HP Photosmart R927 - Easy Camera Review

For those of you who don’t want to spend hours in front of the computer creating cards and posters from your photos, the HP Photosmart R927 offers all of that and more. The 8.2-megapixel camera has a sturdy stainless steel body that measures an inch thick and packs in features that remove red-eye, fix the exposure, and even slims down subjects! The HP R927 was announced Jan. 2006 for $399, but it can now be found for at least a hundred dollars less.

 

The R927 has basic features with a 3x optical zoom lens and a built-in flash that can reach subjects up to 15 ft away. The lens is controlled with a strange inverted L-shaped lever positioned on the back of the camera. When it is pushed, the noisy lens moves throughout its 35-105mm range. A 3-inch LCD screen with great resolution is on the back of the camera as well. It can be viewed from almost any angle and lighting.

 

To match these decent components, HP included manual and automatic exposure modes. There is a fully manual mode that allows you to change the shutter speed and aperture. There are also priority modes that let you change just one setting, and these will help you grow into the manual mode. Other controls like white balance and ISO are available too, but the options aren’t that extensive. There are only three ISO settings – 100, 200, and 400 – which is disappointing because most digital cameras now come with settings around 800 or 1600 to take better pictures in low light.

 

 

The Photosmart R927 has 12 scene modes for those who are shy of the manual controls. The camera also comes with an on-screen user guide that is almost as lengthy as the included manual. This guide explains how to use certain modes and controls, describes the function of each button and even provides tips for how to take better pictures.

 

In the playback mode, you can add dozens of effects to pictures. Some are more serious than others. Photos can be changed to look like ink dots, cartoons, watercolor paintings, and kaleidoscopes. Simpler additions like borders and colors can be added too. For those who want to streamline their printing and sharing, the R927 has a HP Photosmart Express menu that creates print orders and saves email addresses. The camera can sync with the HP software to automatically email photos when the camera is connected to the computer.

 

The R927 does have some drawbacks. Its movie mode shoots 24 frames per second, whereas the average camera records 30 fps; however, this is barely noticeable. The audio in the movie mode isn’t that great either. Shooting still images can be a chore too. There is almost a full second of shutter lag, a burst mode that only lasts for 3 pictures, and so much processing time that the camera resembles a computer from 1987 trying to read a full floppy disk. Its pictures in low light were terrible mostly because the colors were washed out and looked pastel, and colors in optimal lighting still weren’t very realistic. There is plenty of desirable performance features though: The pictures are nice, sharp, and clean.

 

The HP Photosmart R927 is for beginning to intermediate photographers who want to develop their skills. The camera comes with all the necessary tools: a help guide, a range of exposure modes, in-camera editing, and a good software package.

HP Photosmart R927  Compared to the...