Model Design / Appearance (7.0)
The Casio P505 is marketed as a hybrid digital camera, and as such it takes on features typical of camcorders as well as those of standard digital cameras. The fat, protruding lens barrel looks similar to a camcorder lens, but the closest attribute akin to a camcorder is the LCD monitor. The P505's monitor flips outward and rotates so it can be viewed at various angles. This camera does have a slight right-hand grip, which gives it the traditional digital camera look. Overall, the Casio Exilim EX-P505 looks like a hybrid camera, with its smooth matte-black plastic finish.

Size / Portability (7.0)
The Casio P505 is smaller than you think. With its 3.88 x 2.19 x 2.89-inch measurements, this diminutive digital camera is quite portable. However, when the LCD screen is flipped out and the flash is popped up, the Exilim P505 takes up a bit more space. It is compact, but it is not conducive to transportation in a pocket. Fortunately, Casio included a nice wrist strap that has the look of a cushy neck strap. This digital camera weighs 7.58 ounces without the battery or accessories, but the thin lithium-ion battery doesn’t add much weight. The Casio P505 certainly won’t strain the photographer’s wrists when shooting.

Handling Ability (6.0)
Handling the Casio P505 can be a little tricky because control buttons are on multiple façades. Buttons controlling the macro shooting and image parameters are located on the left side, encouraging two-handed shooting on this tiny model. Many of the buttons are small and black, so they blend in with the body of the camera. The right-hand grip is just right for users with small hands, but could further complicate handling for larger-handed people. The other handling complication for all hand sizes is the LCD monitor. It's a very cool feature, but it constantly needs readjustment because it solarizes when viewed from an angle.

Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size (5.0)
The control buttons are few and sometimes randomly placed. On the top of the camera is the power button, the shutter release button, zoom toggle, and mode dial. This is fairly normal. On the back, there is a Menu button, a Display button, and a multi-selector. This is fewer buttons than is usually found on a camera's back, but that's not a bad thing. However, there are two buttons oddly placed on the left side of the camera. These buttons are silver and larger than the buttons on the back, which is a bit ironic because when shooting, photographers probably won't see those silver buttons anyway. The buttons on the back are colored black, just like the rest of the camera body - they blend in a little too well. They are also quite small. Overall, the control sizes, placement, and color all contribute to awkward handling.

Menu (6.0)
The Casio Exilim EX-P505's menu system is quite confusing. There are several ways to access controls, and sometimes two or three ways to access the same control. The most obvious place to find the menus is with a press of the Menu button. The menu is set up in a three-tiered system that looks like file folders with three tabs across the top, titled REC, Memory, and Set Up.

The recording menu has the following options: Self-timer, Size, Still Quality, Movie Quality, EV Shift, White Balance, ISO, AF Area, Metering, Audio Snap, Filter, Sharpness, Saturation, Contrast, Flash Intensity, Flash Assist, Grid, Digital Zoom, Review, Icon Help, and L/R Key. That's a lot of options; in fact, it takes up four screens.

The Memory tab lists these functions with On and Off options: Flash, Focus, White Balance, ISO, AF Area, Metering, Self-timer, Flash Intensity, Digital Zoom, MF Position, and Zoom Position. This menu tells the Casio P505 which functions to remember when the camera is turned off and on again. For example, if you turn the Self-timer On, then select it in the menu, you can turn the camera off and on again and the self-timer will still be there.

The Set Up menu has these options available: Sounds, File No., World Time, Date Style, Adjust (to adjust the date and time), Language, Sleep, Auto Power Off, USB, Video Out, Format, and Reset. The most amusing part about the Set Up menu is scrolling through the Sounds option. Users could wear down an entire battery just listening to the gallery of shutter, water drops, and laser sounds. They're very cool to listen to, though maybe not the most professional sound effects to select.

The confusion begins outside of that menu. The EX button on the left side of the camera accesses another menu. This menu has four options, complete with icons: White Balance, ISO, Metering, and AF Area. Sound familiar? Some of these are available in the recording menu. Wondering where the shutter speed and aperture controls are? Not in the menus. Instead, they are adjusted right on the LCD screen. The exposure control can be adjusted and the ND filter (neutral density filter) can be turned on and off with this screen as well. Overall, the menu system is quite confusing. The white balance can be selected in three different places: the recording menu, the EX menu, and the L/R key. To Casio's credit, the menus are well labeled with text and there are several live views, which is always a handy feature.

Ease of Use (5.0)
Ease of use is not the mantra of the Casio EX-P505. This Exilim has hidden menus, controls in different menus, repeated options of the same name, and repeated options with different names. Sound confusing? It is. The menus are long and time-consuming to navigate, as the multi-selector is black like the camera body and thus blends in with its surroundings. Sure, it’s easy to point and shoot this camera, but once photographers want to switch options or do anything else, it gets complicated. In fact, just transferring images from the camera to the computer is a hassle. Before you can download images for the first time, you have to download the included software. This could be a problem if users want to download images on a remote computer. Overall, the Casio Exilim EX-P505 receives poor marks for ease of use.

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