Digital Camera Review

Digital Camera Review

Nov 09, 2006 - By Emily Raymond
The HP Photosmart R927 is one of this manufacturer’s most feature-rich digital camera models with 8.2 megapixels, a 3x optical zoom lens, and a 3-inch LCD screen. The R927 has a range of manual and automatic modes and controls, along with an on-screen user guide. This digital camera has HP’s Real Life technologies that help to remove red-eye and fix lighting and such. There are also interesting in-camera editing features that can do everything from discolor a photo to slim the subject down. The HP Photosmart R927 retails for $399.
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Model Design / Appearance (5.75)
None of the HP digital cameras are known for their stellar looks and the R927 remains in the ranks. Perhaps being part of the Photosmart series requires a plain, somewhat clumsy design. The camera’s surface is a brushed stainless steel that feels and looks good except for a few scratches here and there. Indeed, the surface can easily be scratched and shows tiny blemishes in the brushed texture. The shape isn’t anything particularly innovative with its rectangular body and rounded edges. There is also a wavy finger grip in the front that works similar to ones on other compact cameras. The overall design exhibits simplistic controls and a plain styling that is meant to appeal to consumers who value ease of use above all else. These consumers won’t mind the omission of traditional camera elements like an optical viewfinder and mode dial, though they may resent the omission of any gripping materials.  
 
Size / Portability (5.75)
The HP Photosmart R927 measures up at 3.8 x 2.4 x 1 inches and weighs 7.1 oz. This is quite hefty for a camera of this size. Users will be able to stuff this in a pocket, but its weight will make users want to put something heavy in the opposite pocket just to keep balanced. The R927 isn’t ultra-slim and isn’t ultra-light, but will still be portable enough to go just about anywhere. HP included a wrist strap in the package to aid in that portability. The strap’s eyelet is located on the right side of the camera. While it is an option, it is hard to imagine that many users would want to dangle this anchor from their wrists.
 
Handling Ability (6.0)
The HP Photosmart R927 has a stainless steel shell that feels good to touch and is smooth, but still has substance to grip. The front looks like it had a little fender-bender on the right side where the fingers wrap around the camera; this makes a little niche for the finger tips to rest in. On the back side of the camera is a wide ditch leading from the zoom control at the top to the multi-selector at the bottom. This feature keeps the thumb from sliding out of the area. The R927 can be held with only one hand, but its hefty weight makes it wise to hold it with two hands.



Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size (5.25)
This digital camera doesn’t have the typical control buttons and switches that are common on other manufacturers’ models. Instead, the back of the camera looks very simple with its two controls and the top of the camera has a long row of buttons. The back of the HP R927 has a zoom control at the top that looks like a boomerang. The control itself isn’t very sensitive and only allows the lens to stop at about six places in the focal range. At the bottom of the back is the multi-selector, which is in the typical place but not in the typical shape. The HP’s control is square-shaped with a large Menu/OK button in the center and a square ring around it with arrows pointing in all directions. This control worked well for the most part; the only drawback is that pushing the top of the selector proved to be a little sticky. The top of the square didn’t protrude as much as the other sides and was harder to push. On the top of the R927 are a host of control buttons: flash, focus, and recording modes all have their own buttons. There is also a power button and an “express menu” button. Up here is where the shutter release button is too; behind it is a separate button for capturing movies at any time. The movie recording button has the same oval-shape as the shutter release button, but it is smaller and located far enough behind it that users won’t be pushing both at the same time. There is no traditional mode dial, which might drive some users crazy; modes must be changed within the menu. Overall, the controls do their jobs despite their odd appearance, but the zoom control is a bit trying.  
 
Menu (6.0)
The menu system is a little over-the-top. It aims to be easy to use, but doesn’t quite get there. Sure, it is fairly well organized with its many folders and sub-categories. However, there’s just so much text crammed onto the screen that it is almost overwhelming to look at. The menus can be accessed with the Menu/OK button.
 
Across the top of the screen are five icons representing the different menus: Capture, Playback, Design Gallery, Setup, and Help. The Capture menu appears below when selected. There are icons of choices on the left and text titles and explanations of the icons when selected on the right. The following is the orange-colored Capture menu. 

Shooting Mode
Manual, Aperture Priority, Shutter Speed Priority, My Mode, Auto, Landscape, Portrait, Play, Panorama Assist L to R, Panorama Assist R to L, Sports, Night Portrait, Night Landscape, Beach, Snow, Sunset, Document
Self-Timer
Off, 10 seconds, 2 seconds
Red-Eye Removal
Off, On
Exposure Compensation
+/- 2 in 1/3 increments
Adaptive Lighting
Off, Medium, High
Bracketing
Off, Adaptive Lighting, Exposure Compensation, Color Modes
Image Quality
Normal, 8 MP, 5 MP, 2 MP, VGA
Video Quality
Normal, VGA, QVGA
Burst
Off, On
White Balance
Auto, Daylight, Shade, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Custom
Auto Focus Area
Multi, Spot
AE Metering
Multi, Center, Spot
ISO Speed
Auto, 100, 200, 400
Saturation
Low, Medium, High
Sharpness
Low, Medium, High
Contrast
Low, Medium, High
Date & Time Imprint
Off, Date, Date & Time
Exit
(exits the menu screen)

Many of the options in the Capture menu have live previews: white balance, exposure compensation, auto focus area, adaptive lighting, metering, contrast, saturation, and sharpness. The Playback menu has a blue theme and allows users to access the following options. 

