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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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