Pixel Perfect
HP r927
Review by solohans 2006





HP innovation has done it again! HP introduced a new line of cameras earlier this year(2006) and the Hp Photosmart r927 was one of those in the lineup. I let myself become lulled into thinking that HP had taken a back seat to the other major brands in the digicam market. And, those major players are in order that I see them:

Nikon
Olympus
Canon
and Sony(with proprietary memory)

I qualify myself as a reviewer of digicams this way:

1.) I don't have access to many brands and therefore cannot laboriously test them and give my opinions and comparisons.
2.) I'm an amateur digital photographer at best. I have rudimentary skills and some basics of SLR/digital camera technical knowledge.
3.) I'm a HP(Hewlett-Packard) loyalist since back in the day(circa, 2001) and don't make apologies for it.

What I can give you in this review:

1.) My enthusiastic point of view, from the amateurs' perspective, on the features and benefits of the HP Photosmart r927.
2.) Tell you why I recommend the Hp Photosmart r927 over other cameras.
3.) Why I recommend the Hewlett-Packard brand.
4.) Impart a few of my ideas on digital photography gleaned from six years experience and other resources*

*See My Advice sidebars.

THE BASICS
So lets begin the review with the basics. Everyone buys a digital camera with a few things in mind. One thing you want to determine first is what level of photographer are you? Are you satisfied with a low-resolution camera with a fixed lens and just a few features? Many people will be satisfied with just that and that's fine. If you are at that level then you can stop reading my review here. The Hp Photosmart r927 in not for you. But, I would ask that you continue to read anyway to see what you could be missing if you did settle for the above mentioned camera. You may change your mind and find a camera with more features and a camera that will grow with you as your skills and needs change, will fit the bill better.

ON MEGAPIXELS
I can't review a digicam without mentioning them. Megapixels use to be a mystery to most digicam shoppers, but now it's even become part of a child's lexicon. Most people are no longer put out by this term, but the technology behind it may still escape them just the same. Many shoppers know that more is better and that the quality of their prints will improve as the number of pixels increases. But, I would ask that shoppers put aside the megapixel issue and instead shop for features and quality. And, although the Hp Photosmart r927 has ample resolution with it's powerful 8.3 effective MP camera, it is this camera's other features and technology that really sell the show.

My Advice:
I recommend a camera with at least 5 MPs(six would be better). More MP's than that is almost overkill. I say 'almost' because there is a benefit of having more MPs. That benefit being able to do more in the editing stage once the files(photos) are downloaded to the PC(i.e.,cropping). You can also digitally zoom without as significant a loss in quality if you have a digicam with ample enough resolution(MPs). Digital zooming is not usually recommend by the pros.

WHAT'S NEW!
Let's start by exploring what new! Well, with HP it's never been about the same old tired technology. HP is always improving and innovating. When HP introduces a new line you get the benefit of that innovation. You get features that will make your picture taking more enjoyable,easier and fun. HP has always strived to keep the technology in the background with ease of use and simplicity at the forefront. This is why I purchased HP.

The most prominent feature is the new 3" LCD screen. It's bright and big enough to see what you are focusing on. The screen takes up almost the entire back side of the camera leaving room for a few controls to it's right. The screen is framed nice with the stainless steel casing of the camera itself. The brightness can be controlled within HP's extensive, yet user-friendly menu system. There are 3 settings with the medium setting being the default. You will love the 3 inch screen as it gives the users plenty of 'landscape' in which to frame their shots, preview pics and navigate through menu system. The only disadvantage here is that the LCD doesn't leave room for a normal viewfinder to be designed into the camera. For those who cannot compose a shot without this traditional feature shouldn't be hampered. I wasn't hindered by it's absence, although I thought I might. The LCD's large frame makes a fine substitute and it has a 170 degree viewing angle. The LCD more than compensates for the viewfinder.

THE LAYOUT: "DESIGN, STYLE AND CONTROLS"

Design is beautiful and elegant in the Hp Photosmart r927. It's a small camera labeled as an ultra-compact, but not as small as some. It will fit in your pants pocket, purse as easy as the palm of your hand. It has heft and feels substantial leaving the user with a feeling of quality that is tangible. The layout of controls is elegant and practical. I was able to use the camera in a very intuitive manner and didn't need much instruction at all. If you've owned a digicam before, you will recognize many of the controls and icons indicating their use. Only a small learning curve is required to operate this camera in it's AUTO(default) mode. I didn't find it daunting at all to take a basic picture. No more difficult than any other point and shoot. But, the exciting thing about the HP Photosmart r927 is that it's much more than a point and shoot as you will soon learn.

