Casio Exilim Pro EX-P505

Review summary: The Casio Exilim EX-P505 ($499) isn't just another digital camera. Rather, it's Casio's attempt at making a convergence device, putting a camera and camcorder into one compact device. On the camera side there's a 5 Megapixel CCD, 5X optical zoom lens, ...

Pros: Nice combination of still + video recording features ; 5X zoom in a compact body ; Flip-out, rotating 2" LCD display ; Robust performance ; Full manual controls ; Excellent movie mode ; stereo sound, optical zoom can be used, numerous ways to record ; ...

Cons: Overpriced ; Cheap plastic body ; Images are too noisy/grainy ; some corner/edge softness ; Redeye a problem ; LCD doesn't "gain up" in low light ; Poor low light focusing / no AF-assist lamp ; Can't swap memory cards while camera is on a tripod ; ...

Verdict: My usual complaints about proprietary batteries like the one used by the EX-P505 apply here. They're expensive ($45 a pop), and you can't put in a set of alkalines to get you through the rest of the day like you could with an AA-based camera

Review summary: Looks hard-core, but proves a bit soft.

Pros: Cool SLR-a-like styling, , Rotating screen, , Decent pop-up flash, , ,

Review summary: Aiming for the hybrid market, the Casio Exilim Pro EX-P505 adds camcorder-like features to its digital camera body. The P505 has 5 effective megapixels for still imaging on its 1/2.5-inch CCD and full VGA resolution in its four movie modes. Heavily ...

Pros: zoom is very responsive, cool movie modes, nice 60-1/2000 shutter speed range, lots of live views, fold-out LCD monitor, flash compensation  

Cons: the buttons are too small and blend into frame, menus are unnecessarily convoluted and confusing, too many essential menu functions are hidden, LCD solarizes easily, useless software, user manual on CD-ROM       

Verdict: The Casio Exilim EX-P505 is the Swiss Army knife of digital cameras; it tries to impress every segment of the market there is. It can impress point-and-shoot users with its automatic and extremely comprehensive list of best shot scene modes. The P505 ...

Review summary: Size matters! Especially when a camera as small as the Casio EX-P505 has more features than models twice its size.

Verdict: A little on the expensive side for a 5MP camera, but the impressive stills performance, easily accessible creative features and some outstanding and unique movie modes ? including stereo sound - make the Exilim EX-P505 a unique and appealing model for ...