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Under 2 Megapixels

Hewlett Packard PhotoSmart 315 2MP Digital Camera

Hewlett Packard PhotoSmart 315 2MP Digital Camera

List Price: $199.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not bad for entry level digicam
Review: If you can get this camera for less than $200, it's worth it. This is a perfect companion for those are new to digital imaging. Don't use the lowest quality (640x480) - not good for printing. The medium quality (1600x1200 with less compression) is best when you resize to 800x600 for printing (esp. in an under light condition). The best is to use 1600x1200 with the highhest compression - good for printing 8'x10".

8MB CF won't be enough for anything. Get at least 64MB or 128MB + rechargeable battery.

Pros 1: Don't need to install the software. Just plug-in the USB cable, and windows will take it as a removable drive. Very user friendly. The OS of the camera also very easy. My grandma will be able to use it without reading the manual. Pros 2: Not battery eater. I won't say it's the best, but I am quite satisfied. 80 pics taken with LCD on and transfer all of them with the same battery. Not to mention sometimes reviewing the pics taken. Pros 3: In almost totally dark condition, with highest setting, produce a decent quality.

Cons 1: For Win2K users only: all HP digicam won't support CF higher than 32MB for direct transfer. You need to get a CF Reader. I have 128MB Viking and I need a CF Reader to download all the pics. No problem with other windows. Cons 2: Don't use the digital zoom. It's horrible. Cons 3: USB Cable is very special - hard to find replacement. Cons 4: In the dark, there is no light/backlight. Not easy to control the cam.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Point and shoot simplicity
Review: I have owned this camera for almost 2 years and absolutely love it. For a point and shoot style of picture taking, in the digital realm, it can't be beat. I've taken almost 2000 snapshots with my HP315. I've used it on vacation, for family snapshots, for capturing images of woodcarvings for my website, etc. Typically, I use the medium resolution, occasionally the high res. Medium seems to be fine for viewing pictures online or for informal prints. High res is definitely better for printing w/ photo paper. The camera can be hard on batteries, but limiting the use of the LCD view screen greatly extends battery life. I essentially only use the screen to review the picture immediately after taking it (the camera defaults to briefly showing the image and allowing you to accept or delete it). I use the traditional view finder to take most pictures. This REALLY saves the batteries; to the point where I can't remember the last time I've replaced them. I would recommend a higher capacity CF card, I use a 128mb; also, a CF card reader is a must. If you're looking for a digital camera at around 2 megapixel for casual snapshots, this camera can't be beat!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Can't Find Better Digital Camera For The Money!
Review: Okay, I've seen some reviews putting down the quality of this camera. My only guess is that they haven't dealt with digital cameras before.

This camera takes great pictures, especially when considering the $300 price tag (I found a code on the internet and got it for $260, shipped free). What it sounds like people (giving poor reviews) are doing is keeping the pictures in the large 1600x1200 format. What you need to do in order to make the pictures more crisp and clean is resize the picture to 1024x or 1280x pixels. This puts out fine pictures. Yes, it lowers the size of the picture, but these resolutions are still larger than most people's desktops. I use a free program Infranview which is downloadable off the net. It will resize pictures very easily.

Will the pictures be as good as regular film. No. But the pictures are very good for a digital camera at this price. I spent a good amount of time doing research for a digital cam and decided on this one.

The cam is fairly sturdy and has fine battery life (On 2 AA's I've taken roughly 25 pics using the LCD, and 140 w/o the LCD). The USB connection is fast. I would suggest this camera for anyone without a lot of cash to put into a dig cam but still wants fine pictures. Great for auctioneers. Good Luck.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: You can add lenses to this with an adaptor mount
Review: At [...] you can buy an adaptor mount for mounting 30mm accessory lenses and filters to the HP PhotoSmart 315 digital camera.

The lenses available are: 30mm 0.7x Wide Angle Lens; 30mm Super Close Up Lens, +18; 30mm 1.3x Telephoto Lens and the filters available are 30mm Circular Polarizer Filter and a 30mm UV Protection Filter.

I am delighted with this camera. At first I was unimpressed with the image quality, but then I read the manual! Turned out I'd had it on the lowest setting.

I bought some glossy photo paper for my inkjet printer and printed some out only yesterday and already had a friend mistake them for actual professional photo prints.

I solved the battery life problem by buying a set of Rayovac Ultra Rechargeable Nickel Metal Hydride batteries and they work *great*! I should mention that I use the LCD screen all the time. It's been days since I last recharged, even though I take my camera everywhere with me (and have a cute little kid just begging for photos to be taken).

I would recommend this camera to anyone!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Simple To Use Digital Camera With Great Results
Review: This camera is so easy to operate, I took it to a class reunion after having the camera for only 2 days. I took 35 pictures and emailed them to the school website and all the alums could download the photos they wanted. I had also purchased a 48mb flashcard, so I have been able to take 60 photos at the sharpest setting. I had heard about these cameras eating batteries, but I have taken well over 200 pictures, reviewed, downloaded, and erased with the same batteries that came with the camera. The battery indicator is still registering full battery capacity. I use the optical view finder to actually take the pictures. Photo quality is excellent and the software that accompanies the camera is also user friendly. You just plug the camera into either a serial or USB port and follow the easy steps to view or download the camera. After shopping the internet for the best features and prices of digital cameras and borrowing cameras from friends, I am really impressed with this camera. The only thing that keeps me from giving it the highest rating is that it doesn't have optical zoom, however, it does have digital zoom. This camera is a bargain for the price.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Camera Great Price
Review: For the money I can't see getting any other 2.X megapixel camera than this one. It doesn't really have too many nifty features, but HP seems to make that up in image quality. There is a self timer on it, and it takes great pictures at 1600X1200 maximum resolution. These make for awesome 4X6 photos coupled with an HP Inkjet Photo Printer(I use the HP 932C and it looks great!).

Make sure to get yourself some NIMH Rechargeable batteries for this, cuz as with any digital camera, unless you want to spend a lot on batteries, it is the only way to go.

The 32MB Compact Flash limitation on Windows 2000 is a minor thing, just be aware that if you are going to use larger CF cards that you get a CF reader, they are cheap now a days, and they will transfer pretty fast to the computer.

Recommendation: Get one now that they are on sale.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Camera
Review: This digital camera takes wonderful pictures & its easy to use.
I printed 4x6 pictures on the HP Photo Smart Printer & they are better then pictures developed using a 35mm camera.....crystal clear. I would highly recommend this camera & it is for sale at a good price.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Problems w/ CF over 32 = BS
Review: I know that everyone says that there is problems w/ XP recognizing the cards over 32 mb, but there IS a fix online; I forgot where it was located, but I am currently using a 128 mb card with my camera, and it's working beautifully. ... Oh yeah, and the camera works beautifully, btw!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: good choice for field biologist
Review: If you work outdoors in a setting where dirt and bugs prevail, this is the camera for you. No optical zoom means no extending and retracting lenses. Moving lenses break easily because sand grains and dirt become lodged between the two extensions, and the camera stops working. This is a perfect 2 MP digital camera for field biologists, soil scientists, geologists, and anyone else that works outdoors or in a dirty place.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: unhappy with product
Review: I purchased this camera as a starter , but it didn't even
meet up to starter requirements.. as far as I am concerned I
wasted my money ..Pictures are all distorted with no clarity and colors are almost non existant.. not a happy camper


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