I was so scared to get this camera because I thought that I would never get used to it, so I hung on to my HP 3.2 MP until it died on me. I needed a new and dependable digital camera with more megapixels. I decided to go with another HP because I was so familiar with my old HP 3.2 that I thought it couldn’t be that much different. It is very different and I was nervous using it for the first month, but now I know this camera backwards and it really isn’t that complicated. It does so many cool things, most of which are probably unnecessary. Everyone who sees it wants one and I get asked about it a lot. The screen is huge. This camera has 10 MP which at the time was a huge selling point, but I have since learned that no normal person needs that many megapixels.
You will have to get used to taking pictures without a viewfinder, which I don’t mind but some people really don’t like it. Instead of using a small square you just use the actual screen. This is sometimes a problem because you cannot see the screen when you are in direct sunlight. I have gotten used to just looking with my eyes and pointing the camera in the general direction then I crop later. The other thing you will notice about the screen is that when you are viewing the pictures you have taken the temporary pics that show up in the camera look grainy and are also hard to view in the sunlight. However, they come out great once you transfer them into your computer.
You can crop inside the camera and also add special effects. The slimming effect is terrific and the cartoon is fun too. However, I prefer to use my computer program to fix the red eyes.
Something I have noticed is that for some reason nobody has a clue how to use this camera but me. You know how you hand your camera to someone so that they can snap a picture for you so that you can be in the picture? Well, usually they can just press the button and shoot but not with this camera. It is a pain in the you know what. I guess it is complicated there is a series of buttons to push before you can snap a picture and if you wait too long it will reset and you have to set it up all over again.
If you buy this camera be prepared to also buy a 2 GB memory card at the same time and ONLY buy the HP. I bought a Sandisk and a Kingston before the HP brand and they both had problems. Seriously, I can’t stress the HP card enough I have never had a problem with it. Battery life is much better than using the old rechargeable AAs. It runs off of a rechargeable lithium ion battery. Lasts about 3 hours off one charge of constantly taking pictures and leaving the camera on. That is impressive for a digital cam. After 10 Months of use I had to replace the battery. The lithium ions do not last forever so you’ll need a backup.
I guess it is a good camera but when I paid $350.00 for it I was hoping to get a camera that would last for more than a couple of years. About a year after buying this one, other cameras were already catching my eye and the price of this camera had dropped drastically.
Now that I have had the camera for a couple of years I can say that I have mixed feelings about it. There are some great features but I have also run into problems with it. Lately the battery life is weak though I keep purchasing brand new batteries. That makes me think that the problem may have something to do with the charger which has also been replaced once before. The delay between taking pictures is awful in comparison to other cameras. I guess I just had high expectations for this digital camera and it simply did not deliver.