HP Photosmart 945 Digital Camera Test

[Photo-John]

The Photosmart 945 is kind of an ugly duckling camera. The camera feels plasticky, chunky, and uninspiring. It never gave me a feeling of confidence when I was taking pictures. However, whenever I downloaded the 945 image files to my computer, the photos were much better than I expected. This is probably due to HP's Imaging Technology, which does a lot of complex processing on each image capture. If I owned this camera, it might take a while to learn to trust it. However, I don't think that would be too hard since the camera consistently produces nice images.

The best thing about the Photosmart 945 camera is the feature-set. The camera is packed with shooting modes, has a 5-megapixel CCD sensor, an 8x Fuji zoom lens, and lots of built-in tools to make sharing and printing easier. There are shooting modes for pretty much anyone except the pro who wants complete manual exposure. For beginners, full auto plus scene modes (Action, Landscape, Portrait) make the 945 a simple yet powerful camera. And if you want more control, aperture-priority and shutter-priority provide direct access to the exposure controls.

Since the camera has such a long zoom lens, HP had to use an electronic viewfinder (EVF). Generally, EVF image quality is pretty poor. But they're necessary with zoom lenses longer than the usual 3x. Electronic viewfinders also allow menu display and image review in the viewfinder, so they have their benefits. The quality of this electronic viewfinder is a little rough, but it allows the photographer to see the full zoom range while using the viewfinder. The Photosmart 945's EVF has one neat feature. When you put your eye up to it, a sensor automatically switches the LCD off and turns the electronic viewfinder on. There's no need for a button to toggle from the LCD to the EVF. This is an example of how HP's camera designers have been working to simplify and improve the user experience.

The HP Photosmart 945 is a good camera for the price. Right now it's selling for $450 to 500. For a camera with the amount of control it offers and an 8x zoom lens, it's great deal. Comparable cameras from other manufacturers cost a lot more. Or, for the same amount of money, you'll get a much shorter lens or a lot less control. I could argue that a shorter zoom range delivers better image quality. But for someone on a tight budget, who isn't a photography fanatic and wants a camera that will do it all, this camera might be the only option. I'd call it a decent, budget, family camera. But if you're serious about photography, you should look at other cameras before you commit to the Photosmart 945.

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[Photo-John]

This was one of the first photos I took with the HP Photosmart 945. I took it in the showroom of a local Subaru dealership. It's not necessarily a great sample image, but what the heck - I like it.

This was resized about halfway from the original file with BreezeBrowser. I then did a little levels adjustment for color and contrast, in Photoshop. Before saving the final JPEG with Photoshop "Save for Web", I used the Unsharp Mask filter on it. And that's basically what I did with the rest of these images. They aren't necessarily being shown as pure samples. Rather, I present them, as a photographer, to show what's possible with the Photosmart 945.

[Photo-John]

Photos from the window of the the PhotographyREVIEW.com / PCPhotoREVIEW.com office are becoming a normal part of my camera tests. I'm shooting through glass, I know. But I can't help it. The views are awesome. The photos just have to be taken.

[Photo-John]

I have to shoot some mountain biking with every camera I get. It's what I do.

This camera was not so great for action photos. The electronics made it next to impossible to capture an image while looking through the viewfinder or using the LCD. The EVF (electronic viewfinder) and LCD didn't refresh fast enough. With the photo of the rider leaned over in the berm, the LCD never even saw him. He was in the corner and gone without the electronics even registering him. I had to use all of my photo skills and then some new tricks to get these photos. But these two images prove that, with some effort, you can capture action with the Photosmart 945.

Pre-focusing is an absolute necessity. Don't expect to point and shoot. You'll get nothing. I had to frame the shot, hold the camera, and watch from above the camera to get the shot. And I also had to pre-shoot to foil the shutter-lag. Pre-focus, and pre-shoot - those are the basics if you want to capture any action with a compact digital (or film) camera. It's not easy, but if you use the right techniques, and practice, you'll be able to do some successful action photography with the Photosmart 945. But if your main subject is sports, this probably isn't the right camera.

[Photo-John]

This is an excellent example of how well the Photosmart 945 can handle tricky lighting situations. It was taking photos of this scene that first demonstrated the 945's conflicted personality. When I took this photo I had very little confidence in the ability of the camera to capture a decent image. And the LCD display of the photos I took wasn't at all encouraging. However, as you can see, the actual image, when seen on the computer, looks very good. The complete image has been optimized in Photoshop. But I've also provided an untouched, full resolution detail so you can see what the original file looks like.

[Photo-John]

I found the HP Photosmart 945 worked very well in macro mode. It focuses easily and you can get as close to your subject as 3.9 inches. I actually had a closer version of the flowers, but if you look closely, you'll see there's a fat, happy ant in this one. I liked the ant so I used this photo instead of the closest one.