On the back is a four way navigation control encasing an embedded chrome Menu/Ok button. There is also a 'L' shaped button for zoom.

On the top of the camera are 5 buttons arranged in linear fashion: Flash, Focus, Photosmart Express, Live View/Playback(a toggle function), ON/OFF. Also on top are the camera's shutter and video buttons. I noted that, although the video button's placement is close to the shutter button, the video button is embedded to avoid it's inadvertent use. Keeping with Hp 's tradition of simplicity of design and ease of use, the buttons are kept to a minimum, but many are multi-functional and require the manual for all their functions. You can visit HP's website for a pdf download of all their functions and, of course, I will discuss some of them here at my review.


The left and right side are kept free from controls, so the camera fits ergonomically in your hand becoming an extension of your body.

The front of the camera's body is molded of the same stainless steel to accommodate your grip further. Because of the design, your hand and finger will stay where they should avoiding the lens. A 3X retractable zoom lens with automatic lens cover is to the left of a focus assist lamp which doubles as the timer light. The microphone to record video and picture sound tracks is below and to the right of the assist light The flash is to the top left, with an optional wrist strap next to it. There are two purty little blue lights HP uses as indicators. One to let the user know the state of the battery's charge and another to let the user know if the camera is on or off. Finishing off the design are some smart 'photosmart' logos that set off the camera well.

On the bottom of the camera you have a threaded area for a standard tripod. Next to it, the battery(Li-ion) and memory card compartment.

See ACCESSORIES for more info on this r-series rechargeable battery.

Hp REAL LIFE TECHNOLOGIES
Hp added what they refer to as 'real life' technologies to all their of digital cameras. The most prevalent of these features is called adaptive lighting. The feature is sort of like 'autolevels' in photoshop. If you enable adaptive lighting, the camera will analyze your shot and compensate for high contrast areas, evening them out. This technology is useful to bring details out in shaded areas and faces out of shadows. Look for this technology in Hp printers and software, so you can take advantage of the technology even if you don't own a Hp camera.

FEATURES TO ENHANCE YOUR CREATIVE SIDE: DESIGN GALLERY
Hp added the Design Gallery to the 927 with more borders and effects with this premium camera.

ARTISTIC EFFECT
An example of one of the more outstanding effects is the kaleidoscope effect. Take a picture of a colorful image without too much 'noise', apply the effect and see the output as a kaleidoscope with a prism composed of 4 panes. There's also an effect called Retro that will turn you image in an Andy Warhol painting. You can enjoy your own 15 minutes of fame with this feature. It works well with portraits too!

I also like the 'slimming effect' that will make your subject thinner once applied. This feature compensates for the natural curvature of the lens thereby flattering your subject. Other effects include: Ink Dots, Cartoon, Watercolor, Center Focus, Posterize, Soft Glow, Vintage, Sky and Ground Color and Solarize.

COLORr modification is achieved with these 4 options: B/W, Sepia, B/W and Color Tints.

BORDERr options in the Gallery include: Soft, Torn or Burned edges, Inset, Splatter, Oval, Rectangle, Round Rectangle and Square.

REDEYE removal is available in the Gallery if you don't want to set it to automatic removal. It works like a charm.

ROTATION and CROP feature are also available as a menu option. UPDATE: One feature that's unique to rotation in this camera is that the orientation is adjust automatic if you turn you camera a 1/4 turn. HP says this can be applied to vertical panoramas as well, but I found it didn't work here. The feature is nice for instant preview within the 3 inch LCD screen too since the picture is corrected.

In general, Image Gallery will apply default settings of each effect based on an analysis of the photo you're apply it to. Of course, if you don't like the default settings you can change them.

Now, what did I tell you? Who needs Photoshop now? Or, a PC for that matter. I thought at 1st that the Design Gallery was a fluff feature, but I changed my mind when I saw how well it harmonizes with the camera. It just seems like a natural addition to a user-friendly camera.

EXPOSURE MODES

The Hp Photosmart 927 has several exposure modes for various special photographic conditions(see SPECIFICATIONS below). These preset modes are fine in most cases and don't require additional adjustments by the user, but in some unique situations you will want to make your own adjustments. This where shutter(Tv) and aperture-priority(Av) modes are most useful. With shutter-priority, you set the shutter settings and let the camera configure the aperture. The opposite is true in aperture-priority. You also have full control of both aperture and shutter. These are the controls that make this camera 'solid enough for a professional.'

