How cheap can camera manufacturers make digital cameras with anti-shake and face recognition modes? If you're Casio, the answer to that is $159.99 for the new Exilim EX-Z9, which will hit store shelves this month. The digicam boasts a new, slimmer design in addition to a bump to 8.1 Mpixels.

Let's run down the features: obviously, the anti-shake DSP and the Casio face recognition algorithms are designed for the casual buyer. Complementing those are 23 'Easy Shot" modes with preprogrammed settings. In the three "Easy Modes", the camera's options shrink to just three: the image size, whether the user wants to use a flash, and whether a self-timer is needed. Finally, there is the lens: a 3X optical zoom capability is included, along with 4X digital zoom (or 12X for both).

The camera comes with 18.6 Mbytes of built-in flash memory, and can use either SD, SD-HC, MMC, or MMC plus cards. Users can shoot "YouTube"-optimized video, or still images that can also be accompanied by 30 seconds of monaural sound.

Finally, users can compose shots using the 2.6-inch wide LCD on the back of the EX-Z9, which comes in pink, black, silver and orange colors.