A review of the Hewlett Packard Photosmart R927
We all love a compliment, and the Hewlett Packard R927 has the ability to pay us all a great one with its Smart Feature called Slimming, which squeezes the image horizontally creating a slimmer you! This digital camera has been dubbed the Slimcam and it has just got to appeal to the majority of us with this amazing feature that we are so curious to play with. Design |
| The Hewlett Packard R927 is fabulously designed and is a stunning, sleek silver digicam that looks as though it has been chiselled around the edges to create a very handsome appearance. The lens is situated to the right on the front and even when extended is still very sleek. Above the lens is a tiny microphone hole and the self-timer/focus assist light. The flash is on the left side with the HP logo. There is scratch resistant finish to the camera to ensure it retains its sexy silver look. Unusually, there is quite a lot going on on the top of the camera with a row of function buttons lined up. Starting from the left is the speaker, then there is the flash button, focus button, Photosmart Express button, Live view/Playback button, power light, on/off button, shutter release button, video button, and a wrist strap loop. With most of the action on top it leaves quite a minimal look on the reverse with the very large 3” LCD display on the left, zoom rocker and menu panel. Below the menu panel is a charging light. The overall feel of the HP R927 is solid and robust while still looking very sultry and sleek. |
| Features |
| Not only does the Hewlett Packard R927 look great it is packed with, what HP call, Smart Features and to be quite honest they are right, these features are Smart! There are 8.2 mega pixels with a whopping 24x total zoom so you would hope for some great results. There is a fantastically easy to follow menu which makes the paper manual totally redundant as everything is so easy to follow and there is full explanation of all function on the menu. If you have never used a digital camera before this is definitely the camera for you and with HP Instant Advice, hints and tips are provided as you shoot and opinions expressed on your shots with advice on how you can improve your shots for next time. Red-eye can be removed in-camera without the need for your PC and the results were great leaving you with realistic images. The in-camera stitching is a great tool when it comes to your panoramic shots, so you can take up to 5 shots and the camera (no PC needed) will stitch them all together creating a flawless landscape. Hewlett Packard have some intelligent and imaginative peeps in their design department as they have included the HP Design Gallery on the R927 in which you make your snaps look like cartoons, sketches or antique photos, add borders or frames or change to black and white or sepia (still no PC required). The possibilities are endless and you can have some real fun with your pics wherever you are and then share them with your friends and family on the huge 3” LCD screen. |
| Performance |
| With some of the best features and benefits that we have ever seen from an ultra compact digital camera we assumed that the image quality would be second to none. Unfortunately, the Hewlett Packard R927 did let us down in this area as images did show quite a lot of fringing in purple and green colours although noise levels were not bad at all even up to 400 ISO it was still minimal and images were very usable. It wasn’t the fastest of movers we’ve seen either, with a shutter lag time of 0.2 seconds in bright conditions, not bad, but in poorly lit situations this slows down to 1.8 seconds. Start up time was a pretty average 2.5 seconds. Although the 3” LCD was great to view our images on, once we took it outside and the low winter sun shone on it, it was very difficult to see and was completely washed out to the point that we really struggled to use it. As we mentioned the HP R927 has a slimming feature in which you can horizontally stretch the central subject of your image which should make them appear slimmer. Well, we had some hilarious results from using this feature as it is very temperamental, some people ended up with extra large heads and tiny legs and others with tiny waists and long arms! If your looking to compliment and improve a persons look then tread carefully and be patient with this feature. |
| What's In The Box? |
| HP Photosmart R927 camera HP Photosmart 6220 Digital Camera Dock with AC adapter HP Photosmart Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery USB cable Quick Start Guide Warranty/Regulatory brochure CD with HP Photosmart software for Microsoft Windows and Macintosh, and User Guide Wrist strap |
| Overall Opinion |
| The Hewlett Packard Photosmart R927 is a great looking ultra-compact digital camera with some clever, entertaining features, ideal for the digital beginner. If, however, if you are a bit more experienced we would not recommend it due to the image quality being sacrificed on images over 7x5”. |
| By Hayley Malyon |
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Pros + 8.1 Mega pixels + 3” LCD screen + Total 24x zoom + Extremely easy to use + Great features |
Cons - Inconsistent image quality |
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Battery Life 8/10
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Picture Quality 8/10
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Setup Simplicity 10/10
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Build Quality 10/10
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Ease of Use 10/10
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Overall Rating 
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4/12/2006
at 11:05:26am
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