HP R837 Digital Camera

Sitting at the Hospital. Betty MIGHT get to go home today with walker and oxy tank.

Need to talk about my new HP R837 digital camera.

Here are my requirements from a previous blog entry:

1. Must have Viewfinder. While the display screens on the new cameras are very nice, it is still quite difficult to see them in direct sunlight.

-> No viewfinder on the R837, but the display is bright enough to see in daylight. Really, no kidding. I was pleasantly surprised. I was resigned to this being a problem with this camera, but it is not. Yet.

2. Must have rechargeable battery. The old Vivitar went thru AA batteries almost as quick as I could shove them in. I was lucky if I could get 30 photos before the batteries went dead. And, it didn’t turn off automatically, so if, for instance, I left it attached to the PC while downloading photos and forgot to turn it off it would be dead in an hour. Easily.

-> No problem, I have taken 50-60 flash photos and barely moved the battery indicator. It goes to sleep after a couple of minutes with no activity and awakens with the touch of any button. When you open the lens cover the camera turns on; when you close the cover the camera turns off. Couldn't be more convenient in my opinion.

3. Since I have Palms and PPC’s and other devices that use the mini-USB interface both to connect to the PC and for charging, the camera must also use the mini-USB interface for charging and downloading. Since I have several devices that use this interface, I have chargers and cables scattered around the house, in my cars, and at work. I have been slowly replacing devices with other interfaces with newer ones that use the mini-USB interface, I want to continue that process.

-> hehehe, the R937 recharges from the USB!!! While downloading photos!!! Yeahhh!!!!!

4. I want both digital and optical zoom capabilities.

-> 3x Optical zoom and 8x Digital zoom. There is a noticeable degradation in picture quality when using the digital zoom, but not enough to bother me so far.

5. Must have good flash and some control over exposure settings.

-> Plenty good enough for me. You can turn off the flash, set different exposure levels.

6. Must use SD cards of at least 4GB capacity.

-> Supports up to 8GB SD card. That's over 1,000 pictures at best 7 MP quality on my 4GB card. It has 32 MB of on-board memory, enough for 90 VGA pics.

7. Ease of use: I don’t insist that a 5 year old can use it, but that the basics should be discoverable with a few moments exploration for a person of normal intelligence, and the manuals should be clearly written in English. Not Chinglese.

-> What manual? It came with one but I haven't looked at it yet. There is an excellent help and documentation system built right into the camera.

8. Less than $200, prefer less than $150.

-> How does $99 including shipping sound? From Beach Camera and Amazon.com.

My only gripe so far with this camera is an ergonomic one. It is barely possible to take a photo with one hand; it really takes two. With the display taking up most of the back of the camera and controls using the rest of the real estate, controls using most of the top of the camera, the easiest way to hold the camera is from each side between the palms of both hands.

One of the nice things about the camera is that the lens doesn't protrude from the body like so many do now. I have heard of several cameras where the lens mechanism got dust or grit in it and jammed up. Once that happens you have a paperweight. Since my camera goes with me in my pocket, in the bottom of my backpack, while I'm working on the car, it seldom resides in a clean environment. All the moving parts except for the lens cover are enclosed in the camera.