Zoom and functionality, image quality, looks, option range .
Disadvantages:
Screen not the biggest, cheaper cameras offering similar options in the market
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
After dropping my beloved samsung camera and it developing a nasty grinding and stuttering shutter, I have just updated my camera to the ultra smart and ultra equipped Hewlett Packard PhotoSmart M637. What a great choice I made. As you may be aware Im well versed in the HP range of products here at work with the servers, laptops, workstations,etc but was not sure about their camera range. After all, they are known for PCs and Printers Right? Leave the cameras to the photographic hotbeds of Kodak and Polaroid....Wrong. The HP camera range is superb and rivals anything put out by the other brands.
Lets look at my camera..... LOOKS AND STYLING Very sleek. With its rounded left hand upper corner for ease of grip and ergonomic feel, the other cameras in the HP range have all adopted this as standard. It feels good in the hand and very steady. It is finished in the popular brushed aluminium that many of today's popular cameras are seen in. The Flashlight Design looks very retro with its old fashioned looking bulb effect. The front of the camera where your right hand holds it has a great little "grip lip" so one hand operation is easier. This gives your shots better stability and gives you ease of operation when holding it with one hand. All button location is also positioned for one hand point and click. The button to take the pic is located in easy reach of your index finger while the 2 way optical zoom can be pressed with your thumb. Right handers are well catered for here. Left hand snappers? Use your other hand!
BUILD QUALITY Astounding. I thought the Samsung was good but this is out of this world. Its not the lightest digital camera on the market but i feel that gives it a feel of robustness. Very different to the older HP cameras which were apparently a bit tempramental after a drop or 2!
IMAGE QUALITY Outstanding. I did not think there would be a whole lot of difference between my 4 Mega Pixel and this 7.2 Megapixel. How wrong i was. This camera can take what I would class as true professional images. The still life options give fantastice depth and clarity. The action feature give great scope for capturing moving images such as sporting events or children playing. The motion is not lost and It is almost like someone has paused the live action in HD! No blurring or loss of resolution. The 21X zoom with 3X optical and 7X digital gives some brilliant results at close up work from a distance. Even when moving out of the optical arena and in to the digital, the image remains clear and largely unaltered. Ace! The CCD Colour processor in these cameras is truly amazing and allows you traqnslate the snaps into a lively and vibrant printed image. 1 Drawback. With the increased resolution or megapixels comes increases in storage requirements. This camera takes large amounts of space on your SD storage card which means you get less pictures per card. However there is a function to scale down your image size in megapixels so you can forego some resolution if you want in exchange for more pictures per card. However this camera will recognise the larger SD Cards such as the 2Gb cards unlike some of the older cameras.
FEATURES. Fantastic. Lots of options here you can choose from for your image. Whether you want to snap happy at home or take some artistic shots, it caters for all. It has a built in facility to change to sepia and black and white images, as well as add lighting effects. It also allows you to change your environment setting so again caters for outdoor,indoor or night work. The edit function is also very useful for cropping and editing snaps. It also has a handy MPEG recorded on it for taking mini movies.
REAR SCREEN. Not the biggest in the market but functional and clear. It sits predominantly on the left hand side of the camera and allows you to view your snaps, what you are taking and movies recorded on the camera. The screen is bright but also a big draw on the battery.
COMPATIBILITY. Great. Along with the SD card facility to take your images out of the camera and load them into a car reader, you can attach this camera directly to your PC via the included mini USB lead or better still place it on the Camera Dock you can purchase. This in turn connects to the computer and allows direct access to the pictures as well as doubling up as the charger for the battery. It comes with a CD rom with the drivers included for most Windows based platforms.
INSTRUCTION MANUAL. On the CD Rom so you will need it in a PC to read it but again is very helpful and straightfoward. There is a paper "quick start" guide included in the box.
BATTERY LIFE. A quick charge will take you 2 hours and from this im able to get 60 or so random shots without battery death. However most of these did not require flash which is abig battery drain or editing on camera which again harms its length of service.
PRICE Retailing in at around £180 its not he cheapest 7 Megapixel camera in the market, particularly when you consider that some cameras for the same money now offer 9 Megapixels but you are getting a reliable and functional camera for your money with loads of connectivity options.
OVERALL. BRILLIANT! I love it and would recommend it to anyone that is looking for a new camera right now.
P.S. 1st Review of the year so Happy New Year to all my chums!
More details
Durability
Good
Reliability
Good
Size
Average
Weight
Average
Instruction Manual
Good
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