The
HP 850 has a 1/1.8 inch, 4.13 million pixel CCD
of which 3.94 million pixels are effective for capturing the image. The
CCD has a starting sensitivity of 100 ISO and can be increased to 200
ISO in the menu, returning automatically to Auto every time the camera
is turned off.
Although unmarked, the 8X zoom lens of the HP 850 is supplied by Fuji
Photo Optical Japan. It is a 7.6 to 61 mm, corresponding approximately
to a 37 to 300 mm lens on a 35mm film camera. The lens has a starting
aperture of f2.8
at its widest angle, which becomes f3.1
when zoomed to the maximum telephoto, and provides apertures up to f11.
This
aperture range is combined with shutter speeds that go from a high of
1/2000 sec down to 16 seconds, when using the Shutter Priority mode.
A red AF assist light — above and to the right of the lens —
helps the camera focus when the light is too low for the normal system
to work. No option is provided to turn off the AF Assist, and the light
comes on in all modes, including scene modes such as Landscape.
A very limited selection of image sizes are available with the HP 850.
Photos are either recorded at the maximum image size of:
2304
x 1712 pixels (3.94 megapixel),
or
1136 x 848 pixels (1 megapixel).
Likewise,
the camera can only record JPEG
images at one of 3 compression levels. No uncompressed format is available:
Best (***)
Better
(**)
and
Good (*)
An odd quirk of the HP 850 is that under normal use, except for the
image size, none of the settings made in the menu are retained after
the camera is powered off. Everything returns to the factory defaults.
However, if the OK button (at the centre of the 4-direction controller)
is held in while the camera is powered up, then previous settings which
differed from the defaults are re-enabled. This function would have
been better addressed by a menu option.
Besides the flash modes and the macro mode, all the other possible photographic
settings are dealt with in the HP 850's Recording menu, which can be
called up either on the 2 inch LCD screen or on the EVF. Note that menus
for Playback and DPOF can only be called up on the LCD screen.
The Exposure Modes (Program Modes) of the HP 850 are presented as the
first option of the Recording, or Capture, menu. Six programs are available:
Auto:
a fully automatic mode
Action:
selects the highest shutter speed possible and, if needed, a higher
ISO.
Landscape:
selects the smallest aperture possible to increase depth of field,
and a lower ISO.
Portrait:
selects the widest aperture possible to blur the background behind
the subject.
Aperture
Priority: allows the selection of the aperture with the up/down
arrows of the 4-direction controller.
Shutter
Priority: allows the selection of a shutter speed while the camera
selects the aperture.
All
options can be selected in one of two ways. With the option highlighted,
the right arrow can be pressed to cycle through the options; or pressing
the OK button will open up a second screen with all the available
settings for that option (see image above).
The complete menu fits on 2 screens, and an option to exit the Capture
Menu is provided at both ends of the list. Alternatively, pressing the
shutter release lightly will clear the menu off the screen, or EVF.
The other options of the Capture menu are: (defaults are shown in italics)
White
Balance: Auto, Sun, Shade, Tungsten (incandescent), Fluorescent,
Manual (set by pointing the camera at a white subject. The reading
is taken from the area inside the focus brackets).
AE
Metering: Average, Centre-weighted, Spot.
ISO:
Auto, 100, 200 ISO.
Colour:
Full Colour, Black and White, Sepia.
Resolution:
4MP (2272 x 1712), 1MP (1136 x 848) [setting retained after power
off].
Compression:
Best, Better, Good. [setting retained after power off].
Setup:
enters the camera's Setup menu. (The options contained in the Setup
menu are covered in the Interface/Software section of this
review.)
The
HP 850 is able to record movie clips with sound (60 seconds), or record
a sound bite (30 seconds) at the same time as a photo. The movie clip
is recorded with a frame size of 288 x 208 pixels, and the 8X zoom remains
useable. In playback, the surrounding sounds recorded by the HP 850 are
relatively faint, however if the zoom is used, its motor noise is very
audible.
Two other menus are available on the HP 850: one for Playback,
the other for the Share functions of the camera, which include
print order settings.
The Playback menu is accessed, as is the Recording menu, by pressing the
OK button at the centre of the 4-direction controller. For Playback,
the LCD screen is used, not the EVF. The Playback menu provides for:
Play:
plays back a sound clip recorded with an image, or a movie. In the
case of a movie, the display shows the movie icon.
Delete:
deletes the current frame, or all frames, or formats the memory card.
Magnify:
magnifies an image on the screen. Magnification is 4X only and in
one step.
Setup:
accesses the Setup menu.
The
Share Menu, called up by pressing the Share button (the lowest
on the right side of the screen), also contains DPOF options for printing
the photos:
Print
1 copy: prints 1 copy of the current image when the camera is
connected to a computer or a printer. By default the image size is
4 x 6, which regrettably does not correspond to the 4:3 image format
of the camera.
Print
2 copies: same as above but prints 2 copies of the image.
Customize
this menu: allows adding e-mail addresses or other e-services
to the menu when the camera is connected to the computer.
The
HP 850 is supplied with a 16MB SD (Secure Digital) card. The memory
card is inserted in a slot protected by a small but solid plastic door
on the right side of the camera. The card is ejected by pressing on its
edge.
With a 16MB SD card the HP 850 can store:
Best
Better
Good
4MP
6
13
28
1MP
13
35
56
The three external connections for the HP 850 are located on the left
side of the camera, behind a soft rubber cover.
Uppermost is the USB (1.1), next is the A/V Out jack for connecting the
camera to a television. Last is a 6V DC IN jack for plugging in a power
adapter (one is available as an option).
Much like some Kodak cameras, the HP 850 is also equipped with a connection
on its sole plate which is normally sealed by a tight-fitting rubber cover.
The connection allows the camera to be plugged into a dock, which is sold
separately.
The
HP Camera Dock is also useable with other HP cameras,and the HP
850 is supplied with an adapter shaped for it which clips onto the Camera
Dock. The Dock is made to receive the camera so its back faces the user
— while the Camera Dock faces the user — leaving the LCD screen
visible.
As the camera is placed into the Dock, the Dock immediately comes alive
and powers up the camera. Image transfers and printing can be fully automatic,
if they have been pre-selected for printing or e-mailing, using the camera's
Share button.
The
Dock can be connected to a computer, a printer or a television. Moreover,
the Camera Dock includes a set of rechargeable batteries for the HP 850,
which can be recharged as the camera sits in the Dock.
