Front (6.5)
The HP Photosmart R927 has a prominent lens on the right side that protrudes in two barrels. The barrel is surrounded by a chrome ring that slopes up toward the lens from the rest of the camera body. On the edge of the inner barrel, the lens is labeled with its specs: “HP Precision 3x Optical Zoom, f2.8-5.0, 7.5mm-22.5mm.” In the top right corner of the front are two features: an auto focus assist lamp and a microphone. The bottom right corner boasts the camera’s resolution: “8.2 Megapixels” while the top right has a “Photosmart R927” logo. Above the model name is a “hp” logo on the left and an oval-shaped flash on the right. Just barely visible above the HP logo is the shutter release button, which is on a slope between the front and top sides of the camera.
Back (7.0)
The back side of the camera looks very simple with its enormous 3-inch anti-glare LCD screen on the left side and its shapely controls on the right side. The R927’s back side is quite divided between the two sides. The LCD screen has a defined platform with “HP Photosmart” emblazoned upon its bottom. To the right of the platform is a zoom control at the top and a multi-selector on the bottom. The zoom control is unlike any seen on any other manufacturers' digital cameras; it is shaped like a boomerang gone sideways. The right end of the boomerang zooms in, while the left side zooms out. This control is placed at the top of a large smooth divot in the camera body that enables the thumb to easily slide down to the multi-selector. The multi-selector is huge and consists of a central Menu/OK button with a square-shaped ring around it. The ring has arrows pointing in the four directions to navigate around the multitude of menus that are available. Beneath the bottom arrow is a trash can icon, signifying the deletion function available in the playback mode. To the southwest of the multi-selector is an LED that indicates when the camera is reading and writing to the memory card.
Right Side (6.5)
There isn’t much to see on the right side except for a tiny eyelet at the top. Its function is incorporated into the design of the frame, so it is barely noticeable.
Left Side (6.5)
The left side is even more boring than the right. There are four tiny bolts holding together the two stainless steel panels.
Top (6.5)
The top has a slew of buttons that are all flush with the camera body and hardly look like buttons at all. This makes them harder to push, which is unfortunate when trying to access them quickly, but it is great when the camera is crunched in a bag since it's unlikely to accidentally turn on. On the left side of the top is the built-in microphone; to its right are the hosts of buttons. From left to right, these are the buttons: flash, macro, Photosmart Express menu, and Recording/Playback mode button. To the right of the mode button is a rectangular blue LED with the On/Off button to its right. On the right side of the top toward the front is the shutter release button. It isn’t flush with the camera body, but it sticks out a little from its sloped surface. Behind it is a smaller movie recording button. On the far right edge is a wrist strap eyelet.
Bottom (4.0)
The bottom of the R927 shows the slight slope of the camera’s right finger grip. Below the sloped side is the battery compartment, which takes a good hard fingernail to lock and unlock. When unlocked, the door springs open to reveal the battery and memory card slots. Just right of center is a multi-port that connects the camera to the included dock – which in turn connects to televisions, computers, printers, and such. On the extreme right side of the bottom is a tripod socket - too far off axis to balance the camera properly when fixed to a tripod. Surrounding all of the bottom’s features are bar codes, serial numbers, logos, and other such business which is unimportant to photography.
