Hewlett-Packard's PhotoSmart R817 digital camera gives beginning photographers a good collection of desirable features in an extremely easy to use package. The PhotoSmart R817 is a little higher priced than other beginner digital cameras, though.

The PhotoSmart R817 offers an extensive list of features designed to simplify the process of capturing, copying, transferring, and printing photos. This digital camera's menu system allows you to select the eventual destination for photos--e-mail, a Web site, or a printer, for example--as you shoot the photos. To further simplify the process of sharing the photos, you can purchase a docking station.

The PhotoSmart R817's 5X optical zoom lens is one of the larger zoom lenses available on a budget-priced digital camera. This unit's lens performs well in all types of external lighting. You even can shoot subjects from just a few inches away with no focusing problems. When you combine the good lens with the PhotoSmart R817's 5.1 megapixels of resolution, you can create sharp photos at sizes up to 11 by 14 inches, when shot in good lighting conditions.

Response times for the PhotoSmart R817 are above average for a budget-priced camera. You can record your first photo about 3 seconds after pressing the power button, which is an average performance. But this digital camera stands out with its lack of shutter lag, which measures only a small fraction of a second. The PhotoSmart R817's shot-to-shot delays are minimal as well, measuring less than 2 seconds in most conditions; the flash recharge can run a little more than 2 seconds.

This digital camera's 2.0-inch LCD is large and sharp. However, you'll find a few problems with seeing the LCD in bright sunlight because of glare, and those problems are magnified because the PhotoSmart R817 has no viewfinder. You must use the LCD to frame photos.

You'll find a range of options with the PhotoSmart R817, giving you the ability to shoot in a fully automatic mode or a fully manual mode. Advanced photographers aren't going to find a lot of precise manual features in this digital camera, but you at least can adjust the settings for white balance, auto-focus, aperture, or shutter speed.

Finally, the PhotoSmart R817 includes 32MB of internal memory, which is much more than most digital cameras in this category. If you aren't shooting at the highest resolution, you might not need to purchase a memory card initially.


Pros: Good all-around camera for beginners, good response times, extremely easy to use
Cons: Price is a little higher than other beginner cameras, no viewfinder

Warranty
1 year