"Sunlit" Portrait:
(This is my new "Outdoor" Portrait test - read more about it here.)

High resolution and strong detail, with good color, though reddish. Low contrast adjustment required for best results.

• Exposure compensation: +1.0 EV, average to a bit higher than average.
• Contrast/Tone: High without an adjustment. Low contrast setting helps even out tones without losing highlight and shadow detail, but contrast is still high under the deliberately harsh lighting here.
• White Balance: Auto best overall, Manual slightly pink, Daylight slightly yellow. All are very close though.
• Color accuracy: Good overall color. Blues just slightly darker than in real life, reds slightly magenta, greens slightly undersaturated, but overall accuracy is better than average..
• Skin tones: Slightly reddish, but still quite good.
• Resolution/sharpness: High resolution, strong detail, good definition in the flower bouquet.
• Shadow detail: Moderate, with moderate noise.

To view the entire exposure series from zero to +1.3 EV, see files P505OUTLCMP0.HTM through P505OUTLCMP4.HTM on the thumbnail index page.

Contrast Series:
A good contrast adjustment with fairly minor impact on color saturation, but I'd really like to see the adjustment range extend further in the "low" direction.

Contrast Series
Lowest	Low	Normal	High	Highest

Saturation Series:
A workable saturation control, but the overall color shifts from greenish to reddish as you move from low to high saturation.

Saturation Series
Lowest	Low	Normal	High	Highest

Excellent resolution and detail.

• Exposure compensation: +0.7 EV, about average.
• Exposure/Tone: Pretty good overall exposure, though slightly dark midtones.
• Detail: Even stronger in this shot, with great definition.
• Distortion: Good, 5x zoom lens avoids distortion close-in like this.
  

To view the entire exposure series from zero to +1.3 EV, see files P505FACAP0.HTM through P505FACAP4.HTM on the thumbnail index page.

Normal Flash -0.3 EV

Night Shot Mode -0.3 EV

Slight overexposure with the flash in the normal setting and in Night Shot mode, though a stronger warm cast in Night Shot.

• Exposure: Too bright at the default exposure, but better results with -0.3 EV exposure adjustment. Night Shot mode also has good results at -0.3 EV.
• Flash balance with room lighting?: Good, no blue highlights from the flash.
• Color: Red skin tones, dark colors in bouquet, but still pretty good overall.
  

To view the entire exposure series from -0.7 to +0.7 EV in the normal flash mode, see files P505INFM2.HTM through P505INFP2.HTM on the thumbnail index page.

To view the same exposure series in the Night Shot mode, see files P505INNSPM2.HTM through P505INNSPP4.HTM on the thumbnail index page.

Auto White Balance

Incandescent White Balance

Manual White Balance

Good color with Manual white balance, slightly higher than average exposure compensation required.

• Exposure: Good results at +1.3 EV, slightly higher than average.
• White Balance: Incandescent and Auto settings both warm, but good results with the Manual option (a hint cool and magenta though).
• Color: Good skin tones, though purple tints in the blue flowers. Good overall color though, considering the difficult light source.

To view the entire exposure series from zero to +1.7 EV, see files P505INMP0.HTM through P505INMP5.HTM on the thumbnail index page.

ISO Series:
Like many 5-megapixel cameras, noise on the Casio P505 is moderate even at ISO 100, and climbs quickly as the ISO is increased. Images captured at up to ISO 200 should look acceptable to most users when printed at 8x10 inches or smaller, but those shot at ISO 400 are rather rough-looking, even for viewing in a frame on a wall. At 5x7 inches though, photos of most subjects smooth out nicely even at ISO 400. All in all, a fairly typical performance for a 5-megapixel camera.

Auto White Balance

Daylight White Balance

Manual White Balance

Nearly accurate color, just a hint cool with the Manual white balance setting, with high resolution and strong detail (though moderately high noise).

