The HP Photosmart R607 is certainly quite an impressive little number, especially
for a camera of its class – lots of great features with just about everything
you can imagine, on-camera advice and guidelines, and all packed in to one small-but-mighty
unit. Although, I did discover one thing in particular that
I would like to see revised in a future generation. While in video mode, one of
the first things that jumped out at me was the obvious hissing over the captured
audio clip, heard not only in playback mode when previewed on the camera’s
LCD but also during video review after download to my computer. However, I wouldn’t
hold that against the R607. Hp has definitely packed a lot into one pocket-sized
camera, while providing on-camera instruction and ease-of-use. I definitely enjoyed
it.
If you consider purchasing this camera for vacations or family outings, please don't overlook the User’s Manual, so that you can
take full advantage of all the great features that this camera offers.
How will the camera perform for you?
I have given the camera a score of between 1 and 10 (10 being the best) for each of the categories below. These scores are designed to give you a little more
insight as to where the R607 performs best!
Macro Photography: 7 out of 10
The Photosmart R607 is a good choice for macro photography, thanks to its super macro mode which allows for in-focus images as close as 2.5 inches from the lens.
HP's Adaptive Lighting Technology also helps to soften harsh shadows sometimes caused by the flash being so close to the subject or object.
Landscape Photography: 7 out of 10
The 35mm (35mm equivalent) wide angle does a very good job at capturing landscapes. Using HP's Adaptive Lighting Technology will really help soften the shadows
when capturing landscapes on bright sunny afternoons.
Portrait / Family Photography: 7 out of 10
The HP Photosmart R607 is a very good family camera thanks to its small size, good image quality, and HP's simple Instant Share capability. The camera and software
make it simple to upload and share photographs via email or website. For those times when you want to take a portrait or two, my advice would be to get close, use
the zoom to help blur the background (decrease depth-of-field), then use the in-camera red-eye reduction when needed.
Outdoor Sports: 3 out of 10
Sports photography requires a camera that can capture close-up, blur-free images, a camera that can shoot at higher ISO settings (800 and even 1600)
with very little noise, and a camera with fast shot-to-shot times. The Photosmart R607 is not this camera.
Indoor Sports: 2 out of 10
Very few cameras, and none in this price range, score well on this. Indoor sports photography is difficult because you often cannot use the flash, you're shooting
in dim environments, and when using a long-zoom camera you're only making things worse since the aperture of most lenses close down as you zoom in. A smaller aperture
results in an even darker image. To adequately shoot indoor sports you should consider getting a Digital SLR. A DSLR features fast shot-to-shot times, less noise at
higher ISO settings, burst modes, optional long zoom lenses - some with built-in image stabilization.
