Digital Camera Review

Digital Camera Review

Nov 12, 2004 - By Christina St. Pierre
The HP Photosmart 435 is the “little black dress” of digital cameras; it is elegant in its simplicity, and works for just about any occasion. Plus, with an MSRP of $129.99, it’s economic and affordable. Containing a sleek metallic front, sliding lens cover, 3.34 megapixels of resolution, and an internal 16MB memory, the HP 435 has appeal and substance. Created for budget consumers and novice photographers, this point-and-shoot has a 5x digital zoom lens, intuitive features, and a movie mode that captures video at 15 frames per second with audio. Beginning photographers will find the Photosmart 435’s direct print and e-mail options attractive. They allow the user to select photos to send to specific destinations and printers as soon as the camera is connected to a PC or printer.
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Likes

-Solid construction and satisfying grip
-Help columns in submenus explain features for amateurs
-20 fps video recording with sound
-Quick sharing: easy to tag files and direct them to printer or email

Dislikes

-Horrible battery life: not only short, but the battery life meter is unreliable
-Limited custom image presets
-Awkward to navigate playback
-Buttons poorly positioned



Conclusion
First and foremost, the Photosmart 435 is a budget, entry level point-and-shoot camera. This means it cannot be expected to have manual features that would impress photojournalists or a zoom lens that would make you feel important. That said, the Photosmart 435 is a great beginner’s camera, especially for the price, and can prove to take some solid pictures. The fact that it does not have any manual control options can be either seen as a limitation (if this is the case, you need to accept that you will have to spend more), or as a relief. How you perceive this will really decide if this is the camera for you.

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