The Hewlett-Packard Photosmart R707 is
a totally new camera, part of the R-series. It is one of 2 recently
released R-series cameras, the other being the R606, a model
with a lower resolution.
The remainder of the exterior covering of the camera is composed of a non-slip
rubberized graphite-colour polycarbonate that provides a solid grip on
the camera.
The upper right of the camera offers — as
do some other HP cameras — two separate chromed shutter
releases:
the two-stage still image shutter release which has
an elongated shape,
and the video mode release which is round, labeled with and
has a small bump in the middle so it can be identified by
touch.
When the video button is pressed, the HP R707 starts capturing
a video clip with sound at 30 frames per second and with a
frame size of 320 x 240 pixels until either its internal memory,
or the memory card, becomes full.
Still on top of the camera but closer
towards the centre, a small round button serves to choose any
one of the ten still image capture modes:
Auto lets the camera control
the selection of aperture and shutter speed leaving the user
to select all other parameters. This mode is comparable to
the Program modes found on many other cameras.
Action mode optimizes
the shutter speed to freeze action. CCD sensitivity is set
to Auto, and the sensitivity will increase as much as is
required to maintain as high a shutter speed as possible.
Landscape mode selects
a small aperture to increase depth of field, and saturation
and sharpness are both accentuated.
Portrait mode uses as
large an aperture as possible to lessen the depth of field
to create a blurred background behind the subject. Saturation,
contrast and sharpness are automatically lessened.
Beach and Snow mode applies
some positive exposure compensation to ensure that highly
reflective subjects are captured accurately and are not underexposed.
Sunset mode forces the
focus to infinity and disables the flash. In addition orange
tones are slightly enhanced.
Aperture Priority mode
lets the user select one of two apertures (f2.8 or f4.8 at
the wide angle end and f4.9 or f8.4 at the telephoto end)
while the camera selects a matching shutter speed. Aperture
priority is designed to give the user some control over the
depth of field.
Panorama mode allows capturing
from 2 to 5 photos that are overlapped either at right of
left, and which can be assembled later, on a computer, using
the software supplied with the camera. In addition, the entire
panorama can be seen when the camera is in Playback mode
using a special option of the Playback menu (see the Characteristics section
of the review).
Document mode uses high
contrast and low saturation while forcing the flash to Off.
As the name implies, the mode is intended to photograph text
or graphics.
My Mode makes it possible
to create a customized shooting mode and save its settings
so they can be recalled when My Mode is selected (see
the Characteristics section of the review). Moreover,
it is possible to set the camera so that this mode is the
default when it is powered on.
More controls are found on the back of the R707.
The power switch is at the centre top
of the back, and power is indicated by a green LED. This same
LED indicates when an image is being stored by flashing.
The zoom control is shaped as an arc and embedded at the top of
a round, concave area designed to fit the thumb. The control offers the
standard Playback functions, displaying thumbnails of captured photos (9
per screen) when pushed to the wide angle side and
magnification of an image under review when
pressed on the telephoto side .
A further group of controls is embedded
into the edge of the raised area that supports the 1.5 inch,
119,548 pixel LCD monitor. Starting on the left, the first button
serves for:
Focus mode:
Macro mode allows the lens to focus on a subject
that is between 14 and 90 cm (7 to 19.5 inches) from
the lens at the wide angle setting of the zoom.
Infinity sets the focus to infinity, perfect
for situations such as night photography when the AF
might be unable to acquire focus.
Manual is set by using the up and down arrows
of the 4-direction control.
The second selects the Flash mode:
Auto, Auto with red-eye reduction, Fill-in, Forced Off and
Night, which is a first curtain flash with red-eye reduction
and serves to capture a subject in front of a dark scene.
The third button controls the Self-timer and
the Burst mode. The Self-timer offers a 10-second
delay, or a 2-shot Self-timer which captures one photo
after 10 seconds and another 4 seconds after. The Burst mode
captures 3 or 4 photos — depending on the selected
resolution — in rapid succession, the frame rate depending
on the available shutter speed.
The Live View button
controls the LCD monitor On or Off. When On, some basic
information about the current camera settings are superimposed
on the live image: usage of a memory card or of the internal
memory, the state of the battery or the fact that the
camera is running on AC power, the remaining number of
shots that can be captured, the image size and quality,
and the focus area which is indicated by the focus brackets.
simply activates the Playback mode.
Accesses the Instant
Share menu which serves to select an e-mail or
web destination for captured images once the camera
is connected to a computer (see the Characteristics section
of the review for more information about this menu).
The Print button is
to select images that will be printed automatically once
the camera is connected to a computer or to a PictBridge compatible
printer.
The last control on the back of the R707 is
the 4-direction control which has a button labeled MENU/OK at
the centre. The centre button displays the menu that corresponds
to the current camera mode, and serves to confirm some specific
selections (see the Characteristics and Interface and Software sections
of the review for further information about the various menus.).
Beyond its use to navigate the camera menus, the 4-direction control also
serves to select apertures in the Aperture Priority mode, or set exposure
compensation, or select bracketing sets in the capture modes. While in
Playback, it serves to adjust the sound volume.
The HP R707 has a smooth, stylish
and elegant design that would not be out of place in a modern
art museum, as well as the compact, pocketable size that is only
possible with a digital camera. Moreover, on the practical side,
this model, unlike many other HP cameras, offers a mode (My Mode)
that makes it easy to recall personalized settings of shooting
parameters without having to hold the OK button while turning
on the camera.
Introduction
and
has a small bump in the middle so it can be identified by
touch.
(9
per screen) when pushed to the wide angle side 
and
magnification of an image under review
when
pressed on the telephoto side 
.
