HP Photosmart R927

Model Design / Appearance
The R927 makes a conscious design break from its predecessors, actually providing a sleek, stainless steel exterior with well labeled buttons, concise handling, and aesthetics which aren’t clunky or plastic. With such functional form, beginning users won’t find themselves lost or confused by poorly labeled or small controls; the format aids in quick activation of frequently used controls like focus, flash, and print.

The scalloped top edge on the front face provides an interesting alternative to the rectangular square shape often found with lower priced digital cameras.  The mirroring finger grip/scallop for the right hand is also surprisingly comfortable when compared to last years models.

Size / Portability
The overall camera dimensions for the HP Photosmart R927 are a slim and small 3.3 x 0.8 x 2.2 inches. With these dimensions and a 3-inch LCD screen, the minimal external controls on the back of the camera manage to be concise and well-sized while not feeling cramped or too small. The R927 weighs 4.06 ounces which feels appropriate to both the size and materials used in the construction of this camera. The R927 is slim enough to be easily slid into a pants or shirt pocket or purse. The construction of this model appears to be concise and well articulated, with no shifting in seams or gaps showing when being handled.

Handling Ability
The overall handling on the camera is comfortable. There are no edges or surfaces which could make basic shooting complicated. But the sleek veneer of stainless steel makes it possible for the camera to accidentally slip and fall from users’ hands if they are damp or perspiring. The grip or scallop on the front face of the camera is aesthetically appealing and definitely works for short shots, but during longer shutter speeds and multiple frame capturing the lack of texture made this feature less than functional. The in-camera microphone is placed intelligently away from meandering fingers, although it did tend to pick up the sound of zoom lens adjustment and other camera noise during use in movie mode. The camera impressively manages to incorporate generously sized external controls and a 3-inch LCD screen without feeling awkward.

Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size
The controls on the outside of the camera are both minimal and quick to activate. The controls located on the top of the camera are clearly labeled with either textual or symbol based labels, and even though positioned with their edges touching, they are large enough to engage without accidental activation of incorrect settings.

The shape and placement of the zoom toggle at first seemed worrisome, but using it was quick and simple, and never did get hit accidentally. The four-way control and menu button are well sized for most operations, but altering shutter and aperture speeds with the up and down arrows caused a continual (and accidental) opening and closing of the menu structure.

Menu
All of the menus found on the HP Photosmart R927 are well laid out and logical, with full text descriptions available when specific submenus are entered. If users are unsure of specific menu settings there are help options available on most screens that provide definitions of parameters such as White Balance or ISO.

The menu structure is list-based and easily scanned via the up and down arrows, with alterations to settings made by the left and right arrows. To exit the menu the user either returns to the top of the list or selects the Exit feature at the bottom of any list. The submenus offer textual descriptions and thumbnail examples of scenic situations upon an opaque background to inform users on how these settings may be used.

The Capture Menu, Set-up Menu, Design Gallery, Playback, and Help Menu may all be entered by pressing the Menu/OK button on the back of the camera body. The Photosmart Express menu is entered by pressing the Photosmart Express button on the top of the camera. Although the Capture Menu list is by far the longest, it shouldn’t impede shooting efficiency too greatly. The Help Menu is one of the more in-depth in-camera help menus I’ve encountered on a point-and-shoot, and should provide answers to most shooting issues. Live views are available whenever the user is in the main menu structure, a great design feature for helpful feedback.

The menu structure is easy to navigate, and changes to settings are easily recognizable. The font is sized for comfortable reading.

Capture Menu - When the user enters into the Capture Menu on the R927, they will find a lengthy list of options pertaining to real time capturing of images to memory. This list could have been broken into multiple screens for faster navigation. The Capture Menu has the following options: Shooting Mode, Self Timer, Red-Eye Removal, Exposure Compensation, Adaptive Lighting, Image Quality, Video Quality, Burst, White Balance, Auto Focus Area, AE Metering, ISO Speed, Saturation, Sharpness, Contrast, Date/Time Imprint and Exit.

Set-up -The Set-up menu allows users to manipulate the overall structure of the R927 for control over DISPLAY brightness, sound volume, focus assist light, Display Timeout, Instant Review, Digital Zoom, Date and Time, USB, TV Configuration, Language, Reset Settings, and Exit.

Design Gallery - The inclusion of the Design Gallery will allow users to immediately move into Playback mode to edit images with postproduction digital effects without having to export the images onto a PC. The Design Gallery provides access to the following settings: Apply Art Effect, Modify Color, Add Borders, Remove Red-Eye, Rotate, Crop and Exit.

Playback - The Playback menu is short and concise, allowing users to finish panorama images and move them from memory to card. The Playback menu also offers access to: Delete, Image Advice, Image Info, View Slideshow, Stitch Panorama, Record Audio, Move Image to Card and Exit.

Help - The Help Menu found on the R927 is one of the most extensive in-camera help systems we’ve encountered over the last year. Interestingly, and perhaps in reflection of the intended market and user, the lower-end R725 has even more help features than the more expensive and more involved R927. The Help Menu for the R927 still manages, however, to cover an extensive list of settings: Top ten tips, Camera Accessories, Camera Buttons, Using Shooting Modes, Using Design Gallery, Sharing Images, Printing Images, Recording Video Clips, Extracting Prints from Video, Deleting Images, Transferring Images, Managing Buttons, Getting Assistance, Camera Shortcuts, About and Exit.

Photo Express -This menu is activated by pressing the Photo Express button on the top of the camera body and grants users access to the following submenu options: Print, Buy Prints Online, Share All Images, Share Menu Set-up and Exit. The Share Images and Buy Prints Online settings will allow the users to upload images to the HP Snapfish website, giving user and authorized shared viewers the opportunity to order prints from a home PC.

Ease of Use
The HP Photosmart R927 has an overall ease of use factor which should impress. After all, it has help options and full text descriptions available for nearly all settings that would be encountered by the point and shoot enthusiast. The camera has a basic list menu structure with transparent overlays that provide users with live time views of image alterations as they change settings. Access to flash and focus is quick and concise, due to their having external button control. Although the zoom has a fast reaction time, the painfully slow and illegible enlarged view manual focus feature makes it so that users will need to rely primarily upon AF settings.