Delete
This Image, Cancel, All Images in Memory, Format Memory
Image Advice
(“Analyzing” and then tips appear)
Image Info
(displays all file info)
View Slide Show
Cancel, Start Slideshow, Images (All, Stills Only, This Image), Interval (2, 5, 10, 15, 60 seconds), Loop (Once, 2x, 3x, Continuous), Audio (Low, High, Off)
Stitch Panorama
Save, Cancel
Record Audio
(records audio immediately after entering this option up to a minute)
Move Images to Card
OK, Cancel
Exit
(exits the menu screen)

The Design Gallery is a unique menu to HP digital cameras. It also has a blue theme, as it also works in playback mode to provide the in-camera editing options. The following are its choices. 

Apply Artistic Effects
Cancel, Ink Dots, Cartoon, Watercolor, Center Focus, Posterize, Retro, Soft Glow, Vintage, Slimming, Sky Color, Ground Color, Kaleidoscope, Solarize
Modify Color
Cancel, Black & White, Sepia, B & W Tints (green, purple, blue, brown, yellow filters), Color Tints (3 steps blue to red)
Add Borders
Cancel, Soft Edge, Inset Border, Torn Edge, Burned Edge, Spatter, Oval, Circle, Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Square
Remove Red Eyes
(automatically scans image when this option selected)
Rotate
Right, Left, Cancel
Crop
Cancel, Landscape, Portrait, Help
Exit
(exits the menu screen)

There are lots of interesting effects and there are previews of everything here. The Setup menu is hot pink and comes with these options to customize the camera. 

Display Brightness
Low, Medium, High
Sounds Volume
Off, Low, High
Focus Assist Light
Auto, Off
Display Timeout
Never, 15 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, 60 sec
Instant Review
Off, 1 sec, 2 sec, 4 sec
Digital Zoom
Off, On
Date & Time
Date, Time
USB Configuration
Digital Camera, Disk Drive
TV Configuration
NTSC, PAL
Language
English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Portuguese, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Russian
Reset Settings
Cancel, Yes
Exit
(exits the menu screen)

The previous menus are manageable in terms of how much information is displayed on the camera’s LCD screen at a time. The following menu shows a little too much though. The hot pink Help menu is convenient when you don’t want to boot up the computer and load the CD-ROM to view the user manual. However, there’s still a lot of text on a relatively small space (yes, 3 inches is a lot for a compact camera but it’s still no replacement for a 15-inch computer screen!). The following is the lengthy all-text, no-pictures Help menu. 

Top Ten Tips
All kinds of tips ranging from how to extend battery life to how to take better pictures
Camera Accessories
A built-in advertisement for HP’s camera docks, batteries, chargers, and cases  
Camera Buttons
Explanations about what the Shutter, Video, Flash, Focus, Photosmart Express, Live View/Playback, Controller, Menu/OK, Delete, and Zoom Lever buttons do
Using Shooting Modes
Definitions for every shooting mode included on the HP R927
Using Design Gallery
Instructions on how to use the tools in the Design Gallery
Sharing Images
An intro to the Photosmart Express button, which allows users to tag images for email or online storage on albums
Printing Images
Four full screens of instructions on how to print
Recording Audio Clips
A quick how-to on recording audio
Recording Video Clips
Perhaps the shortest menu on this camera, this section quickly explains how to record video
Reviewing Images and Video
Step-by-step instructions on an already intuitive procedure
Extracting Prints from Video
Directions on how to save still images from video for printing
Deleting Images
Instructions on how to delete pictures
Transferring Images
Hints and directions to transfer pictures from the camera to the computer
Managing Batteries
All kinds of hints about how to save battery power; many of these tips are repeated in the Top Ten Tips section
Getting Assistance
This refers users to the user manual and to the company’s web site
Camera Shortcuts
All of the R927’s secrets are revealed here
About
HP Photosmart R927, ©2000-2006 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Firmware Version: 3.01.09. Bootloader Version: MTNGPP. Serial Number: CN61MB10NF04F0
Exit
(exits the menu screen)

Scary. That word describes the menu system to beginning photographers. It’s well organized, but there’s an exorbitant amount of information crammed in the menu system. There is one more menu available from its own designated button that is similar to Kodak’s Share button and Canon’s Print button. The HP Photosmart Express menu button is atop the camera to the left of the recording/playback button. Once pressed, the following menu appears. 

Print
Select an image and quantity of prints from 0-99
Buy Prints Online
OK, Cancel
Share All Images
Select all images for printing or buying online
Share Menu Setup
Directions for modifying internal email address book (with connection to the computer and internet)
Exit
(exits the menu screen)

Overall, the HP Photosmart’s menus are lengthy - at the potential expense of appearing daunting and overwhelming to its target audience - but well-organized.

Ease of Use (5.75)
This camera tries so hard to make things easy that the plan backfires and things are quite difficult instead. There is just too much text. There’s an entire on-screen user manual complete with ten tips and such. It’s like trying to fit an entire ten web pages of content onto a 3-inch viewing screen. It’s too much. Then there’s the simplified looking control buttons on the back, but a long row of buttons on the top - neither of which rank among the easiest to use. Ease of use was on the minds of HP designers for about half of the project. The rest of the HP Photosmart R927 isn’t quite so easy to use.
 
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