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HP 612 2MP Digital Camera w/ 2x Optical Zoom

HP 612 2MP Digital Camera w/ 2x Optical Zoom

List Price: $259.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great camera for beginners
Review: I got this camera a year ago. I needed a light-weight, point-and-shoot camera that I can take with me everywhere without bothering to carry a big case, lenses, films and all the other stuff. Having excellent experience with other HP products, I chose a HP and I never regreted that (I already took more than 9,000 (nine thousand) photos since I got it... and is still working! ;) )

The pictures it takes don't even dream of being "pro" ones, but it has gorgeous colour tones (comparing to other cameras in this price range) and does great clear pictures in day-light (it is, after all, a ISO100 equivalent camera, so don't expect it to give you too sharp pictures for dark rooms, although the flash does help a bit. In darker areas, the pictures came out a bit grainy, and if it's really dark, they come out blueish - a thing that can be repaired in PhotoShop and... it's ok, as it's only doing the "blue" thing in very low light).

I use the camera with an extra CompactFlash of 128MB (it can hold 138 pictures taken at maximum quality), and I use a pack of Kodak rechargeable batteries of 1800MAH which drain after about 150-170 high quality pictures. If you keep the window open too much of the time, the battery life may go down 20-30 pictures. I would say this is a great battery life for a digi cam! For those who cry that this camera is a battery drainer - try other cameras! :) Anyone who thinks of buying a digital camera should consider buying a recharger with batteries.

Downloading: easy (through the HP software - just plug in the USB cord and off you go!), fast(!), and the HP printing software provided with the camera can help a beginner or the rushy person to quickly enhance the brightness and the tones of a photo taken in too lower light.

Printing: I finally decided to print a couple of the photos I took woth my HP 612, and went to my photolab (Photo 1-2-3, Toronto) and the 4x6 pictures came out at the SAME quality as the ones on a ISO200 film taken with my SLR Canon EOS. This is great! Anyway, I don't think I would go bigger than 5x7, though it says on the camera that you can go up to 8x10 :)
Should I say that my Hp deskjet 3820 gets the best of those pictures too? :) I think HP will thank me for my review here, but it is true. :)

If you are a beginner or you just need a camera to carry with you practically everywhere, this is the one: you've got quality, good colours, optical zoom, easy shooting, fast downloading, and all for the lowest price you can find!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great camera - if your subject isn't moving
Review: I have found this to capture excellent pictures even in
fairly low light (which can then be lightened with the
ACD software). a 64mb flash card can hold A LOT of pictures

pros:

the LCD viewer, and the ability to zoom in on the viewer after
the picture is taken to see just how clear the picture is.

Very easy to use

Software is Excellent (Although I find MSpaint better to add
in captions).

Cons:

Battery use, Battery use, Battery use, and using Alkalines doesn't quite cut it, you need those mp3 level ones.

If your subject is moving, it takes 2-3 seconds for the
camera to focus and click, by then your picture is gone.

It would be really nice to have a never-mind button, like
after you missed your shot, you could cancel it, since it
takes about 5-10 seconds to process a picture at high res.
Since you know right away if you missed your shot, it would
be great to just cancel it and maybe get a second chance

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Mechanical problems
Review: I have had this camera for 4 years now. The picture quality is wonderful inside or out, i have blown up photos and they are beautiful. My problem is that sometimes the camera lens does not retract when turned off. Then I could not turn it back on. HP service had me return the camera for a second one - same problem, then they exchanged it again. This third camera worked fine for 3 years then the lcd display went awry followed by the familiar error 109 display when the lens will not retract. Now I cannot even turn it on or off. It's good when it works and awful when it doesn't.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A great little camera with a nice price tag.
Review: I have tried several different cameras and I was very impressed with the output of the picture quality for a $200 camera. The software and USB interface make it easy for anyone to download the pictures from the camera. The quality is best, of course, on the best setting but I do recommend getting a memory upgrade. The only downfall is that it does not come with rechargeable batteries/charger although that is hardly worth counting against the camera since these reviews are for judging the camera's picture taking ability and ease of use rather than someone's lack of experience with digital cameras or how to shoot objects in the dark. There are some things that a 35mm camera may be better suited for, for everything else there's digital.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: HP 612 is A-OK!
Review: I recently purchased the HP Photosmart 612. I think this is a great camera! It's extremely easy to use!! I found the software so easy to install...I didn't need to refer to the manual! The downloading of photos to your system (I have a HP computer as well) goes fast (no sitting around waiting for the download). For personal use...it's perfect. The photo quality is excellent. The only 2 "con's" I have for this camera is: getting used to having to hold down the shutter button to allow the camera to adjust for 1-2 seconds before actually taking the photo (some great shots were missed until we got the hang of it).. and the fact that it goes through batteries like water. It also doesn't come with the ACD Adaptor - so that is an additional expense - but rechargeable batteries are the answer!
Overall - a great investment!!!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good camera at low price
Review: It's a great camera at low price. Picture quality is very good for not-very-professional photography. Batteries are consumed at reasonable rate. Very easy to use. The only problem I faced is blur picture in low light, because it lacks manual control over aperture etc setting.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: for the money can't beat it-takes really nice pix
Review: nice camera, nice pix

problem, must hold camera still, better outdoors then indoors, takes a while to get a pix, better with stills, then action

eat batteries!....but not as bad as the 318 model

good news nice pix, great price, great software, works well with win 2k and win xp.

overall a good camera!!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: for the money can't beat it
Review: nice camera, nice pix

problem, must hold camera still, better outdoors then indoors

eat batteries!!!!!!

good news nice pix, great price, great software, works well with win 2k and win xp.

overall a good camera!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: great camera
Review: really great camera by hp, it takes pictures instantly, and then you can download them in to your compure via USB in about
20 sec, ?? really great, 113 images in 20 sec, yeah!...

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Good camera, but I'm not pleased at all.
Review: The camera is good but it take great photos only is you have lot of sunlight.
Problem with this camera:
1.-When I try to take a photo inside a room I realized It's mandatory to use the flash and in some cases you have to take some photos to finally achieve a good result. In conclusion, you have to be an expert to take a good photo inside a house.
2.-The camera is not sold with AC adapter and the 4 AA batteries don't last enough. I had to buy rechargeable batteries, recharger, AC adapter.

3.-Sometimes I have to open the batteries to turn off the camera. If you take a photo and turn it off immediately it don't work.

The camera is [inexpensive] but it's not the best election.


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