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Photograph: Rick Rizner
Casio Exilim EX-S500 Digital Camera - Gray (5.25MP, 2560x1920, 3x Opt, 8.3MB Internal Memory, SD/MMC)
Pricing
Latest Price: $79.99
- Spec Navigator
- Digital Format
- Display
- Exposure
- Image Processor
- Included Software
- Lens
- Shutter
- Storage
- LCD Screen
- Exposure Controls
- Dimensions
- Power
- Flash
- Lens Features
- Connectivity
- Other Features
Image Processor
| Number of image sensor pixels | 5 megapixels |
| Image sensor | CCD |
| Maximum horizontal image resolution | 2560 |
| Maximum vertical image resolution | 1920 |
| Image sensor quantity | 1 |
| Image format | JPEG |
| White balance | 0 |
Exposure Controls
| Maximum shutter speed | 2000 |
| Minimum shutter speed | 0.13 |
| Bulb setting | 0 |
| ISO equivalencies |
|
| Exposure settings | 0 |
| Exposure compensation range | 0 |
| Number of scene modes | 29 |
- Lab Tested
- How We Test Cameras »
Pros
Ultra-thin body
Lots of features, such as anti-shake
Cons
Images did not look very sharp
Bottom Line
This ultra-thin camera offers a lot of manual settings and features such as anti-shake, but its images didn't look so sharp.
Casio Exilim EX-S500
Exilim EX-S500 Digital Camera - Gray (5.25MP, 2560x1920, 3x Opt, 8.3MB Internal Memory, SD/MMC) Review, by Paul Jasper August 29, 2005
Casio's $399, 5.1-megapixel EX-S500 may be one of the thinnest zoom-lens-equipped digital cameras you can buy--just 0.6 inch front to back with its 3X zoom lens retracted. That makes it small enough to take with you almost anywhere. Casio offers this model in three colors: dark gray, white, and an eye-catching orange. The 2.2-inch LCD is slightly smaller than the 2.5-inch displays found on some competing models of comparable size, but it's perfectly adequate for composing shots or sharing snaps with friends. The EX-S500's small size and large LCD does mean that you'll have to forgo the luxury of an optical viewfinder.
The EX-S500 starts up in less than 2 seconds and has minimal shutter lag. At first glance, its stylish controls suggest a victory of form over function. But though the buttons are tiny, I found them surprisingly simple to use. Menus are easy to navigate, too, and that's a good thing, since almost all of this camera's controls--including the macro setting, self-timer, and white balance--reside in them. You can, however, set the right and left keys on the four-way thumb pad to launch your most frequently used controls, such as exposure value (the default), focus, ISO, self-timer, or white balance. Oddly, there is a dedicated button for voice recording.
Casio includes 29 scene modes for you to choose from when you press the dedicated "Best Shot" button; each is illustrated with a sample image and a short description. An antishake feature helps keep shots sharp for long exposures or in low-light conditions. You can adjust settings for sharpness, saturation, and contrast, as well as flash intensity. A small window onto your current subject immediately displays the effects of menu settings such as white balance and exposure compensation.
On the negative side, though the S500 includes an SD Card slot, it doesn't come with media; the paltry 8.3MB of internal memory is enough for only two shots at the camera's highest quality setting. I had some difficulty zooming precisely, and the instant review of each shot is so fleeting that you barely have time for a glance before it disappears.
In our formal testing, the S500 earned average scores for exposure and color accuracy. The details in our resolution test, however, were noticeably less sharp than for other recently tested 5-megapixel cameras. There was also a significant amount of noise (or speckling) in solid colors. On a sunny day, I took the camera on a walk along the San Francisco waterfront, capturing some lively and colorful scenes. My portraits were especially good. On the other hand, the camera's limited aperture range made it harder to capture composite shots with both the near foreground and distant background in focus.
At home or in the office, the S500 perches on its small docking cradle, facing rearward. You can set it to display a calendar, with each day you took a photo represented by a small thumbnail image. Alternatively, you can arrange for it to run a slideshow while charging its lithium-ion battery. When traveling, you must take both the cradle and the compact power adapter with you; the only connector on the camera is for slotting it into the cradle. In our tests, the battery completed a reasonable 261 shots on a single charge.
Upshot: The ultrathin Casio Exilim EX-S500 is a quick, easy-to-handle camera best suited for snapshots of family and friends.
Casio Exilim EX-S500
5.0 megapixels, 2560 by 1920 maximum resolution, 38mm to 114mm focal range (35mm equivalent), f.27 to f4.3 aperture range, shutter speeds from 1/8 second to 1/2000 second, LCD viewfinder, docking cradle with USB and video connections, 8.3MB internal memory and SD Card slot, rechargeable lithium ion battery, 4.4 ounces with battery; Casio Photoloader and Photohands, Ulead Movie Wizard SE UCD software. One-year parts and labor warranty; 13-hour weekday, 8-hour weekend toll-free support.
