HP Photosmart R707 Digital Camera Test

[Photo-John]

Read a hands-on report and view studio and other sample images taken with the HP Photosmart R707 digital camera.

Pros Compact size Excellent ergonomics for a super-compact camera Excellent image quality at ISO 100 My Mode feature Price: Approx. $350 US

Cons Minimal exposure control Limited aperture range Lots of noise at ISO 400

HP Photosmart R707 Test Images
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HP Photosmart R707 User Reviews >> Hewlett-Packard Web Site >>

HP Photosmart R707 Digital Camera Test
The new HP Photosmart R707 is a very cool little camera. I saw a working prototype in February, at the annual PMA (Photo Marketing Association) show. The camera impressed me then and I've looked forward using one. I think this is the first time that HP has been able to bring together all the important camera design elements in one package. The physical design, features, build, and image quality of the HP Photosmart R707 make it a very compelling super-compact digital camera.

The most notable thing about the Photosmart R707, and absolutely the first thing that I noticed, is the physical design. It's tiny - about the same size as the Canon Digital ELPH and Pentax Optio digital cameras. Tiny cameras can be awkward to use, though. Bigger cameras have more mass, which makes them more stable and easier to hold. The HP design engineers took care to make the R707 a stable camera in spite of its small size. It has a very comfortable rubber back with a depression for the photographer's right thumb. And there's a groove in the right-front metal cover for your index finger. The result is possibly the best feeling and most comfortable camera in its class. It fits your hand like a glove making it easy to hold and press the shutter-release without shaking the camera. Congratulations to HP for the excellent R707 camera design.

For the most part I enjoyed using the Photosmart R707. The small size made it easy to always have around makes it a great hiking and biking camera. I took it on a bunch of mountain bike rides and got some very nice action and landscape photos. The only real problem I had was with exposure. I'm a very hands-on, manual photographer and the R707 only has basic auto-exposure modes (full auto, picture modes, and aperture-priority). I used aperture-priority most of the time because it appears to offer the most control. However, a very limited aperture range makes it more of a tease than a true manual exposure mode. Good metering and exposure-lock helped me get good exposures most of the time, though.

Besides the camera design, one of the nicest features of the R707 is a menu option that HP calls, "My Mode". My Mode allows the user to save exposure modes and other settings so that every time the camera is turned on it starts up with the My Mode settings. This is a very practical feature. It allows faster start-up by having the camera come on with your preferred settings. Faster start-up means less missed photo opportunities. Olympus has been designing cameras with customizable start-up settings for a long time. It's good to see this type of user-friendly design starting to show up in more cameras. It also illustrates HP's dedication to improving the digital camera user's experience.

Almost anyone would benefit from owning the HP Photosmart R707. It's comfortable, easy to use, and it takes nice pictures. It would make a good family camera. It would be a nice, compact addition to the serious photographer's more complicated SLR kit. And for anyone who needs a very small, take-everywhere camera, the R707 is an excellent choice. And for $350, how can you lose? The only people who won't like the R707 are camera snobs who aren't comfortable with the HP name. And for them, there are plenty of big-name cameras with bigger price tags.

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