HP Photosmart R817 Review

The HP Photosmart R817 is HP’s latest digital camera and it attempts to emulate the success of the well-received R707 and R717 models. Despite the higher model number, the HP R817 actually has less megapixels (5 rather than 6) and a smaller image sensor than its predecessors. So what new features does it have to offer? The main one is a 5x optical lens, equivalent to 36-180mm, which instantly sets it apart from most of the competition, which typically have 3x zoom lenses. The R817 is also quite a lot smaller than the older models, although this does come at the expense of a smaller CCD sensor and the omission of an optical viewfinder. So is the HP R817 better than its predecessors, and how does it match up against the dozens of other 5 megapixel digital cameras?

Website: HP Photosmart R817 Review

Published: Friday, October 07, 2005

Reader Comments

1. Thank you, Mark, for your review of the R817. I was very interested
   in this camera for its ultra-compact size, with its 5x optical zoom and
   in-camera red-eye removal; however, after seeing its very poor noise
   performance, I have lost interest. I had expected better, considering
   the good reviews of the R707 and R717, but those had a 1/1.8" CCD.
   I can only imagine that, to squeeze a 5x zoom into an ultra-compact
   size, HP had to resort to the 1/2.5" sensor for the R817, although by
   limiting the R817 to 5 megapixels, I thought the noise problem would
   have been avoided. Obviously not. As you say, it's a shame.
   
   My only complaint about your otherwise excellent review is that you
   did not test the in-camera red-eye removal. It is difficult to test such
   a feature without producing some red-eye to begin with, but it seems
   that shots of you NEVER produce red-eye. I cannot believe that the
   camera is responsible for this. The only other possibility is that your
   eyes, for some reason, are not susceptible to red-eye. Do you wear
   contacts?
   
   In any case, since HP does its red-eye removal in playback mode, it
   should not be difficult to show an image with red-eye, and the same
   image with the red-eye removed. I would particularly like to check if
   the fix merely replaces red-eye pixels with black ones, or if there is a
   more intelligent attempt to match the normal eye color.
   
   After reading your review, I am now worried that the Ricoh Caplio R3,
   with its 7.1x optical zoom and 5 megapixel 1/2.5" CCD, might exhibit
   the same poor noise performance as the R817. It probably uses the
   exact same CCD.

   GARY POGODA at 08:34pm on Tuesday, October 04, 2005

2. Thanks to Mark and Gary...Yes i do agree that it produces some noise which is probably the only negative thing i would say...But you may not notice the noise at all if you are shooting outside where the outside noise will beat the noise generated from the camera...I would still recommend this R817 for the first time buyers as it gives all required for them at a reasonable cost...First time buyers i would say this will be a good buy if you are not too much worried abt the little bit of noise...

   Vis at 08:19am on Monday, July 17, 2006