HP products review


HP Photosmart R707

At press briefings during PMA 2004 HPa separate indicator for flash and focus
staff quietly admitted they had finallyreadiness, but this is a minor niggle.
realized that the company's digitalThe LCD monitor is a fairly typical
cameras suffered from something of an1.5-inch 119,000 pixel affair, it's
'image problem'. Big, seemingly designedsharp and bright with sufficient
to resemble a house brick, and made fromresolution, and the refresh rate is
the kind of materials normally foundsignificantly better than earlier HP
only on the dashboard of a 1980'smodels. My only complaint is that screen
hatchback, the Photosmart range simplyis turned off after about 30 seconds
couldn't compete with the slick, shiny(something you can't change) to save
and keenly priced Far Eastern offerings.batteries. The camera can be woken up by
From now on, we were told, HP camerashalf-pressing the shutter, but the live
would be designed for style, speed andpreview has to be re-activated by
ease of use, and would no longer bepressing the record button, an
twice the size of their directunnecessary extra step.
competitors. The 5 megapixel, 3x zoom,HP's new design 'signature' is a
Photosmart R707 is the first of this newwave-shaped indent moulded into the
wave of slimmed-down, metal-bodied HPfront of the camera to improve grip. It
cameras, offering a tempting mix ofadds a little flair to the design and
thoughtful design and some genuinelycertainly seems to do the job without
innovative features. Most of these areadding to the bulk of the body. The
aimed at ensuring less experienced usersbrushed steel cladding looks and feels
avoid common photographic pitfalls,very luxurious, but we found it quite
something possible mainly due to theeasy to scratch, and inevitably it shows
inclusion of a clever Texas Instrumentsevery greasy fingerprint. If you like
Digital Signal Processor (DSP). Theyour camera to look clean you'll be
power of the DSP is obvious when youwiping the fascia with your T-shirt
look at some of the features it hasevery 10 minutes.
allowed HP to shoehorn into the R707:In a move we struggle to understand
Adaptive lighting technology ('digital(also seen on Canon's new PowerShot S1
fill flash')IS) there are two shutter releases - one
In-camera red-eye removalfor stills, the other for movies (it
MPEG movie modeonly works when the camera is set to
Comprehensive on-screen cameramovie mode). The results from the R707's
instructionsmovie mode are certainly impressive,
In-camera panorama stitching (preview)which makes the fact that I kept
'Image advice' - on-screen help systempressing the 'wrong' capture button
that analyses saved pictures, identifieswhenever I tried to use it doubly
problems and suggests how they couldannoying. Another minor niggle is the
have been avoided.main stills capture button, which could
The R707 is surprisingly comfortable inbe more responsive.
your hand, with the subtle moulding ofAt a glance the R707 might look like
the front plate offering considerablynothing more than a stylish
more secure single-handed operation thanpoint-and-shoot camera, but once you
appearances might suggest. The twostart to dig a little deeper you'll find
controls most used in everyday snappinga real wealth of features designed to
- the shutter release and zoom rocker -help the novice snapper, as well as a
are perfectly positioned, though I feltfew manual controls thrown in for the
more comfortable supporting the cameramore experienced user. As with most
with both hands as operating the zoomcompact cameras with limited real estate
meant relaxing my grip. There are eightavailable for external controls the
other clearly marked buttons on themajority of the more advanced features
rear, plus a 4-way controller and theare accessed via the extensive on-screen
power switch. At 180g the R707 ismenu system. The most commonly accessed
weightier than it looks, which helpsfunctions - macro mode, flash mode and
keep the camera stable when shooting.self-timer - get their own buttons, as
One minor point - the R707 can getdo HP's now standard instant sharing and
mighty warm in continuous use, somethingprinting features.
you need to bear in mind if you want theRear of camera
best possible image quality (noiseThe main controls are ranged around the
increases as the camera temperaturetop and right sides of the 1.5-inch LCD.
rises).These offer quick access to macro mode,
Body elementsmanual focus, self-timer and continuous
The R707 has a combined SD/MMC andshooting (burst) mode, plus buttons for
battery slot (fortunately the battery isswitching between playback and record
held in with a latch so no chance ofmodes and HP's instant share and instant
losing it when changing cards. Althoughprint functions. The camera is turned on
no card is supplied in the box. Theand off with a slider button next to the
camera can handle any SD or MMC cardoptical viewfinder. The right-hand side
from 8MB to 2GB. The battery is a L1812Aof the rear of the camera is home to a
Lithium Ion that is recharged in-camera,small zoom rocker switch that falls
and - if you can find one anywhere - theperfectly under the thumb, and a
camera can also use a Duracell CP1four-way controller surrounding the Menu
disposable cell. In our tests batteryOK button. Pressing this once brings up
life with the supplied rechargeable wasthe on-screen menus, which are navigated
excellent.using the directional 'arrow' keys.
The optical viewfinder is a standardAnother press of the central button
direct view affair that is really tooconfirms menu selections.
small for regular use. And if you wearTop of camera
spectacles, forget it; there's noOn the top of the camera you'll find two
dioptric adjustment and you'll never seeshutter releases - the main one is for
the entire frame with your glasses on.taking stills, the smaller one to the
The upper LED (red) lights up duringleft is a 'stop/start' button for
movie capture, the lower (green) LEDrecording movies. Over the lens is
glows when the camera is ready to take aanother small button that cycles through
picture, or blinks to indicate a focusthe R707's various shooting modes.
problem or flash not charged. I'd prefer



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