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The merging of still images and video hasn't yet peaked, but it's well on its way with Casio's Exilim Pro EX-P505, which offers highres video capture to complement its 5-megapixel stills.
Shaped like a miniature SLR, the EX-P505's grip and lens barrel provide plenty of real estate to hold. An EX button provides quick and convenient access to several frequently used settings. Although there's no optical viewfinder, the LCD can be flipped and swiveled.
True to form, Casio has outfitted the EX-P505 with its great help systems, which are particularly relevant in the Best Shot modes (available for both still and video capture). At the same time, the EX-P505 has an extended set of advanced features, including manual exposure control and options to fine-tune other attributes.
Three video options are available, including Past Movie, which buffers the video continuously, but does not start recording until you press the shutter. At this point, the camera retains the previous five seconds of video, so if you're a few seconds late for the "moment," it's been captured automatically. Movies are recorded as high-quality MPEG-4 (640x480 at 30fps), but take note that without OS 10.4 Tiger, its MPEG-4 playback on a Mac can be problematic. However, Tiger greatly revamps MPEG- 4 compatibility, and Casio is working on the issue too. There is at least one third-party solution to convert the camera's AVI files to MOV files, ffmpegX (Free; http://homepage.mac.com/major4/ index.html). Movie quality was very good--some of the best we've seen on such a device. Sound quality was quite good too, but using the zoom created some noise. Still image quality was not amazing, but OK.
The EX-P505's otherwise above average performance was taken down a notch by the mediocre flash recycling and lowlight performance. An AF assist lamp and an LCD that gains up would have helped in low light.
-THEANO NIKITAS
Exilim Pro EX-P505: 
Casio | www.casio.com | 800-836-8580 | $500
Pros: Excellent video features, great still feature-set, flip and swivel LCD, includes lens shade and proprietary rechargeable battery and charger.
Cons: No AF assist lamp, LCD remains dark in low light, still images could be sharper, no SD card included, no optical viewfinder.
Requires: Power Mac, USB port, OS 9 or OS X
macHOME recommends: High-capacity, high-speed SD card, conversion software for .avi movies
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