Panoramic mode
My favorite among the 'Exposure Modes' is the Panoramic Mode. I used to toil away in Photoshop* for hours to get my panorama view right and even then they weren't perfect because some pictures were exposed differently (because of light). Now, with Hp 's Panorama mode (taken either left to right or vice versa) I am able to shot and stitch as well as save my vista on the fly in one take.

The technology is mind-numbing because it just works and the stitch is seamless.

Each shot is lined up perfect because the shot taken before is outlined then converted to actual image fragment which superimpose themselves over your next shot. Your job is just to line up these pieces with next section within the 3 " LCD frame.

I tested the feature outside my abode along a horizon of homes with a skyline and trees. It wasn't the Grand Canyon, but it sufficed the situation. Anyway, I lined up about 4 or 5 frames(MAX: 5) and I didn't think I even did a good job lining up the scenes. But, the technology makes up for user error because the end result was flawless.

I imported the pic to iPhoto and then put it in edit mode. I increased the resolution(view) to try and observe any deviation, but couldn't find any. It made me giddy to see this result so easy. Sorry Photoshop,* but I won't be using you as much now!

UPDATE: Another nice feature of the HP software(if you install it), is that the stitch program will load your 'unstitched' photos automatic if you didn't stitch them with the camera's function. This is done during the import stage and I noticed it when importing photos to iPhoto6.

Night Scenery mode
This mode produced an interesting photo to say the least. It took me awhile to adjust to this mode though since the aperture remains open for extended period of time to bring in more light. I had to listen for the completion of the shot because there wasn't any information on the LCD to alert me the camera was finished processing. There may be an indicator(probably in the form of an diode light) to let users know. The reason this is important is because I was taking the shot without a tripod and since the aperture stays open longer, any shaking by the user is detected and recorded by the CCD sensor which results in a blurred picture.

NOTE: Hp will introduce 2 new cameras later this year with anti-shake technology. This technology will aid in situation of low light. If this is a feature you think you'll like, you may want to wait for their release. Expect to pay about $50.00 more for this upgrade.

Of course, this was the perfect opportunity to invoke HP 's other technology, Image Advice. So I loaded up Image Advice(it's in the Playback menu under the pair of glasses icon) and it analyzed the picture. This took a few seconds, but it rewarded me with the some sage advice from other professional photographers. The Image Advice let me know that my photo was out of focus and that night time photography requires that I focus on a subject with good contrast. It recommended that I 'lock' on focus and wait for the camera to confirm focus. Cool, I'll try that next time. See, via Hp 's Image Advice feature I'm becoming a better photographer already. Of course, the 'advice' is tailored to HP cameras, but can be extrapolated to any camera.

How did my night scenery pic really turn out? Well, pretty much as the Image Advice stated: 'out of focus,' but it was cool anyway because I could see how well this camera recorded light in this mode. I was quite impressed by the color reproduction and the amount of light the camera soaked in. It picked up the moon as a very bright, white light and I assume that most of the light came from this source and it's reflections, but some was picked up by the fluorescent lights overhead and home lights. My next night pic will be with a tripod.

Note: This wasn't my 1st night shot. The first ones before it looked like images left in your eyes when you twirl sparklers in the air on the 4th of July.

See My Advice for Manual Controls

MANUAL CONTROLS FOR ALL YOUR PHOTO OPS

You can even set ISO speeds 100(day), 200 and 400(night). These controls are the same as your film based camera except that the camera's firmware is controlling the speed and not the film itself.

White balance(WB) control gives you options that adjust your picture depending on the light source. You can experiment and use these controls to your advantage to get just the right color whether warm(reds) or cool(blues).

HP has a technology called bracketing whereby the camera gives you 3 copies to choose from your shot. The 3 copies depend on the setting you choose with the 'bracketing' option. One choice is sepia/B&W/color, another choice is exposure compensation and the most important adaptive lighting(High, Low and Off).

Other manual controls include: Contrast, Adaptive Lighting, Saturation, AE Metering(spot/ centerweighted/auto). Please see HP's pdf Specification sheet at their web site for the full list.

My Advice: Purchase a good book on digital photography to learn how to best use these pro features. I recommend 'iPhoto6: The Missing Manual,' by David Pogue and Derrick
Story for Mac Users.