• Sharpness/Detail: Pretty good, though a high noise level obscures the finer details in the foliage.
• Sharpness in Corners: Slight softening in the left corners, but still better than average.
• Color: Auto and Daylight white balance settings both slightly warm, Manual setting best overall (just slightly cool and magenta).
• Detail lost to anti-noise processing?: A moderate amount, mainly visible in the shadowed bricks and shingles.

High resolution and strong detail, but noise suppression obscures fine details.

This image is shot at infinity to test far-field lens performance, and to present a near-infinite range of detail to the camera. NOTE that this image cannot be directly compared to the other "house" shot, which is a poster, shot in the studio.

• Sharpness/Detail: High resolution and strong detail, but noise is high and decreases definition in the foliage.
• Sharpness in Corners: Good.
• Color: Good, bright greens.
• Dynamic Range: Slightly limited, highlights and shadows have limited detail.
• Detail lost to anti-noise processing?: Some in the bricks, and softness in some of the foliage, but there's still some noise visible even so.
  
  

Resolution Series:

ISO Series:
As before, noise visible even at ISO 50, but not objectionable. Increases, becomes quite visible at 200, objectionable at ISO 400.

Sharpness Series:
A good range of adjustment. Highest setting coarsens detail slightly, but looks good on medium and smaller inkjet prints. Lowest setting takes tight/strong unsharp masking in Photoshop(tm) very well, but such sharpening also emphasizes the underlying image noise.

Contrast Series:
As before, a good contrast adjustment, but one that I'd really like to see extend further in the low-contrast direction.

Contrast Series
Lowest	Low	Normal	High	Highest

Saturation Series:
Likewise similar to what we saw earlier, a reasonable range of saturation adjustment, but an unfortunate coupling between saturation and a green-to-red hue shift.

Saturation Series
Lowest	Low	Normal	High	Highest

Color Filter Series:

Color Filter Series
Black & White	Sepia	Blue	Green	Red	Yellow	Pink	Purple

Lens Zoom Range

A good 5x zoom range.

The EX-P505's focal length range of 38-190mm equivalents is larger than most point & shoot digital cameras. It corresponds to a moderate wide angle to a pretty good telephoto.

	Wide Angle
	5x Telephoto
	Digital Telephoto

Auto White Balance

Daylight White Balance

Manual White Balance

Slightly warm, yellow color, but still good overall results. High resolution and strong detail, but again, high noise.

• White Balance: Daylight white balance setting warm, but best overall. Auto setting too warm, and Manual setting too cool and magenta.
• Color: Slightly yellow skin tones, but still good. Slight purple tints in the blue robe and background.
• Sharpness/Detail: Good detail and sharpness, but high noise decreases definition in the finer details.

Standard Macro Shot

Macro with Flash

A *very* small macro area with great detail, but strong blurring in the corners. Flash performs well also.

• Minimum Macro Area: 0.85 x 0.64 inches (22 x 16 millimeters), very small.
• Softness in corners?: Quite a bit, strongest on the left side. (Most digital cameras show some softness in the corners of their images in macro mode, but the level of blurring here is worse than most.)
• Flash performance in macro mode?: Surprisingly good, considering the very close range. (But probably still plan on using external lighting for your closest macro shots.)
  

Auto White Balance

Daylight White Balance

Manual White Balance

Slightly cool and magenta color balance, but good exposure.

• White balance: Manual setting best overall, though slightly magenta. Auto and Daylight settings both warm.
• Color Accuracy: Blues are move oversaturated than usual, but reds are held in check nicely. Greens are close to real-world accuracy, but may therefore appear slightly dull to many users. Yellows are a bit undersaturated, as is often the case with the cameras I test. Overall, slightly worse than average color accuracy, but the nature of the shifts in the blue area of the spectrum should produce very nice-looking sky colors.
• Shadow detail and noise: Limited detail in the briquettes, moderately high noise.

The results in the tests below mirror those seen above in other test shots. The test series are repeated here without further comment, for the benefit of our more quantitatively-oriented readers.

