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Introduction:::...
Anyone who has spent time with film cameras probably has a tendancy to favour names they know and trust from that arena. Whether it's optics or build quality, most professional and serious amateurs will tend to look to companies like Canon, Nikon, Minolta and Pentax for their digital needs.
Of course these companies do have excellent digital camera in their lineup, but unlike the SLR world there seem to be some excellent models reaching the market from companies you don't necassarily associate with having a particularly rich photographic history, if they have any photographic background at all.
To try to win over the more experienced users, many digital cameral companies who lack that photographic heritage are teaming up with more respected names to help market their products. While digital cameras are primarily electronic devices, and therefor it's reasonable to assume any competant company can develop one, it's the optics where most companies realise they may be considered lacking, and thus we're beginning to see a slew of digital cameras built around lenses from companies like Zeiss and Pentax to add a little prestige, even though in most cases the lenses are only designed by that company then built elsewhere.
Today I want to look at a camera from a company who have no real roots in traditional film photography, but who are making a concerted push into the digital imaging arena, supplementing their already expansive range of quality photo printers with a range of digital cameras to suit all pockets and all experience levels.
The model I'm looking at today is the PhotoSmart R507 and is very much a budget/mainstream camera. With a selling price pitched at around the £160 mark it's by no means the cheapest camera you can buy, even allowing for its 4 MegaPixel CCD, but does it have enough up its sleeve to earn its asking price?
Let's cover the specs before we move on:
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Feature
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Description
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Resolution
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Still pictures:
Video clips:
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Sensor
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Diagonal 7.2 mm (1/2.5-inch, 4:3 format) CCD
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Color depth
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36 bit (12 bits by three colors)
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Lens
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Focal length:
F number:
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Leans threads
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None
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Viewfinder
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Zooming optical viewfinder, 3x magnification without diopter adjust
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Zoom
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3x optical, 7x digital zoom
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Focus
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TTL Auto Focus
Focus settings:
Focus settings: Normal Focus (default), Macro, Super Macro
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Shutter speed
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1/2000 to 16 seconds
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Tripod mount
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Yes
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Built-in flash
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Yes, 2.5-second typical recharge time
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External flash
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No
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Flash settings
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Flash Off, Auto Flash (default), Red-Eye, Flash On, Night
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Image display
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1.5-inch color active matrix,120,480 pixels (502 x 240
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Storage
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-
This camera may support memory cards up to 2 GB, although HP has tested only cards up to 512 MB. Cards larger than 2 GB will not work correctly. A high capacity card itself does not affect camera performance, but a large number of files (over 300) does affect the time it takes for the camera to turn on.
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Image capture options
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Audio capture
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Shooting modes
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Auto (default), Action, Landscape, Portrait, Beach/Snow, Sunset, Aperture Priority, Panorama
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Image quality settings
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Exposure compensation settings
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Can be set manually from -3.0 to +3.0 EV (Exposure Value) in 1/3 EV increments.
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White balance settings
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Auto (default), Sun, Shade, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Manual
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AE metering settings
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Average, Center-Weighted (default), Spot
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ISO speed settings
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Auto (default),100, 200, 400
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Adaptive lighting settings
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Off (default), Low, High
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Color settings
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Full Color (default), Black & White, Sepia
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Saturation settings
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Low, Medium (default), High
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Sharpness settings
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Low, Medium (default), High
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Date and Time Imprint settings
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Off (default), Date Only, Date & Time
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Playback magnification
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Magnifies a still image to 130x on the image display
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Compression format
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Interfaces
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- DC input 3.3 Vdc @ 2500 mA
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Orientation sensor
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Yes
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Standards
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Power
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Typical power usage: 2.3 Watts (with image LCDon). 4 Watts maximum power usage.
Power sources include:
Recharging in camera with the HP AC power adapter or optional HP Photosmart R-series dock: average charge time four-six hours.
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External body dimensions
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Measurements with camera off and lens retracted: 87 mm (L) x 28 mm (W) x 57 mm (H) 3.4 inches (L) x 1.1 inches (W) x 2.2 inches (H)
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Weight
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132 grams (0.29 pounds) without battery
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Temperature range
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Operational: 0 to 50° C (32 to 122° F) at 15 to 85% relative humidity Storage: -30 to 65° C (-22 to 149° F) at 15 to 90% relative humidity
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Warranty
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One year limited warranty backed by HP Customer Support
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4 MP ***
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11 images (2.4 MB each)
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4 MP ** Default
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22 images (1.2 MB each)
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2 MP **
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80 images (330 KB each)
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VGA **
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265 images (100 KB each)
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