Entered CNET Catalog: 11/21/2003
SKU: 0808736469098
Manufacturer: HP
Manufacturer description
The HP Photosmart 735 digital camera delivers outstanding digital snapshots with 3.2 MP resolution and up to 15x zoom - 3x optical and 5x digital - from a Pentax precision lens for clear, crisp photo prints. Snap a photo and select on the camera where it will go the next time you dock or connect to your PC using HP Instant Share. One-touch, fully automatic technology delivers great shots with manual overrides for adding creative touches. On-camera help wizard acts as a guide. The camera provides video capability with audio. The on-camera microphone also allows attachment of real-life audio clips to still photos. Easily print without a computer via USB cable, or the camera's memory card. Optional dock enables effortless sharing of photos to computer (or select HP printers), recharging of batteries, and slide shows on TV using wireless remote.Product summary
The good: Solid construction for the price; very easy to use; aperture-priority mode; spot metering; sharp Pentax lens.
The bad: Oversaturated colors; no custom white balance; somewhat subpar LCD; unimpressive low-light autofocus; short battery life.
The bottom line: A solidly built point-and-shoot, this camera is best for photographers who like pictures with a lot of punch.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 11/24/2003
Like other HP digital cameras, the Photosmart 735 has a clean, spartan style. Its mostly plastic body is gray and silver. A bit bigger than many other models in its class, this camera weighs a moderate 10.3 ounces with batteries and media installed. The fit and finish of our test unit were very good, and we were able to get a secure, comfortable grip.
 In an uncommon design move, HP provided separate buttons for shooting stills and video, so you don't have to turn a mode dial before capturing a subject. |
 These buttons let you select a flash setting, choose the picture quality, and scroll through photo modes on the status LCD. |
The 735's controls are distributed across the camera's rear and top; two arrows and an OK key beside the LCD let you surf the menus. This navigation system worked adequately, but we prefer the four-way controllers you now find on many other models. The menus themselves are well labeled and quick to operate. Still, we're mildly disappointed that you have to drill into them to activate exposure compensation and white balance.
 You switch between shooting and playback with buttons instead of a dial. And with the bottom button, you can mark pictures for printing or e-mailing. |
 You use these buttons to navigate the LCD menus. |
If you're a novice, you'll appreciate the brief descriptions that accompany menu selections. For example, when you scroll to automatic white balance, the explanation "Camera adjusts color automatically" appears on the screen.
 |
 The 735 saves JPEG files and video clips to SD/MMC media. |
| |
Point-and-shoot simplicity is the theme of the 735's feature set, but HP did add a few useful features to the basics. The 3X zoom lens covers a focal-length range of 38mm to 114mm (35mm-camera equivalent) and opens to a slightly subpar variable maximum aperture of f/2.6 to f/5.0. Exposure options include programmed auto, three scene presets, and an abbreviated but still useful aperture-priority mode that lets you select from two f-stop settings. You can adjust exposure to plus or minus 2EV and choose average, center-weighted, or spot light metering. For white balance, you get automatic operation and four presets, but unfortunately, there's no custom selection. The sensor's sensitivity can be set to ISO 100, ISO 200, or ISO 400.
The 735 records still images in JPEG only; three combinations of compression and resolution are available. In-camera sharpening and color saturation are also adjustable. You can capture 320x240-pixel video clips with sound for as long as your card capacity allows. The annotation function lets you add voice captions to your photos. And like other Photosmart models, the 735 offers HP's Instant Share technology, which simplifies picture printing and sharing for folks who don't want to mess around with their computers very much. The camera is compatible with HP's 8886 dock, which is part of the Instant Share system.
|
 HP says that disposable lithium or nickel-metal-hydride AAs will produce the best results. But using the latter, we got a mere 130 shots (half of them with the flash). We'd hate to see the worst results. |
| |
The 735's performance leaves something to be desired; namely, speed and endurance. Start-up time is somewhat slow at 5 to 6 seconds. But shutter delay, including autofocus time, is about 0.8 second, and it can be as short as 0.2 second if you prefocus. Shot-to-shot time is a likewise acceptable 2 seconds for up to seven high-quality images. But when you hit the eighth photo, things take a turn for the worse: after each capture, the camera pauses for a glacial 20 seconds to save the picture and make room in the buffer memory for another. In continuous mode, you can snap as many as seven shots at about 1.6 frames per second before the buffer stalls.
