Casio Exilim EX-S5 is a 10.1 mega pixels camera, light sensitivity options include ISO auto, ISO 1600, ISO 800, ISO 400, ISO 200, ISO 100, ISO 64, has 4x digital zoom, maximum shutter speed is 1/2000 second, minimum shutter speed is 60 seconds, white balance presets include Fluorescent light (cool white), Fluorescent light (daylight), Tungsten light, Overcast, Daylight, Shade.
Videos are stored in MJPEG, AVI format, images are stored in JPEG format. Video capture resolution options are AVI – 320 x 240, AVI – 640 x 480, AVI – 848 x 480. Image storage resolution options are JPEG 640 x 480, JPEG 1600 x 1200, JPEG 2304 x 1728, JPEG 3072 x 2304, JPEG 3648 x 2048, JPEG 3648 x 2432, JPEG 3648 x 2736.
Flash modes include Red-eye reduction, Flash OFF mode, Fill-in mode, Auto mode.
The camera has Zoom lens – 6.3 mm – 18.9 mm – F/3.1-5.6, with focal length of 6.3 mm – 18.9 mm, minimum focus range is 15.7 inches, macro focus range is 10-50 cm, lens aperture is F/3.1-5.6, has 3x optical zoom.
Additional features are Digital image rotation, USB 2.0 compatibility, YouTube capture mode, PictBridge support, Exif Print support, Resizing an image, Cropping an image, Built-in speaker, Date/time stamp, Audio recording, Face detection, Direct print, DPOF support.
The camera is 2.7 inches TFT LCD display and the connectors on the camera include composite video/audio output, USB. There is also a SD memory card slot. The device is powered by Casio NP-80 Li-ion rechargeable battery.
Razzle Dazzle:
Casio Exilim EX-S5 is available in options of pink, silver, black, purple and blue. It is stylish looking with the chrome accent on the body however it is a finger print magnet and body tends to get scratched easily. When it comes to carrying the unit around this one is the slimmest and very lightweight, so slip it in your pants pocket and you won’t even feel the weight.
Inside Dope:
Casio Exilim EX-S5 is a point and shoot ultra compact camera and just like most point and out cameras out there, it doesn’t have much fuss over options and thus make a great option for entry level. An entry level camera has it own sets of drawbacks like the photo quality is way inferior than the dSLRs and thus shutter bug freaks avoid these devices at all costs. The Exilim EX-S5 has a sturdy build, it is user friendly and is inexpensive, the downside is that the performance is slow and there is a long shutter lag.
LCD hogs most of the back part of the camera with little room left for the control buttons. There is a separate movie button, a single press triggers movie recording, press it again and you will stop the movie capture. Other than that, there is a camera mode and playback buttons, a set button, circular directional pad, Best Shot (BS) and menu buttons.
You will have to use the Menu button to access all of the cameras settings. The right and left direction buttons are programmable, just like those on a mobile phone; you can use them for white balance, exposure compensation and ISO. We would have also liked such a shortcut for focus mode so that we can directly change it from here instead of going into the menu. Navigation through settings is easy because the menu is user friendly it had some adjustments that we seldom see like menu color schemes and capability to choose focus frames. There is support for Eye-Fi cards which lets you transfer photos to computer wirelessly.
Photo quality is good considering the class and price range. Things will look great as long as you are under ISO 200. Color reproduction is good; they look very natural and lively. In high contrast areas, there is a lot of purple fringing and also barrel distortion at the widest position of the lens.
When it comes to performance the EX-S5 is pretty slow however that is not uncommon in point-and-shoot cameras. It takes 2.5 seconds to wake up and start shooting and between the shots it takes the same time. If you switch on the flash, it takes 3.1 seconds. Shutter lag in bright conditions is 1 second and in dim light environments it is 1.2 seconds.
The camera is capable of capturing VGA clips and there is a dedicated button for it though for recording the zoom lens cannot be used.
Casio Exilim EX-S5 has plenty of scene modes which make it one of the positive points for the camera. There are standard options like landscape, night scene, portrait and some new ones which we have never seen before like soft flowing water and fashion accessories, for YouTube and for eBay. Newbies will welcome the Easy mode which locks down the menu options and gives you a simple mode to click pictures.
Nitty Gritty:
Casio Exilim EX-S5 is good camera considering it costs only $130 but it lacks features and if you are a photograph enthusiasts this will be nightmare for you. However if you are a newbie this is a great camera. We would also ask people who lack patience to be wary of the shutter lag.