Hewlett Packard Photosmart R817

Reviewed November 2005

Characteristics

Using a CCD that measures 1/2.5 inch (7.19 mm) diagonally and which supports 5.25 million pixels, of which 5.13 million pixels are effective, the HP R817 is able to capture a maximum image size of 2592 x 1936 pixels.

By default the HP-R817 controls the CCD sensitivity allowing it to increase as needed. An option to set a specific sensitivity is available in the menu, but the sensitivity is reset to Auto every time the camera is powered off unless the My Mode shooting mode (see the Ergonomics section of the review for more information) is selected as the default mode in which the camera should start. Nevertheless, settings of 50, 100, 200 or 400 ISO can be selected, as well as Auto.

Pentax provides the lens for the HP R817. The zoom is 5X optical, a focal length range of 5.8 to 29 mm, equivalent to a 36 to 180 mm in the 35 mm film format. Apertures start at f2.8 through to f8 when the zoom is at the wide angle end, and f4.7 and f7.6 when the zoom is at its maximum telephoto.

In addition to the optical zoom, an 8X digital zoom is available once the maximum magnification of the optical zoom has been reached. The digital zoom is enabled by default, but can be turned off in the menu. The digital zoom is a cropping tool which selects the central part of the image and saves it at the closest image size so as to minimize the interpolation, and at its maximum "power" the image is only 320 x 240 pixels.

Shutter speeds cover a range from 1/2000 second to 15 seconds, and noise reduction is automatically applied to all images captured with a shutter speed longer than 1 second.

The HP R817 is able to record 4 different image sizes with preset compression levels (see below):

5M and :	2592 x 1936 pixels
3M :	2048 x 1536 pixels
1M :	1280 x 960 pixels
VGA :	640 x 480 pixels

In addition a Custom setting is offered that allows selecting any image size, and which offers an additional JPEG compression level with a higher image quality than the presets. Each level is identified by stars:

	the least compressed image format. It has an average compression ratio of around 4:1 which yields the highest image quality.
	An average compression level offering a ratio of approximately 8:1.
	A stronger compression level with a ratio of approximately 16:1.
	The strongest compression possible, giving preference to a small file size over image quality, with an approximate compression ratio of 30:1.

The image size and quality are set in the Capture Menu, itself one of 5 menus that contain all the user-selectable options for the HP R-817, and which are accessible in all modes. With the camera set to , when the Menu/OK button is pressed, the complete menu appears on screen with the Capture section already pre selected. The Capture section contains 14 options and an Exit at the end of the menu, which serves to clear the menu off the screen. Worth noting, once a change or selection has been made in the menu, pressing the shutter button lightly also clears off the menu. In addition, for each of the options listed here for every item, the R817 offers a Help option that provides an explanation of the item and of its possible settings:

• EV Compensation: provides an exposure compensation range of ± 3 EV in 1/3 EV increments.
• Adaptive Lighting: This function allows the camera to do post-capture processing to bring out details in the shadow areas of a photo. The system adjusts the contrast and brightness of light and dark areas that have a harsh contrast, but preserves gentle contrast areas. Two settings are available, High and Low, and Off.
• Bracketing serves to bracket an image for Adaptive Lighting, Exposure, or Colour:
  • Adaptive Lighting records one normal image, then one with Adaptive Lighting set to High, and one image with Adaptive Lighting set to Low.
  • Exposure bracketing is performed over a range of ±1 EV in 1/3 EV increments.
  • Colour bracketing captures one image, processes it, and saves it with three different colour settings: Full Colour, Black and White, and Sepia.
• Image Quality: selects the image quality and size as explained above.
• Video Quality offers 3 choices:
  • VGA : 640 x 480 pixels at 30 frames per second.
  • VGA : 640 x 480 pixels at 24 frames per second.
  • QVGA : 320 x 240 pixels at 30 frames per second.

• White Balance offers presets for: Auto, Sun, Shade, Tungsten, Fluorescent, or Manual, which allows setting the white balance for the ambient lighting conditions, by basing the white balance on a piece of white or grey paper.
• Auto Focus Area: decides whether the auto focus selects the focus point automatically from one of five zones near the middle of the frame (Multi), or takes place at the centre of the frame (Spot).
• AE Metering: selects the metering pattern Average, Centre-weighted (default), or spot (AE metering is not available with the Theatre mode).
• ISO Speed: Auto (50 - 200), or 50, 100, 200 or 400 ISO.
• Colour: determines whether the image will be recorded in colour or Black and White, or Sepia.