MOVIE AND VIDEO FEATURES
I guess it's time to review the wicked step-sister of digital cameras. I sort of feel the engineers got a little too creative by adding the movie feature. I mean after all, we have video cams that do the job much better right? Besides, a camera was made to take pictures. Still pictures. You would never find a video camera on a film based camera. Well, my point of view has changed here since I found out how much people really do enjoy the feature and how well the feature works(sans the huge memory consumption). The Hp Photosmart r927 packs some decent video power. At the highest resolution, you will get VGA quality 480X640 with 24 fps. There is also a lower-res setting and a QVGA setting. Now the cool thing about the video is that the camera will actually let you take a picture clip from your video trailer to save and print if desired. I was very impressed by this feature. Hp real life technology will take this 480X640 clip and enhance for prints up to 3 X 5." Not bad in a pinch, huh? And, fine for any work on the net! There's much more to do with your saved data, but see my next section, Sharing for that. Sharing is where Hp 's technology really shines and where the total solution begins to come into play.

UPLOADING, SHARING AND PHOTOSMART EXPRESS
One of the greatest benefits of the buying Hp is the huge resources available for sharing. Your camera comes with a dock that not only recharges the lithium-ion battery, but also uploads your shots to camera or printer. You tell Hp software what program you want to upload the file to or you can upload to Hp 's premium software. I use iPhoto, but tried out Hp 's software suite as well. I found the Photosmart Studio to be a major upgrade from what Hp offered Mac users in the past. There are organizational and editing programs that one would expect in a good photo suite. The import was handled well and organized into a folder by date. There are many options in preferences to tweak the software. From organizing, the user can edit and view photos and movies. The photos can be shared via email, Snapfish, prints, webpages with Hp software or your own program's sharing software for even more options. Photosmart express expedites this above processes and lets the user set destinations.

A LITTLE MORE ABOUT PHOTOSMART EXPRESS

Files in your camera's memory can be tagged to perform in certain ways within HPs Premiere and Essential Software(Windows) and HP Photomart Studio for Mac(See specifics below). The features in Photosmart Express will only work if you have the above HP software installed.

Photosmart Express will save you time rather than having to click through a glut of photos and deciding what you want to do with them 'after the fact.' I will be testing this feature soon and will report back on the reliability and ease of use of this feature.


I have a feeling it's a lot like Kodak's 'Instant Share' feature.


Setup: One time set up.

Testing of features:

Email: The email option works pretty well. After you set up a destination,( I called my destination 'self' with my associated email), you mark the picture(s) you want your recipient to view. HP online service in association with their photo service, Snapfish, sends an email to that 'destination' (email address) offering the recipient to view my pictures(greater resolution*). A thumbnail is available to click on in the body of the email. A slideshow is available as well as options to 'forward' my pics to a friend( so you might want to be discreet as to who you send your pictures to.)

NOTE: The viewer can download my full res picture from snap' for a cost, but can't view the full res at the site. Hmmm.

I haven't tried the service with an 'album' of pictures yet. The viewer of my pictures can view the album and select pictures to have printed from the service is he or she wishes. Or, they can simply view. Snapfish offers a nice selection of novelty items as well. See below: Ordering Prints.

Ordering Prints(Snapfish); I will try the 'order' process soon. Snapfish offers 20 free print( or 25 free prints with coupon with camera).



Snapfish at Epinions




Printing: Will try soon with my HP 7350 Photosmart printer.


WHAT'S NEXT?
What can you expect next from Hp ? Simple, more technology, better technology and technology to make taking, sharing, printing digital pictures easy and fun. If I learned anything about Hp as a company, I learned what it is not. It is not a company that lives in vacuum( although they may have used vacuum tubes once, but that's another story). They invented the technology that started the ink-jet printer, but didn't rest on those laurels. They have a commitment to innovation, the customer and their customer service. They aren't the quickest to company around to introduce the next round of innovation, but when it is introduced, it is praised with objective awards. Hp has led the standard with many of their camera's features. They've improved other features to make them easier to use for beginners. I feel that with my purchase of an Hp camera, I have a camera with sound technology, quality and world-class customer service backing it up. The product will be easy to use and play well with other Hp related products. I am confident I made a purchase that won't become obsolete tomorrow. There's enough new technology to keep it an interesting camera for years. And, probably most important, is I made a purchase that is a value. Hp jammed packed a tremendous amount of power and feature to make the camera a best buy!


