It's not exactly news that digital cameras come in myriad sizes and shapes. So it catches you by surprise when you come across a camera body design that goes against any preconceptions you have about what a camera is supposed to look like. Such is the offbeat pocket-size 12-megapixel Casio Tryx EX-TR100 point-and-shoot I've been working with for a few weeks. Tryx (pronounced "tricks") only recently went on sale.Tryx is squarely aimed at the casual sharpshooter, not anyone overly serious about the craft of shooting high-quality images. The camera has no optical zoom (ouch), offers only minimal manual choices and lacks such niceties as image stabilization or a tripod mount (though you can prop it up on a flat surface). And at $250, you're paying a premium for the unique design, especially when you consider the absence of features that are common to other point-and-shoots in the price range.
What it does have is a design that defies conventions. Closed, Tryx slightly resembles a smartphone. The device is a little over half an inch thick. In fact, I couldn't immediately determine which was the Tryx and which was my iPhone 4 when the latter was in a case and both were in my pocket.
But there's no mistaking the Tryx's purpose as digital camera or pocket camcorder once you start fooling around with it. The outer frame swings out a full 360 degrees. The really wide wide-angle 21mm lens, which is hinged onto the hollow frame, can also turn. Separately, the inner 3-inch LCD touch-screen swivels up to 270 degrees.