Rating: 
Summary: Great pictures fast
Review: Almost every reviewer has complained about short lifetime with alkaline batteries. This is because you are NOT suppoused to use these! It says so explicitly in the manual. If you get rechargable batteries the camera works for several days before you need to recharge.
Rating: 
Summary: Cudos for HP 735
Review: For the money this is a great machine. The lens is sharp, colors are well saturated, and everything on the camera actually works. This little guy has rekindled my old interest in photography, and it is possible to take this camera out and come back with hundreds of reasonable pictures. My bags full of high-end 35mm are likely to gather more dust. The optional 8881 dock works well, and the HP photoshare feature allows encoding email address targets or printing instructions on the camera for automatic download/print/email sharing when docked. Standard AA batteries (only two) and generic storage expansion are appreciated. Buy an extra few high capacity NiMH batteries on your own and you will be able to shoot all day long. Moderate resolution setting and a 256 MB SD card will keep you busy for over two hundred shots with very reasonable resolution. The HP 735 performs much better than I expected it to, and it's highly recommended. A manual focus option is the only feature missing that I would find useful, especially for macro shots. If the functions and output do not satisfy, then the only option is to move up to >5 Mpixels at a much higher price point.
Rating:
Summary: Great camera for the price.
Review: Given the price of the camera, it is a great preformer. The pictures, when set on the 2 star quality, are good, and they're somewhat better on 3 star quality (the camera has adjustable photo quality). I'd reccomend a memory card, but that's normal with digital cameras; most don't come with more than 32MG internal memory, and this one only has 16. On high quality settings, that'll last maybe 10-15 pictures. The pictures on the higher settings are as good as one can expect from a camera in this price range; they don't compete with the 5 megapixel deals, but what do you expect? They're more than good enough for email or photo work on your PC; I blew a photo up to use as my desktop (on a 17" flatscreen) and it was still photo quality.
The video and audio capabilities are neat, but I don't use them; just have no reason. Also, they seem to eat the batteries. They do work though, and are surprisingly decent (of course, they do not compete with a camcorder).
The interface is easy to figure out, and the camera is easy to use. For most of us, it takes photos as good or better than we'll need.
The only complaint I've heard is that it eats batteries, but so long as I stay away from the video and audio features it doesn't seem to to so badly; they'll last more than the 10 pictures or so that other people mention. I've taken more than 40 pictures since I've gotten it, as well as a 2 minute video (which killed the first set of batteries), and I'm only on my second set. Just buy rechargables.
Rating:
Summary: 1800 photos in 3 months
Review: I am an art student and I need quick shots for reference, inspiration, actual graphic work, and documentation of my other work. I have had this camera 3 months and have taken over 1800 pictures and video and I've been very pleased with it. I take it everywhere with me. It's proved itself durable. If you invest in this camera buy rechargable batteries and extra memory. Plan on this with ANY digital or you will be unhappy with the result. I have used three other digital cameras of different MB capabilities and by different makers...the same is true with them. This camera has a top display that is not on any other camera in this price range. Very easy to change flash/mode/quality settings without turning on back screen. A definate plus. Saves battery and time. This camera is a little slow but it is not anything a little patience can not handle. It just takes a little getting used to. There is a setting to take several pictures quickly. I have not had the need to use this feature, but, it may help with those hard to catch quick moments if the need arrises. The camera is also quicker if the flash is not on. Pictures do turn out better without flash and when not applicable I advise turning it off. The colors on this camera are GORGEOUS. They are very vibrant and bright. I advise having a photoediting program however with any digital for even BETTER pictures. A small adjustment may be all the difference you need to make a picture that's too dark and useless to the best picture you took all day. Get the best out of your digital! There are better cameras, but be prepared to pay. This is a great camera for what it is and for the money. Take it from someone whose in the visual field. Some reviewers seem very biased about this camera. Again be prepared to buy rechargable batteries and additional memory with ANY digital camera.