SERVICE and WHERE TO BUY
1 year limited warranty
Buy at any of the epinion recommend sites

OTHER
Burst mode: 2 /sec
Video: VGA , QVGA, 480X640, optional purchase of dock to TV
Sound clip(attached to picture) is a QT movie in mpeg format. The clip can be printed.

IMAGE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE

Please visit this sites for other review and samples of images taken with the Hp Photosmart 937: http://www.steves-digicams.com

UPDATE: I may provide some link hre in the future of my own pictures using the photosmart r927. I've read just about every review on the net written about this camera. I think the most negative was written by C/Net.com. They gave the image quality a mediocre rating at best. Most reviews like something about the camera, but fell short of giving it professional accolades. I heard reports of 'barrel distortion' and 'purple fringing' with some images.

Images(full res 8mp) no enhancement
Sunset with optical zoom:--1.3MB--
This photo has some noise at full res. because of low light and no tripod to steady, but you can see the picture took well with soft colors.
http://img419.imageshack.us/img419/3208/hpim02397le.jpg

same image fit in 17" monitor
http://img274.imageshack.us/img274/1707/hpim02399th.jpg

Panorama(scaled down)
http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/5772/sr0100342yd.jpg


Many reviews hated the slow response time of the camera, but I would point out that HP did improve speed by implementing continuous focusing. And, pre-focusing has been available for awhile on HP cameras to speed up camera calculations. HP says that the 'calculations' take the better part of a second to complete, then the picture can be taken. Pre-focusing and continuous focus(new for '06) can alleviated 'shutter lag.'

Most reviews loved the 3" display, full-featured controls and menu system. Some would prefer options like a viewfinder, threaded lens for adapters and lenses. Some thought the design (ergonomic-wise) to be ok for short photo op duration, but would be burdensome for the long haul (i.e., weddings).

The panorama mode was one of the most touted features because HP is leading the pack with their technology in this area. Stitching and preview is availabe right in the camera, so you can see your result before you save it to memory. Cool. The mode uses what HP refers to as 'image based guidance' which compare to other camera's is light years ahead since you see actual parts of the previous picture superimposed on the next frame and not just the white 'ghost' lines.

I have yet to experiment and fully test this camera to all it's capabilities. It would be false to rate this camera in the same class as say the Canon Rebel series, but it is a big step for HP in bringing their consumer sensible point and shoot digital camera in line with these top of the line professional models. With many new features and manual settings as well as HP's award winning and industry setting technology, I think most consumers will find this camera rewards them with both value, quality and performace.

SPECIFICATIONS
Memory: 32MB internal, External SD(optional to 2GB), 256MB tested by Hp
Zoom: 3X optical Fuji, 8X digital
Exposure Modes: Auto (default), Action, Aperture priority, Beach, Document, Landscape, Manual mode, My mode, Night Scenery, Night Portrait, Panorama left, Panorama right,
Portrait, Shutter priority, Snow, Sunset, Theatre
LCD (size, resolution) 3" color LCD, 960 x 240
**Please see www.hp.com for full pdf specification sheet for the HP Photosmart 927 digital camera.


MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
Windows---98, 2000, Me, XP, XP Pro
Mac---10.3 and up

ACCESSORIES(see www.shopping.hp.com):
-6221 premium dock
-wireless base
-various styles of camera cases
-recharge kit
-Li-ion rechargeable battery
-Portable printers

HELPFUL HINTS

(1) Please download this pdf file for some very detailed, relevant and up-to-date information on Hp's new line of digital camera and the technology behind them.

The brochure provided here is part of a press release in May 2006 and covers some newer technology than provided with the 927(i.e., anti-shake technology and soon to be available wireless dock)

The brochure is provided in outstanding color and gives some great examples of how Design Gallery, Image Advice and other 'real life' technologies are used.

http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press_kits/2006/ipgconf/bg_rlt2006.pdf

(2.) Sign up for some informative and free classes on how to use your digital camera. Classes are specific to HP technology, but are also useful for any digicam enthusiast.
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SOLO Buy (TRADEMARK)

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HOT BUY: AS OF 7/16/06 AT CIRCUITCITY.COM ONLY! PRICE FOR HP PHOTOSMART r927 IS 307.00 (TAX NOT INCLUDED)
FREE SHIPPING! ACT N0W AND SAVE! PLEASE LINK TO CIRCUIT CITY THROUGH EPINIONS. THX.
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Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 339.00
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Flexible Enough for Enthusiasts