Hewlett Packard Photosmart R967

Reviewed December 2006

Introduction

The Photosmart R967 is currently at the top end of Hewlett-Packard's digital cameras: it offers a 10-megapixel resolution, a 3X optical zoom and is equipped with a 3-inch LCD monitor.

With the exception of the shutter release that is tilted towards the front of the camera, a tungsten colour highlights the area that supports all the external controls of the camera, which in combination with the brushed metal finish, makes the HP R967 look very elegant.

Most of the R967's back is taken up by the LCD monitor, which measures 3-inch (7.6 cm) diagonally. The monitor is composed of 230,400 pixels, creating a sharp image.

The HP R967 can capture video clips with sound in any of three formats:

• Normal (VGA ): 640 x 480 pixels at 24 frames per second, using Normal compression.
• VGA : 640 x 480 pixels at 24 frames per second, using a stronger compression.
• QVGA : 320 x 240 pixels at 24 frames per second.

During video recording, exposure and white balance are adjusted as the recording progresses. The optical zoom remains useable, but the sound of its motor will recorded as well when the focal length is changed.

A row of buttons occupies the top left side of the camera, bracketed on the far left by the speaker grill, and on the right side is the On/Off switch, which has a small blue strip on the left that lights up when the camera is On.

From left to right, the first three buttons control functions which each display their options on the monitor:

The third button is called the Photosmart Express button, and it displays the following options: Print: serves to select images for printing, and specify the number of prints to make of each. Share: serves to select online destinations for images so they can be automatically forwarded when the camera is connected via USB to a computer running HP's software. Buy Prints: serves to select images for printing by an online service when the camera is connected to a computer running HP's software via USB. Favorites: serves to tag images as Favorites so they can be shared or printed quickly. Help: provides information about the Photosmart Express menu and its options.

The fourth button serves to select either the Capture Mode or the Playback Mode. The camera can be turned on directly in the Playback mode if the button is held pressed while the camera is turned On, thereby avoiding having the lens deploy.

Two more controls are positioned on the back of the camera, to the right of the LCD monitor.

At the top is the zoom control for the 3X zoom, which also activates the 10X digital zoom once the maximum optical magnification is reached. The digital zoom progressively crops the centre portion of the image, a process shown by a yellow rectangle superimposed on the image, then indicates the closest image resolution at which the digitally zoomed image will be recorded.

In the Playback mode, the control serves to zoom into an image on screen when pressed to the side, magnifying the image up to 2X; while the wide angle side, , allows returning the image to full screen, or seeing images as an index with 9 thumbnails per screen.

The 4-direction control, which is below, serves to navigate the menus, highlighting options, and also to review images in playback. In addition, the right and left arrows can be used to change aperture or shutter speed, depending on the camera mode, and the up arrow can be used to select the shooting mode. A total of 18 modes are offered:

	Auto mode is the simplest shooting mode, allowing the camera to handle all settings.
	Landscape mode uses as small an aperture as possible to maximize depth of field.
	Portrait mode uses a wide open aperture to capture the subject in focus, and blur the background to avoid it distracting from the subject.
	Steady Photo mode increases the CCD sensitivity as necessary to maintain a high shutter speed and avoid camera shake. The sensitivity increase depends on the zoom position and whether or not the flash is used, but it can be as high as 800 ISO.
	Panorama mode allows capturing a series of images to the right or the left, so that they can be assembled into a single panoramic image. During the series, the camera maintains the exposure parameters established at the first frame, ensuring that the images will have consistent brightness and will blend together. Assembly into a panoramic image can be done directly with the camera post capture, with the resulting image being recorded as a panoramic image with an average compression, or later using the supplied software.
	Action mode uses the highest possible shutter speed to freeze action. CCD sensitivity is set to Auto, and can increase to as much as 800 ISO.
	Theatre mode is conceived to capture images at school programs, concerts, and indoor sporting events without using the flash. Camera sounds are turned off, and sensitivity is automatically controlled.
	Night Portrait uses the flash to light the foreground, and a long exposure time to capture the background as well. The exposure time can be as long as 15 seconds, and sensitivity, under the control of the camera, will not increase more than 200 ISO.
	Night Scenery mode turns off the flash and captures an exposure that can be as long as 15 seconds. Sensitivity is locked at 100 ISO.
	Beach mode compensates the exposure so that the metering will not be thrown off by the bright and reflective subject.
	Snow mode also compensates the exposure to avoid having the snow appear grey or blue-grey.
	Sunset mode accentuates red and orange to capture the ambiance of the light.
	Document mode increases contrast and lowers saturation while turning off the flash.
	Aperture Priority allows controlling the depth of field by selecting the aperture while the HP R967 handles the shutter speed. At the wide angle end apertures start at f2.8 and extend to f7.8, while at the telephoto end apertures start at f5 and extend to f8.5.
	Shutter Priority provides control over the shutter speed and thereby over how movement is captured while the camera selects the aperture. The shutter speed range available covers from 1/2000 second to 15 seconds.
	Manual provides complete freedom to select both the aperture and the shutter speed. The aperture range is the same as with the Aperture Priority mode, and the shutter speed range covers from 1/1250 second to 15 seconds.
	My Mode allows memorizing a set of preferred settings by selecting My Mode. The camera can even be set to power on directly into this mode.

With the R967 set to the Playback mode, the down arrow of the 4-direction control, labelled , serves to Delete unwanted images.

Last, the MENU/OK button, at the centre of the 4-direction control, displays the menu. The menu is composed of 5 sections, and applies to all modes, and only the pre-selected section of the menu to which it opens is dependent on the camera's mode. (See the Characteristics and Interface and Software sections of the review for details on the contents of the menu sections.)