Rating: 
Summary: hp 735 first impressions
Review: I bought the hp 735 photosmart camera to replace an hp 315 which, contrary to reviews I've read, I thought worked very well. I used it a lot for snapshots, eBay ads, and some pretty good picture taking, editing with Ulead iPhoto software that came with a scanner and displaying photos on my computer with GPhotoshow freeware, which I recommend. The 315 display was too dim. The 735 is better. The 315 had 2.1-megapixel resolution and that was fine for me because I wasn't printing larger tham ordinary print sizes but I'll tell you where the higher 3.2 MB resolution has already helped: when I wanted just a small part of a picture that I couldn't get close enough to - just used my software to crop what I wanted. The 735 is nice sized - I like to carry it in my pants pocket. The 16 MB internal memory is totally inadequate. I knew that but so far haven't gotten what I need, having once ordered (then resold) the wrong card on eBay. Plan on spending for more memory right away. Plan on something like a 128 MB card. That's what I expect to get, or 256 MB - I sure wish I knew for sure what product to buy & if they work right! The manual that came with it says "128 MB is the largest memory card tested by HP. Larger sizes ... should work - use at your own risk"!! So you tell me! The movies are worthless indoors. Unless you provide very bright lighting, or can accept just a dark suggestion of what you saw. And a couple of those very few movies I've taken indoors so far had a blue line down the images! It worked ok outdoors. You have to solve the battery issue. It ought to come with better info on batteries. I don't like being expected to research the hardware. So far, I've found most of the ordinary AA batteries I have around the house don't work. But I'll tell you this much: right now I have some Energizer Industrial batteries in it, and they seem to work fine. If only I knew where my wife bought them ...
And I have around the house some Radio Shack rechargeable batteries that work in other things - The 1.2 V 1000 mAh AA Ni-Cd versions do NOT work at all in this camera, while the 1.2V 1600 mAh AA METAL HYDRIDE versions do seem to work okay. I'd guess you had better carry some spares in your pocket when you walk out of the house with the upgraded memory card. With the 16MB, no problem. Beyond that, it has more features than I really want to worry about - for you pros - and the biggest issue I have with those is that in a dark room I find it hard to see what settings I'm on - really more difficult that the older camera if only because with more choices it's harder to tell, for example, do I have it set for fill in flash, red eye reduction, or suppressed flash - features I DO use and find it hard to use on this camera because I can't see the tiny LCD indications in typical indoor lighting, such as in a club or coffeehouse where I'm trying to take photos of my favorite band.
Rating:
Summary: Does the basics well
Review: I bought this camera as a "fill-in" while I wait for the price of 5Mp+ SLR types to fall from $1K to <$500. Have used it for about a week. Pros are: Good quality lens - takes very good pictures (as good resolution/quality as most any 3.2 Mp). Simple user interface (most important stuff on three simple buttons on top with LCD display). Cons are: Movie mode is too low resolution and grainy. Has some delay between camera and playback mode (slow processor). I installed lithium batteries and have taken a few dozen photos and it still shows full battery, so this issue (complaints by others) has not bothered me. Overall, a good camera if it stays well below $200. If you can afford $250 to $300, you might look at others too (e.g. Canon A75 or A80).
Rating:
Summary: Can't loose for the $$$
Review: I bought this camera for under $140 for a trip to Montana. This was the best investment. It took great pictures outdoors of the mountains and at Yellowstone - true to life color. Indoor quality is pretty decent - not the best in darkness. It is slow to take a picture - but most digitals do have a split second delay. As with any digital camera buy rechargeables because they do eat the batters. I have owned this camera for 2 months and have taken over 2000 pictures on it.
Another great HP product is the HP psc 2175 all-in-one copier. By far this is the best printer we have ever owned and especially when you can find them on sale like we did for just $99.97!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Good job, HP!
Review: I bought this camera from Target. It is a great camera. My only peeve is that the battery door is weak, and it broke while inserting batteries. I called HP and they promptly replaced the camera. I got my replacement in less than 2 days!! As far as power consumption goes, I don't use the LCD display at all. I also use NiMH rechargables, and I get about 65 pictures each charge. I use the optical zoom sparingly and transfer pictures to my computer about 3 times. I best feature about this camera is that it has a little display on the top, where you can adjust picture quality, mode and flash options. That, I guess saves a lot of battery power. All in all, a great product and I am really happy with it.
Rating: 
Summary: Keep shopping
Review: I bought this new camera in Nov 2003 and can not take it on trips unless I carry a 48 pack of high energy digital alkaline batteries with me. Don't even try using regular alkaline batteries in it, they are useless.
Rating:
Summary: discouraged
Review: I dont know if the cameras arent consistent or what.. My camera was horrible. Extreemely slow from when I pushed the button to take the picture to the actual flash. I could take my hand off the camera and wait around 3 seconds before it would click and flash. Not good for quick photos of the kids! On the clearest pictures, the werent very sharp. My batteries were used up completely in an hour of playing with my camera. Plus, you have to use the batteries to get the pictures to your computer. Im returning my camera and hoping to find something better for the same price.
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