Rating: 
Summary: Only if it's a good sale
Review: I would only buy this camera if it's on sale for well below the suggested price and if it is significantly cheaper than other 2.x megapixel cameras. I picked this camera up for a very good price at an early morning post Thanksgiving sale, yet I barely got what I payed for. Had I paid full price I would have taken it back that day. The main problem with this camera is that it only delivers quality images if you have lots of light (but no backlighting). Otherwise those 2.3 megapixels yield 1792x1200 images that are very graining and/or blurry. There also seems to be slight to moderate color distortion on many images, though this can be adjusted using the bundled software. Like most digital cameras, it eats batteries. If you turn off the LCD while taking pictures and just use the viewfinder, that goes a long way to stretching battery life. However, after taking a picture, the LCD will sometimes stay on instead of showing the picture and then turning off. Another concern I have about this camera is the durability. The camera feels very cheap. It has no lens cover and the battery door is very flimsy. Also, about a week after I purchased this camera, the LCD stopped working. I turned it on and off several times and also tried fresh batteries with no luck. Finally, I gave it a gentle smack on the side and the LCD immediately turned on. I haven't had this problem since, but history tends to repeat itself, especially with electronics. If you're thinking of purchasing this camera, I would suggest going to an electronics store and compare this camera to others. I think you will find the others produce better images.
Rating: 
Summary: First digital camera experience
Review: I'm a Leica and Nikon user, so I approached digital with great skepticism. However, I needed a simple camera for online imaging and this unit seemed to provide the needed features at the right price. After a week's use, I can report that this little camera is a gem. The controls are intuitive and the pictures stunning. For eBay users, the camera focuses down to a few inches and the images are pinpoint sharp. Lack of optical zoom doesn't seem to be a great disadvantage; the 2x digital zoom is adequate for most purposes and consumes less battery power. Two recommended peripherals that I purchased were a memory card and a battery recharger.
Rating:
Summary: Best Digital Camera for under $200.00
Review: I've been doing my homework on all Digital Cameras and I've concluded that this one had the most features and specs. for the money. The camera is very easy to use, it's actually the 2nd digital camera I've ever owned. I've been using rechargeable batteries in it and it's been working just fine. The camera automatic shuts itself off if there is no activity after a few minutes. This really helps in conserving your battery life. The other feature that I like is the "self timer", this worked out great for trips where it was only my wife and I. I also purchased a 32MB memory card to increase the amount of pictures allotted in the camera. Overall, this has been a great investment. There are 3 different qualities of photos you can take with this camera, and you can change the quality per picture you take. You don't have to choose ahead of time what quality all your pictures will be, but you can select the photo quality right before you click. The only downfall to this is when the higest quality is selected the preview screen tends to take a while to display the photo. I don't know if more expensive cameras have this problem too. The other issue with this camera is that it doesn't snap the picture as soon as you click the button. There is about a 1-2 second delay between the time you click the button and when the shutters actually snap the photo. This only becomes an issue when you're in a car driving by something that you want to snap, the timing is really hard to determine. But if most of your picture are going to be portraits and still shots this camera is perfect for you. The easiest and best part of this camera is downloading the pictures to your computer. You don't have to install any software onto your computer in order to download the photos from your camera. All you need is the USB cable that comes with the camera and "Explore" your computer's drives/folders and simply drag and drop the photos from the camera to a designated folder.
Rating: 
Summary: 1st time user
Review: ive never owned a digital camera before. I found this one to be very easy to use. I was taking pictures within 2 mins of opening the box. Yhe instruction booklet is great. Software takes a minute to learn but also excellent as well.
Rating:
Summary: Not the sharpest pics, but 2M pixel size for a cheap price.
Review: Maybe it's got a cheap lense, but the pictures usually have uneven focus. Parts are sharp, but get a little blurry in spots toward the outside. There is no lense cover, so you need to keep it clean. The internal memory is nice if you don't want to spend the money on a compact flash card and only want to take about 15 snapshots before uploading. The USB connection and software works flawlessly with my Windows XP system. As soon as the camera is connected, it prompts to upload whatever is stored on the camera.
Rating: 
Summary: Poor picture quality
Review: My experience with this camera is similar to the professional review at... This camera was the cheapest 2 Mega Pixel at the time. [$$$] I was disappointed that it did not come with a power adapter like the previous model HP 210.
I must say I think the picture quality was better on my 210. Also, the 318 has some serious focusing problems. I read about them at other review sites, but ordered the camera anyway. I took a trip to the Caribbean and brought the camera with me. On two 128MB CF cards, I could take 554 pictures. With the rechargeable batteries, I never once ran out of juice while shooting. In all, I took 480 pictures, 250 of which were blurry or out of focus and did NOT appear that way on the preview screen. Of couse, that still left me with over 200 clear and focused pictures, but I think that ratio is unacceptable. I cannot recommend this camera. Low light shots are horrible. The more light you have, the better your picture will be. This camera does not compensate as good as other digital cameras in low light situations, including the older and cheaper 210/215 model.
Rating:
Summary: The best camera i've seen for this price!
Review: OK, this camera might cost less and not be a cam loaded with buttons, and video capture. But the camera is light, has a slim design, and the quality of the pictures is nice. I do recommend for the user to get a 16mb or higher compact flash memory card, because the internal memory is not quite enough. It would also be better to get a rechargeable battery pack and recharger, because like all other digital cams, the hp 318 does eat batteries! Try to hang on to lithium batteries (they last much longer!). I looked at a sony cam for 200-what a rip off! It had a small display, a bad zoom, and only 1.3 megapixel! The kodaks have a better design, but the megapixel for the price is still not good. So do buy this great cam!
Rating: 
Summary: Watch Out for Ritz Camera
Review: Ritz Camera ripped me off advertising this as a new camera for $99. I ordered 2 because the camera is good (Used one hard for 2 years). Ritz Camera sent me 2 used cameras. Not reconditioned, but used and after the 3rd e-mail admitted, "We would like to bring to your notice that HP - Photosmart 318 Digital Still Camera is a clearance item.
Our Clearance merchandise consists of both new and open-box items. Some items may have minor cosmetic blemishes. We will not be able to guarantee you whether the replacement cameras that we will ship out will be new. The cameras could be new or open box items."
They will not send new cameras nor will the even guarantee new cameras until they get the used ones back. Process could take over a month. I suggest using extreme caution in doing business with Ritz Camera or any of their affilliated companies that include:
www.photography.com www.boatersworld.com www.ritzcameraauctions.com www.outerbanksoutfitters.com www.ritzpix.com www.shopatshark.com www.fishingonly.com www.insidesportfishing.com
Rating:
Summary: HP 318 Thumbs up!
Review: The HP 318 is a easy to use digital camera. Don't buy anything less than a 2.0 MP camera. The Hp 318 uses various battery types including rechargeable NiMh. Slap in an optional 128 mb CompactFlash card... and you can take over 160 pictures at 2.31 MP resolution. With a HP Photosmart printer, you can print directly through the printer, or buy a CompactFlash Reader and load your pictures quick and easy. Loading 160 pictures through the cameras USB cable would take a long time. The picture editing software that comes with it is so-so. It doesn't allow for extensive editing. I wish the camera had a lens cover.
Rating:
Summary: Bang for the bucks
Review: The HP 318 is really easy to use. This is my first digital cam so I wanted something simple. It seems like a very good camera. 2 things though:
1. Get a rechrgeable battery pack.
2. Get the memory card I also love the fact that you can use the zoom lenses (Seperate purchase) with the adapter. Very Cool. The only thing missing is: movie capture (AVI,MPEG)
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