Autofocus speed and decisiveness are adequate in good light but a bit below average in dim conditions, and there is no autofocus-assist lamp. The zoom lens is somewhat noisy, but its action is fairly smooth, quick, and controllable.
The optical viewfinder is a bit bigger than the tiny ones we often see, and it's reasonably bright and sharp. The modestly subpar 1.5-inch LCD isn't particularly sharp, and its refresh rate is on the slow side, but the screen is adequately usable in bright outdoor light.
The 735's odd pictures will be a deal-breaker for some but a pleasure for others. The colors in our test shots were inaccurate and fairly severely oversaturated. We're not fans of the effect, as you can tell from the image-quality grade we gave the camera, but it's not against the law to prefer neon-bright hues. We tried turning down the default saturation, but the difference was huge: colors became very flat and lifeless. The 735 couldn't give us a happy middle ground.
 |
 |
Images taken under indoor tungsten lights have a very warm tone, but they're sharp and detailed, with minimal noise and artifacts. The detail on the right is shown at 100 percent. |
In other ways, our test shots were pretty good. Sharpness and detail were top-notch. Noise was moderate at ISO 100 though fairly severe at ISO 400. Whether we used the flash or ambient light, our exposures were generally correct, though we noted a slight tendency toward underexposure. Very few artifacts and little color fringing occurred, but skin tones were occasionally reddish.
Like pictures with a lot of snap? The 735 gives you an extra helping of color.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33out of 33 user reviews
Good camera.
Pros: -I've dropped this camera several times on a hard floor, so its pretty well built (AT least thats my experience)
-Has lasted me...7 to 8 years and still working.
-Takes decent enough photos.
Cons: -After about 5 years the sound on videos stopped being hearable on the camera (but then once you upload them to a computer it works fine)
-After about 6 years, every so often the menu won't coorperate until a few days pass.
out of 33 user reviews
good camera
Pros: great shots, many different camera modes, great marco shots
Cons: slow (when taking the best quality of shots) , short battery life,
out of 33 user reviews
Inferior Performance from this Camera
Pros: Nice quality photos, durable design
Cons: Horrible Battery Life, Bad performance
out of 33 user reviews
This camera is great for beginners!
Pros: Easy to use, simple, good quality, good lense
Cons: BATTERY LIFE!
out of 33 user reviews
This is a very versatile camera
Pros: ease of use and clarity of pix
Cons: don't have any problems with this product.
out of 33 user reviews
this camera is all right
Pros: well i thought that the picture quality was good, and also that it is rather simple, good and easy unloading and editing program
Cons: The lcd slows way down when u move it around, and battery life is extremely short, big and not very good digital zoom
out of 33 user reviews
Solid Performance with no drama
Pros: Another typical well-thought out HP product
Cons: Most settings change back to their defaults when camera is shut off
out of 33 user reviews
fairly decent... until it broke right out of warranty!!
Pros: Took great shots outside, very easy to use, great short movie clips with good sound,
Cons: terrible shutter lag (my 7 yr old had to be constan tly reminded not to move while posing until I gave the word);not good with low light; bulky & clunky(Brownie look to it); NOT for action shots!
out of 33 user reviews
Great Camera, Great Value
Pros: Economical and Priced right
Cons: Have not found any drawbacks
out of 33 user reviews
great camera for great price
Pros: zoom, durability, many more
Cons: battery life
out of 33 user reviews
Excellent camera under $200
Pros: Macro mode, video with sound, solid construction, optical zoom, inexpensive
Cons: battery life, low on-board storage
I like being able to take video clips of my kids and send them home to grandma and grandpa without having to get another camera out. Having said that, do not expect the video quality to be near as good as a regular video camera, it's a bit grainy. The sound is ok, but it's in mono.
A set of NiMH batteries and charger is a must, as this camera tears through batteries pretty quickly.
Also, I added a 1GB SD card since the onboard memory could only hold 8 pictures in high quality.
All-in-all, I'm extremely happy with the picture quality, and the low on-board memory and short battery life are only mild inconveniences that can be adapted to with the right accessories.
out of 33 user reviews
Easy to use but breaks easily
Pros: Easy to use. Nice layout of buttons and menu. Great sharp 4"X6" prints, but fuzzy if you go any bigger. Great price for a 3.2MP. Great clear picture when there is plenty of light
Cons: Mine broke within a year. The battery latch won't stay closed. HP said it was not covered under them because they claimed I physically broke it. Not true while the batteries were charging in the camera they expanded and blew the lid open. Another down
out of 33 user reviews
video is selling point
Pros: video quality and video sound is excellent - i managed to get perfect footage of a gig even tho it was really loud..mic wasn't affected. good close ups - macro setting is good for this.
Cons: sometimes blurry pics. esp at night. doesn't take pics fast enough - takes time from when you click the button and the photo is taken, which can be frustrating. sometimes flash too bright.
out of 33 user reviews
Saving up for a new camera...
Pros: software isn't too bad. The camera can take some nice pictures. menus are good. the feel of the camera is also good.
Cons: image quality isnt the greatest a lot of the time. cant take pictures very quickly in succession. Terrible battery life as others have stated. movie quality isnt great. pics in the dark are grainy although it has that feature. dont bother with this o
out of 33 user reviews
Load up on Batteries!
Pros: Easy to use, buttons are well placed and intuitive and the software is well done.
Cons: Battery life is way too short. If you plan on taking more than 20 pictures bring extra batteries! A little too big for my taste. I was much happier with my old HP 310...
out of 33 user reviews
Easy to use, quality of pictures aren't so good
Pros: Really easy to use it.
Cons: The pictures taken at night aren't so good. Appear kind of blurry.
out of 33 user reviews
Poor battery life and image quality
Pros: very poor battery life - almost all pictures need to be edited for exposure and sharpness - screen clarity not that good - had to have camera replaced after 4 months for mechanical problems
Cons: easy to connect to computer and upload pictures
out of 33 user reviews
Slow to boot and slow to reset
Pros: Decent quality, easy controls, nice camera for casual pictures, particularly outdoor photos where there is plenty of natural light. The display is functional in size and the menu is fairly easy to navigate.
Cons: Slow to start up, so you may lose a chance to take the shot you want. Very difficult to take repeated shots quickly, when used in burst mode, pics are horribly blurry. I've not been thrilled with the quality of photos taken, BUT it is only a 3.2 mp. As
out of 33 user reviews
Very bad experience
Pros:
Cons: To start off, this camera runs out of battery EXTREMELY FAST. I was taking my fourth pictures and it was out of battery.The LCD display was not up to standards. It always gave me dark image. I would not recommend this product. So i switched for a NIKON co
out of 33 user reviews
Stop complaining about battery, noobs
Pros: I've played with MANY digital cameras. If you want a camera that doesnt eat so much battery, get an old one. A simple 2mp, no sound, no optical zoom. That will last your Energizer 100+ pictures. Now a days we have such super digital cameras with super fu
Cons: enhh at the top too
out of 33 user reviews
Great camera for the buck, some people may be frusterated with it's limited manual controls
Pros: Good price, not bad for a beginner to amature photographer. Durabalitie, i've droped my HP photosmart 735 MANY times before from around 3 feet.. still works great!
Cons: Short battery life(normal for most digital cameras) Lack of manual controls But for the price and features. i give this camera a 9/10
out of 33 user reviews
very very slow
Pros: nice daylight shots(very very good!). although like a con but one 3.1 mb mode with 3 quality settings is good.
Cons: bad night and low light shots without flash. does not take the picture when u touch button,has 2 sec delay. medium quality picture takes 15 seconds to write into memory, and at this time u cannot playback other shots (processing!!). USB 1.1, very slow.
out of 33 user reviews
NO BATTERY LIFE!!!
Pros: Very user friendly to even the novice photographer. It has many features, even red eye reduction.
Cons: You use it about 3 times with a memory card and it shuts down and displays low battery. Even after I put brand new and tested didgital batteries, it still dies!
out of 33 user reviews
Good Features, Lousy product
Pros: Nice features, easy to use.
Cons: BATTERY LIFE STINKS! This camera is worthless without a constant stream of power from an AC adapter. If you are converned about battery life, don't even bother with this thing.
out of 33 user reviews
Excellent Value for the Money....
Pros: Pentax Lens Excellent Photo Quality Ease of Use Got mine at Staples refurbished for $99.00. Can't beat the price.
Cons: Battery Life
out of 33 user reviews
I love this camera!!
Pros: Very easy to use. Mine came with a 4X6 printer which prints excellent pictures in minutes! Easy set and downloading of programs.
Cons: Shutter speed slow.
out of 33 user reviews
Not A Decent Investment
Pros: Not a very good investment for photographers
Cons: Short Battery Life <(Even with Flash turned Off) Flash is useless in warehouse settings (Raves) Almost 1 year and pictures contain alot of noise video feature no longer works properly (Compatability issues on many computers using software)
out of 33 user reviews
Takes Dark Photos Inside
Pros: Inexpensive Price. Good outside photos -- very colorful. Easy to use.
Cons: Interior photos taken from a distance are terrible. Took several photos of my daughter's swim meet and not a single image was usable.
out of 33 user reviews
U get what U pay for. It's CHEAP
Pros: Priced about right to give to your kids. If they break it, who cares?
Cons: Poor image quality. Poor color. Few features. Poor battery life. HP used to mean quality, but not any more. With Kodak, Minolta, Canon, etc. available for the same price with an extensive array of features and much better image quality, why would any
out of 33 user reviews
Used it for one week. Absolutly great camera! Must purchase NiMH batteries(4pack/charger$9@Wal mart)
Pros: Great user iterface thats easy to figure out. This camera does everything. Takes great Close-ups. Video works great and with a 128mb card you get 9min of video, 850 shots@1MP, 167@2MP or 87@3.2 MP. What is really nice is the design, fit and finish, and th
Cons: Batteries are under configured.
out of 33 user reviews
great camera great value great pics
Pros: Takes great pictues. Havn't noticed the oversaturattion of colors at all. If you follow directions and use NiHd batteries the life is great. all around great camera
Cons: not that i can think of
out of 33 user reviews
if it's free, take it
Pros: menu tree is pretty easy to navagate. Does connect direct to USB. Software included SEEMED to be helpfull
Cons: EXTREMELY!!! SHORT battery time. Camera not usable for close-ups using LCD and flash together over about 15 min. (about 20 pictures). Batteries that self-test good will fail in the camera after the onboard battery monitor says they are bad. My Fuji MX1200
out of 33 user reviews
#3 of 3 HP products I have bought that have turned out to be disappointments
Pros: features, size, viewfinder a nice help when used in extremely bright light (lcd screen tho, is brighter than most)
Cons: EXTREMELY short battery life (AC Adaptor use a MUST), exposure never seemed to be just right, best quality pix were not as good as my old Ricoh (350K pixels) dig. cam purchased YEARS ago, flash seemed a bit limited
