Casio has joined the exclusive 1-megapixel per ounce club with its Exilim EX-S500, supplying 5-megapixels of resolution in a package weighing only 4 1/2 ounces, including battery, SD memory card and wrist strap. Just as remarkable, Casio squeezed a 2.2-inch LCD monitor and a 3x optical zoom lens into the EX-S500's credit card-sized, stylish and durable metal body. The EX-S500's Automatic and Best Shot scene modes will help beginners capture pleasing snapshots, but the camera lacks the manual, aperture-priority and shutter-priority exposure modes demanded by experienced photographers.

Despite its small size, the ergonomics of the EX-S500 were good, with enough space between the 4-way controller and zoom controls to place your thumb without interfering with any buttons. The menu system is logically organized and easy to navigate. The camera features a large 2.2-inch LCD which is used for composing, reviewing captured images and navigating the menu system. The LCD occupies most of the back of the camera, leaving no room for an optical viewfinder. It was quite usable in most outdoor conditions, with only direct reflections of the sun at your back obscuring the display. When using it indoors, it "gains up" the live image, helping you compose your shots in dim lighting. Unlike other cameras in this class, the EX-S500 does not brighten or darken the live image in response to your exposure compensation adjustments.

The EX-S500's shooting performance is quite good. Power up to first image captured measured approx. 1.5 seconds. Shutter lag, the time from depressing the shutter release and capturing the image, measured 1/10 second when pre-focused, including the approx. 1/10 second delay present in the LCD display - there is essentially no delay if you can time the shutter release without using the viewfinder. Autofocus delay measured 5/10 second; it can be improved to 3/10 second by activating Quick Shutter in the EX-S500's menu system. Rapid shooting in single-shot mode captured images at a intervals of 1.6 seconds without flash, and between 5 and 8 second with flash, depending on subject distance; you must wait for the flash to recharge, as indicated by the Operation Lamp, before depressing the shutter button for the next shot. The EX-500's Continuous mode captured images at 1.3 second intervals; the LCD viewfinder briefly displayed the live image between exposures, helping you follow a moving subject. All tests were done using a Sandisk Ultra II 512MB SD card, Auto recording mode, 2560x1920/Fine size/quality, preview off, flash off, and all other settings at default (unless noted.) Times may vary depending on lighting conditions, camera settings, media, etc.

The EX-500's 3x optical zoom lens produced good results throughout its range. It is sharp at the center, but exhibits some softness at the edges. Its 38 - 114mm (in 35mm equivalence) focal length range is typical for a camera in this class. At 38mm, there's enough field of view for group portraits and landscapes, while its 102mm telephoto extreme will bring distant subjects a bit closer. The lens exhibits a slight chromatic aberration (purple fringing in high-contrast areas), noticeable barrel distortion at wide angle, and slight barrel distortion at telephoto.

The overall image quality when using 5-megapixel (2560x1920) Fine mode was good. Our outdoor images were well exposed and colors were nicely saturated. Image noise was essentially absent at ISO 50 and 100, detectable at ISO 200, and noticeable at ISO 400. Indoors it also performs well. The camera's autofocus system works well in low-ambient lighting, although it would benefit from a focus-assist lamp. Its flash provides sufficient illumination for most indoor situations, seemingly more powerful than the 9-foot range claimed by Casio. Red eye reduction mode worked well, although the LCD viewfinder went blank between the pre-flash and exposure flash, a period of about 8/10 second. When shooting in Macro mode, the flash also does a good job of "throttling down" to ensure you do not over-expose your subject.

A camera would be undeserving of the Casio brand without a host of "cool" features, and the EX-S500 is no exception. In addition to Auto exposure mode, it has 29 Best Shot scene modes ranging from the typical Portrait, Scenery and Sports to the unusual Soft Flowing Water, Splashing Water, Text, White Board and Business Card. Business Card mode allows you to capture images at an angle or bad perspective, then correct the images in-camera to make the perspective as if you had shot the picture dead on to the subject. The EX-S500's Anti Shake feature is claimed to reduce motion blur, but I found no difference in low-light image quality with Anti Shake off or on.

Cool features extend also to the EX-500's movie mode. Have you ever missed the height of action in your movies because you didn't start recording in time? The EX-S500's Past Movie mode captures moving images continuously, but begins saving the clip from a point in time 5 seconds before the record button is depressed. Have you ever wanted to capture a still image during movie recording? With its separate movie record and shutter buttons, the EX-S500 allows you to do exactly that, although with an interruption in the middle of the movie. Cool features aside, EX-S500's movie mode produced high-quality clips limited in length only by the amount of remaining unused memory.

Small camera's require small batteries; the 3.7-volt 700mAh NP-20 rechargeable Lithium Ion battery is quite small, but managed to power the EX-S500 through the capture of 150 images with (of course) full time use of the LCD. The battery is a proprietary design with no "off the shelf" retail replacement. I suggest that you obtain a second battery and keep it charged to avoid the inevitable disappointment of finding a dead battery during a unique photo op. The battery is charged in-camera in the included docking cradle.

Bottom line - If small size, durability and stylishness are as important to you as image quality, the Casio Exlim EX-S500 should be high on your digicam shopping list. This diminutive point-n-shoot is simple enough for a beginner to use, yet offers a set of scene modes and advanced features that will please the intermediate user. Offered at the same $399 MSRP as its predecessor, the EX-S100, the EX-S500 has improved the value equation with increased resolution, wider optical zoom range, larger LCD and enhanced features. Be sure to examine our Sample Photos to see what this little jewel is capable of.

EX-S500 Firmware Upgrade

Click here for EX-S500 Firmware Update Software

Improvements Provided by This Update

V1.01-V1.02

• Fixed a problem that sometimes made it impossible to achieve the desired results at shutter speeds slower than one second.

V1.00-V1.01

• Fixed a problem that caused the wrong white balance setting to be registered when saving a user setup.
• Fixes a problem that caused occasional distortion in the upper part of a snapshot recorded during movie recording.