Steve's Conclusion

Holding the "top of the line" spot in HP's "R" series line (as of 9/2005), the PhotoSmart R817 offers 5-megapixels of resolution, Pentax 5x optical zoom lens, large 2.0-inch LCD as well as HP's Real Life technologies. This is a durable point-n-shoot model, packed with various shooting modes. For the beginner, there's a multitude of in depth help screens and a full Help menu that describes many of its features and controls. When you want to be more creative, it offers various pre-programmed scene modes and an Aperture priority mode that gives you a little more control over the exposure process. When using its Program (auto) mode, you can adjust settings for ISO, white balance, AF area, metering, etc. Like past PhotoSmart models, we were pleased with the ergonomics of the R817. Its compact design is small enough to fit into almost any size pocket or handbag, yet still large enough to fit comfortably in your hands. The controls are well placed and functional, and its helpful menu system is legible and logically organized. Like all of HP's "R" series models, you will no longer have to go into a menu and change the exposure mode to record a movie, right next to the regular shutter release is another smaller release button that allows for immediate movie recording. Its 2.0-inch LCD is the only viefinder on the camera. We found it worked well outdoors in bright sunlight, although it would benefit from a non- reflective surface; there are many angles that reflect the sun and it is very prone to fingerprints. When shooting in conditions of low light, the display "gains up" well to help shed some light on your subject. The R817 is equipped with a Pentax 5x optical zoom lens, with an equivalent focal range of 36 - 180mm. The lens exhibits the usual amount of mild barrel distortion at full wide angle, with slight pincushioning at full telephoto. Its maximum aperture is f2.4 which helps with low light photography. Thanks to its focus- assist lamp, the R817 does very well at focusing on subjects in low-ambient lighting conditions. Macro mode focuses down to 4.7 inches (0.12m) allowing you to shoot close-ups of small objects. When power is turned off the lens retracts into the body and the built-in lens cover closes over the lens for protection. It does not accept accessory lenses or filters. There's also an 8x digital zoom that multiplies the focal length of its optical zoom lens to 40x, but we recommend not using it as it will dramatically effect the quality of your images. Shooting performance was very robust for a camera in this class. From power up to first image captured measured just under 3 seconds. Shutter lag (time from pressing the shutter release to actually capturing the image) was less than 1/10 of a second when pre-focused and only 2/10 of a second including autofocus. Using single exposure mode, the shot to shot delay averaged about 1.2 seconds between frames without the use of the flash and 2.0 seconds with the flash. When shooting in Burst mode, I was able to capture 4 frames in 1.2 seconds. When using Burst mode the display goes blank until you are finished recording; times like this are when an optical viewfinder would come in handy. All of our tests were done using a Sandisk Ultra II 512MB SD card, using 5MP*** size/quality, flash off, and all other settings at default (unless noted.) Times may vary depending on lighting conditions, camera settings, media, etc. Image quality was what we have come to expect from HP. When using its 5M *** mode, it produces sharp images with great exposure and color saturation. Its 5x optical zoom lens offers a more versatile range when compared to typical 3x zoom digicams. I did notice an average amount of noise in High/Low contrast areas (especially at higher ISOs), but nothing that will be visible in your average 4x6 to 8x10-inch prints. Like we experienced with past models, the Adaptive Lighting feature is very useful when shooting either indoors or outdoors; when using it, the camera increases the gamma of the image to better enhance the detail of objects in low contrast (shadow) areas. I was a bit surprised that noise levels were considerably lower than what we had seen from its predecessors. I was also pleased with our indoor results. Its flash has an above average range of about 12.5 feet (when compared to similarly sized models), which we found worked very well for individual portraits of group shots. And the 36mm wide angle extreme of its optical zoom will also aid with your group portraits. The majority of our indoor samples were properly exposed and skin tones appeared very natural. The Remove Red Eyes option located in the Playback menu allows you to fix your images when they show signs of red-eye. On past models, we saw that sometimes the camera changed small red "things" or objects in the picture (like beads on a necklace, dark earrings, etc.) However I did not see this during our testing with the R817, but make sure you check your "corrected" images just in case. One thing I really like about HP's red-eye correction software is you can view the changes first, then opt to save them or cancel (if you do save, it will overwrite the original file.) That said, I did notice small occurrences of red- eye in our "people" pictures (even with red-eye reduction flash mode), but just a few seconds in the playback menu will take care of that. The R817 is powered by a 3.7V 1050mAh R07 proprietary Li-ion rechargeable battery. HP does not claim a specific battery life, but I had no problem capturing most of our samples (about 125 images + movies) and performing other tests before the camera posted a "battery too low" warning. We recommend you purchase at least one extra pack and keep it charged and ready. Pictures and movies are stored on either the 32MB of internal memory or an optional SD/MMC card. While the internal memory will allow you to take pictures, it will fill up quick due to the average file size of its 5-megapixel images being around 1.3 - 2.2MB. We feel a 'must have' accessory would be a larger 256MB - 1GB SD card. Bottom line - we feel the HP PhotoSmart R817 is a worthy competitor in the 5-megapixel category, offering great image, speedy performance, "cool" Real Life Technologies as well as various useful exposure modes. It will make a great choice for anyone who wants an easy to use digicam that captures awesome photos without breaking the bank. With an MSRP of about $349, it offers a good value and is sure to be popular this holiday season.

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