ISO Series:

Contrast Series:

Contrast Series
Lowest	Low	Normal	High	Highest

Saturation Series:

Saturation Series
Lowest	Low	Normal	High	Highest

Color Filter Series:

Color Filter Series
Black & White	Sepia	Blue	Green	Red	Yellow	Pink	Purple

Low-Light Tests

Good low-light performance, though noise is high and color balance is pink. Autofocus system works to about 1/8 foot-candle, fine for average city night scenes.

• Exposure limit: 1/16 foot-candle at all four ISO settings. (About 1/16 as bright as typical city street lighting at night.)
• Autofocus Limit: To about 1/8 foot-candle. (About 1/8 the brightness of typical city street lighting.)
• White Balance: Pink at the lower light levels.
• Noise Levels: High (even at ISO 100), especially at the lower light levels.
• Detail loss to anti-noise processing?: Minimal at one foot-candle, noticeable at 1/4 foot-candle and strong at 1/16 foot-candle.
• General Notes: The Casio EX-P505 is a pretty capable low-light shooter, able to expose and focus at light levels only an eighth as bright as typical city street lighting at night. That said though, its low light images do tend to show a bit more noise than I'd prefer. Not a bad performance overall though.

(Note: If you'd like to use a light meter to check light levels for subjects you might be interested in shooting, a light level of one foot-candle corresponds to a normal exposure of two seconds at f/2.8 and ISO 100.)

	1 fc 11 lux	1/2 fc 5.5 lux	1/4 fc 2.7 lux	1/8 fc 1.3 lux	1/16 fc 0.67 lux
ISO 50	4 sec f3.3	8 sec f3.3	20 sec f3.3	25 sec f3.3	60 sec f3.3
ISO 100	2 sec f3.7	4 sec f3.3	8 sec f3.3	20 sec f3.3	30 sec f3.3
ISO 200	1 sec f3.3	2 sec f3.3	4 sec f3.3	10 sec f3.3	15 sec f3.3
ISO 400	1/2 sec f3.3	1 sec f3.3	2 sec f3.3	5 sec f3.3	8 sec f3.3

Flash Range Test

Bright at eight feet, with only a slight decrease in intensity at nine feet, then consistent brightness to about 14 feet.

• Flash range at telephoto lens setting: 14 feet.

8 ft	9 ft	10 ft	11 ft	12 ft	13 ft	14 ft
1/60 sec f3.5	1/60 sec f3.6	1/60 sec f3.5	1/60 sec f3.5	1/60 sec f3.5	1/60 sec f3.4	1/60 sec f3.4

ISO-12233 (WG-18) Resolution Test

Slightly low resolution for a 5-megapixel model, 1,100 lines of "strong detail." Higher than average barrel distortion at wide angle, high pincushion at telephoto. High chromatic aberration, moderate blurring in the corners.

• Resolution: 1,100 lines both vertically and horizontally.
• Artifacts begin at: ~600 lines.
• Extinction point: ~1,600 lines.
  
  
• Barrel/Pincushion distortion: 0.95 percent barrel at wide angle, 0.62 percent pincushion at telephoto
• Chromatic Aberration: Higher than average at wide angle, higher yet at telephoto.
• Corner Sharpness: Slight at wide angle, stronger at telephoto.

Resolution Series, medium focal length

Wide Angle	"Fine" JPEG	"Normal" JPEG	"Economy" JPEG
2,560 x 1,920	P505RES2560F	P505RES2560N	P505RES2560E
2,048 x 1,536	P505RES2048	-	-
1,600 x 1,200	P505RES1600	-	-
1,280 x 960	P505RES1280	-	-
640 x 480	P505RES0640	-	-

Resolution Test, Zoom Series

2,560 x 1,920 (Fine, Wide Angle)	P505RESW
2,560 x 1,920 (Fine, Telephoto)	P505REST

Sharpness Series: