Hewlett-Packard PhotoSmart 912

Most consumer digital cameras have been modelled on the compact film camera, with a basic boxy look. Hewlett-Packard is the first to copy the SLR (single lens reflex) design format with the PhotoSmart 912. This chunky unit feels and looks, at first glance, like any medium quality SLR. However, behind the 34 to 107mm equivalent Pentax zoom lens and big handgrip lies a 2.24 megapixel CCD and backmounted LCD viewing screen. Memory storage is courtesy of a 16M CompactFlash card which sits in a Type 11 slot, and power comes from four AA batteries. The 912 is packed with clever details, and the power options are typical of this. Slip out the AA holder, and the whole handgrip becomes home to an optional long-life rechargeable lithium ion battery. Need to shoot over the heads of the crowd? The LCD screen flips down so you can frame the shot at up to 90° to the lens. Now here’s the clever bit — the camera knows you have flipped the image from normal orientation, and compensates automatically when you showthe image through the TV connector cable.
The camera’s specifications are just as impressive. Standard autofocus and exposure are available, as well as shutter priority, aperture priority, fully manual and program modes for night, action, vista snapping. There’s also exposure lock, direct print IrDA or USB image exchange, sound annotation and ISO settings from 25 to 400. This is a very adjustable and capable unit. The Digita OS menu (as used by Kodak) is excellent. It’s easily understandable, and with a four-way toggle menu control, it beats many other camera systems hands down.
The camera uses a TTL viewfinder complete with dioptre adjustment, and adds 2x digital zoom to the optical range. Software on the CD includes Hewlett-Packard’s Imaging and printing utilities, and ArcSoft’s PhotoImpression and PhotoMontage applications. None of these is very impressive. An
Adobe or Ulead product would be better considering the hardware’s flexibility. Powering up is relatively quick at just over a couple of seconds, but refresh between shots isn’t great at four seconds.
Highest quality images come out at 1,600 by 1,280 pixels, with very accurate tonal fidelity and a minimum of optical aberration. Sharpness is slightly down compared to Nikon and Olympus 2 megapixel units, but is still in the very good bracket. The only flaws were slightly jerky zoom action, and a Type II slot that didn’t recognise an IBM MicroDrive.