• Saturation has 3 settings: Low, which mutes the colours slightly, Medium (default), or High, which accentuates colours.
• Sharpness, 3 settings: Low, Medium (default) and High.
• Contrast also offers 3 settings: Low, Medium (default) and High.
• Date & Time Imprint: not available with either the Panorama or Video modes, the option serves to permanently stamp the date, or the date and time onto the lower left of the image.
• My Mode Saved Settings (only available when the camera is set to My Mode): 18 settings can be memorized (shooting mode, flash, burst, focus, EV compensation, adaptive lighting, bracketing, quality, video quality, white balance, auto focus area, metering, ISO, colour, saturation, sharpness, contrast, date and time imprinting) and even whether or not the camera should start up in My Mode.
• My Mode Help (only available when the camera is set to My Mode): offers help on the features available with My Mode.
• Exit: clears the menu off the screen.

With the R817 set to the Playback mode, the camera presents the Playback menu first when the Menu/OK button is pressed. The Playback menu is accessed as the second tab of the complete menu, and offers the following options:

• Delete provides several options, including an unusual undelete option:
  • Cancel simply returns to the Playback menu.
  • This Image deletes the currently displayed image or video clip.
  • Entire Panorama Sequence deletes all images associated with a panoramic sequence.
  • All Images (in Memory/on Card) deletes all of the images and video clips from either the internal memory (see further), or from a memory card.
  • Format formats the internal memory or a memory card.
  • Undelete Last recovers the last deleted image as long as no other operation has been performed after the image was deleted.

• Remove Red-Eyes: is an option that is only available for photos captured with the flash. With the image to be processed on the screen, selecting the option automatically removes the red-eye effect if it is there. The corrected image is then displayed with green boxes around the corrected areas. The corrected image can then be saved with the Save Changes option, or magnified for a closer inspection with the View Changes option, or discarded using the Cancel option.
• Image Advice: analyses a still image under review for problems such as possible camera shake resulting in a blurred image, overexposure etc. No advice is offered if the image analysis reveals no problem.

• Image Info: presents the shooting data superimposed on the image which is dimmed in the background. The data shown includes the shooting mode, flash mode, all non-default Capture menu settings, f-number, shutter speed, EV compensation, ISO speed, file name, and file size and a histogram.
• Stitch Panorama: presents a series of images recorded using the Panorama mode as a seamless panoramic image which can be seen using the right and left arrows of the 4-direction control. The image can be magnified, or stitched permanently and saved. Note that because of memory limitations, panoramic sequences stitched on the camera will be at a lower resolution than what can be done on a computer using the software included with the camera.

• Rotate: allows rotating images clockwise in 90° increments, and saving the rotated image.
• Record Audio: serves to attach a voice annotation, up to a minute long, to an image.
• Exit: clears the menu from the screen.

The third part of the menu is called HP Instant Share Menu:

• Print: allows selecting images for printing one at a time, and the number of prints to make of each.
• Share All Images: shares all images, whether these images are in internal memory, or on an optional memory card, sending them to selected destinations, such as for printing or e-mailing once the email options have been configured using the following option.
• Instant Share Setup: serves to add e-mail addresses or web sites to which photos will be directed.
• Exit: clears the menu from the screen.

The fourth section of the complete menu is the Setup Menu. The Setup menu contains basic options for the camera and the interface, and its options are covered in the Interface and Software section of the review.

The fifth and last section of the menu system is the Help Menu. Help systems are becoming more common on digital cameras, appearing as helpful hints for each option of the menu, or as photographic advice — both features that the HP R817 has — or as generalized help, as is the case with the Help Menu.

The menu contains advice about using the camera, its buttons and controls, and detailed information about the use of the various shooting modes, sharing and printing images. It also includes a listing of all the accessories available from HP for the R817, along with a list of phone numbers to obtain assistance if needed.

Since it has internal memory, the camera is retailed without a memory card. Nevertheless, the chart below indicates capacity with both the internal memory and a 512 MB SD card:

	INT	512 MB	INT	512 MB	INT	512 MB	INT	512 MB
5M	3	69	9	209	14	306	29	624
3M	5	110	15	322	21	460	41	872
1M	12	265	32	685	43	911	68	1436
VGA	50	1055	128	2699	169	3574	264	5569
VIDEO			INT			512 MB
VGA			26 sec			10 min 59 sec
VGA			56 sec			21 min 44 sec
QVGA			1 min 55 sec			42 min 15 sec

The battery that powers the R817 is in a slot next to the memory card, and covered by the same latching door. The battery, a Photosmart R07 Lithium ion, is held in place by a blue spring-loaded latch that prevents it from falling out when the compartment's door is opened and the card is removed or inserted.

The battery is recharged while the camera is placed on the cradle that is part of the kit. The cradle also serves to connect the R817 to a computer via USB, but cannot be used to connect it to a television. Recharging the battery takes between 4 and 6 hours.

To connect the camera to a television requires the use of the optional HP Photosmart C8887A Dock with USB mini connector (different from previous C8887A Photosmart camera docks for R-Series cameras).