$399
800/836-8580
www.casio.com
Paul Jasper
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PCWorld Lab Results
- Rating Breakdown
-
68
-
67
-
70
- See Complete Lab Results »
Performance Comparison with Similar Cameras
68
80
75
78
Performance
| Battery Life (minutes) | 143.75 |
| Battery Life Score | Good |
| Image Quality Score | Fair |
| Image Quality, Color | 58 |
| Image Quality, Distortion | 45 |
| Image Quality, Exposure | 58.6 |
| Image Quality, Exposure--Flash | 60 |
| Image Quality, Exposure--Normal | 58 |
| Image Quality, Overall | 56 |
| Image Quality, Sharpness | 19.5 |
| Number of Batteries | 1 |
| Number of Shots | 261 |
User Reviews
Review Now! Already own it? Tell us What You Think
User Reviews From Around the Web
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Reviewed by: looda
Strengths: Very slim with solid feel. Zoom while shooting Movies. Best flash of the small camera I tried. Good battery life.SD card. Adjustable Flash power.
Weaknesses: Lots of noise in low light. No viewfinder.
Overall: I tried the Kodak 550v which overall is a very good camera. Well built and very fast. My only problem with the Kodak 550 was the very inconsistant flash proformance. The Casio S500 was a pleasant surprise. To me it is the best value of the ultra slim / compact cameras. The zoom while shooting a movie is a great feature. Menu takes some practice but easy to use. I do wish the LCD quality was better but we all know that there is no perfect digital camera. When choosing a ultra compact it is just a matter if selecting the one wherein its features are the ones which you need and the weakness are the ones you can accept. Highly reccomend
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Reviewed by: mikelentini3
Strengths: Battery life 500+ per charge. Continuous video for up to 2 hoursIncredible durability.So many pre-set shot selectionsPrice cannot be beat!
Weaknesses: None
Overall: How can you have a "long term review" on a camera that is just been on the market for 8 months? This is not an exaggeration: I am an insurance adjuster and have used my Casio EX-S500GY since August 2005 and have taken over 80,000 pictures and 100's of small video clips!! I have worn this around my neck 10 hours a day/6 days a week for 7 months up and down ladders and have banged it into everything imaginable. Other than a few dings in the outer case, the thing still works like new. I use a 1G generic card and I have never lost a picture. Casio hit a homerun with this one.
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Reviewed by: DonnaTran
Strengths: Compact,lightweight.
Weaknesses: Average picture quality
Overall: I wanted something compact to fit in my pocket. My still pictures are fine. My fast action/sports pictures are very blurry. There's such a delay in capturing action. Already getting small scatches on screen. My second choice was a Canon SD400. Think I should have gone with that instead...
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Reviewed by: phulin
Strengths: Very slim design - though not so light -, excellent large and bright screen. Good overall ease of use, particularly the "Best Shot" settings. Very good pics quality for outdoor use.
Weaknesses: Quality not so good when light is low (especially for indoor pics) --> lot of noise on picture
Overall: Very nice camera. Got it for my wife last christmas, and she - and all of her friends - loves it. We're just back from a trip to Hawaii: the pics quality is excellent for the outdoor pictures (deep blue water and sky rendering). I am particularly surprised on how good the quality of digital zoom is. We used to have a canon powershot s200; pictures were really good with the optical zoom, but quite blurry with the optical. Pretty much no difference between optical and digital for the exilim. The battery life is awesome, you can take a lot of shots and review them on the large and bright screen before the battery dies. My overall opinion on this product is excellent, and I would definetely recommend it for any recreational use.
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Reviewed by: ngulla
Strengths: Size, 2.2 screen, price
Weaknesses: no memory card included, picture quality of 2.2 monitor
Overall: This is my first digital camera and I love it. It is very slim and fits easily in my purse or pocket. (For around $20 they have these nice Exilim leather cases available). My whole family has Casios and they all love them as well. I found it very easy to use and handle. I love the way the lens expands outward as opposed to the Sony slim version. I love the size of the monitor but I find that the quality of the picture through the monitor is not that good. The actual picture quality, though, is great. Loading the battery was difficult to figure out. The manual instructions weren't very clear. The charger cradle is small and light to easily carry on a trip. It is a pain to have to refer to a disc for detailed instructions (such as figuring out how to attach the strap!) instead of having a hard copy manual readily available. For computer challenged people this may be a problem. Other than these small weaknesses I'm really enjoying my new camera and would recommend it.
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