Exilim EX-S500

The Exilim released in 2005 August and was priced at $US 400 but the price should be in the mid 300s. It’s a great price for a camera just over half an inch thick and the size of a credit card along with a boatload of options.

Besides the way the Exilim slides into the pocket, it catches the user's attention with the twenty four user presets. This seems a bit extraneous, when there is a setting for photographing just food, fireworks, and business cards. I’m also fairly sure that most users will not see a distinct difference between the Soft-Flowing water setting and the Splashing water setting. While not attractive to the average user, the more advanced photographers can still have a bit of fun. Beyond the extraneous settings, the camera has very nice options for nighttime shots and adjusting light, such as backlight and flash exposure. The outdoor shots were definitely the strong point of this camera, with good color contrasts in both night and day. The indoor shots suffered a bit, with either the flash being too strong or blurring due to the lack of it. Despite this, most of the indoor shots where there was no fluorescent lighting came out fine.

One of the appealing features was the layout of the on-screen menu. The 2.2 in LCD screen is sharp and crisp showing most of the options on one menu grid. The manufacturers takes a novel approach for their set up and abandons the classic menu trees that most cameras display. This all-in-one menu grid called Best Shot is a little cluttered but some people prefer this over searching through many menus for their option.

The Exilim is an excellent camera with eye-popping features and a flashy build. It is easy for beginners and is one of the best cameras to take on any vacation or outdoor trip. It's a great package for a good price. Rating: 9 out of 10.

 

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