ($229). And this slim,lightweight, handbag-friendly digital camera is all the rage with the Brits. There are 12 levels in the makeup-mode, so your appearance can be changed a little, or a lot.

Take a look at the 'before' photo(bottom) and the 'after' photo(top). Can you see a difference? We sure can. The top pic definitely looks better and has an airbrushed quality to it. This is what the subject in these photos says:

Jackie, 47, a radiographer: 'It made my skin smoother and it makes me look as if I’m wearing heavy eye make-up. I look like I’ve got eyeliner on in the second picture. I’m impressed, though I’m not sure I’d invest in something like this.'

Airbrushing or the trendier word of 'photoshopping' is a technique most photographers use when shooting models for ads and so forth. Air brushing is an editing technique in which an image is retouched and then smoothed over to improve picture quality.

How does the Casio Exilim EX-S12 work? The Casio people explain it better than we could:

"In addition to recognizing faces and adjusting focus and exposure accordingly, these cameras can make adjustments to smooth skin in images and soften facial shadows caused by sunlight, creating beautiful photographs of people's faces. The photographer can choose from one of twelve levels of skin beauty using different strengths of image processing, and can shoot after viewing the results in the LCD monitor."

There's even a smile-detection feature on this digitial camera. So you can be sure that everyone in the frame is happy and showing teeth when the picture is taken.

Is there something wrong with society, when we need to buy a camera that makes us, and every picture perfect? Well, maybe so, but we aren't here to judge. We think it's a pretty cool invention.

You could have a lot of fun with this new Casio. No more blurred shots. No more shots of Uncle Joe moving at the wrong time and spoiling the photo. This camera can correct the mistakes before they happen, because it recognizes individual faces and group shots and automatically applies the best of 41 different pre-settings. There is also an auto-shutter function which determines the perfect and precise moment to snap a photo, delaying the shot until the photographer's hand is still, or 'Uncle Joe' being pictured, stops moving, ha ha.

We know that some of you could really use the Casio Exilim Ex-S12 tonight at your New Year's Eve celebrations. Forget the smeared eyeliner and glazed appearance. This little camera won't tell! You will be airbrushed to perfection.