The HP R967 offers a set of
technical characteristics that are quite appealing for a compact
digital: a 10-megapixel sensor, a 3X optical zoom and a 3-inch
monitor.
The HP R967 is equipped with a complete range of capture
modes providing a lot of flexibility. Shutter and aperture
priority modes and a fully manual mode are included, as well
as 15 scene modes that offer varying degrees of automatism.
As soon as one uses
the R967, however, it is clear that it is not a fast camera.
It needs at least 3 seconds between power On and ready to shoot,
and the shutter lag is not negligible.
Aperture: f5, shutter speed: 1 sec., 100 ISO.
The shutter lag seems to be
linked to the autofocus, the latter taking time to settle
on the subject, and focus. Using 5 AF points aligned horizontally
in the middle of the frame, it appear sthat the autofocus
lacks not precision, but speed.
On the optics side, the 3X zoom of the R967 produces images
that show good sharpness through the focal length range, and
which are sharp even in the corners when the zoom is at the
wide angle end. Chromatic aberration is also rare, only showing
up occasionally on the edges of strongly contrasting areas.
Also notable is the absence of
barrel distortion in wide angle photos captured at standard
distances; and it is only with macro shots that it can be detected.
Similarly, images captured using the maximum telephoto reveal
no pincushion distortion.
Images are normally well exposed
using the default Average metering pattern. However,
when the subject presents contrasts that are too strong, the
metering tends to sacrifice details in the highlights first.
Then, the solution is to switch to Centre-weighted
or Spot metering, or, alternatively, to apply Exposure
Compensation as necessary.
The colours produced by the Auto white balance tend to be
very neutral, allowing for natural-looking colours without
any noticeable saturation dominance.
The small built-in flash of
the R967 outputs even light that is well adapted for fill-in
flash photography. Its power is sufficient to light an average
size room as long as the subject is not too dark. Should that
prove to be insufficient, the only other option is to increase
the sensitivity, which in turns increases the effectiveness
of the flash.
As a matter of fact, the sensor of the R967 appears to be
relatively sensitive to noise, as it starts to show in shadow
areas of images as of 100 ISO.
Increasing sensitivity to 200 ISO,
noise only increases marginally when compared to 100 ISO. At
400 ISO on the other hand, the highest sensitivity that can
be selected manually, noise is evident when images are inspected
at 100% scale on a monitor.
The image quality the 10-megapixel
CCD yields varies greatly with the compression used. The R967
provides 4-JPEG compression levels, each identified by a number
of stars. The highest image quality is obtained with the
compression, but it is only accessible as a custom option
of the image quality settings. At this level, images reveal
no compression artefacts, and retain a good overall sharpness.
However, as soon as the compression is increased, a commensurate
loss of details can be observed.
In the final analysis, the impression
one takes away after using this 10-megapixel compact is rather
mixed. While the maximum image size of this compact makes
it possible to crop out undesirable areas of images and then
print them to standard sizes 4 x 6 (10 x 15 cm), or 5 x 7
(13 x 18 cm), the fact is that most users will not fill albums
with 8.5 x 11 inches (A4 approximately) prints. However, the
physical dimensions of the CCD, and the number of pixels that
it supports makes it more prone to noise than a comparable
size sensor with fewer pixels. And since noise is inversely
proportional to the amount of the light available to the sensor,
the HP R967 will consistently yield better images when the
subject is well-lit.
With the R967, Hewlett Packard
follows the current market trend of offering more pixels,
irrespective of whether or not it is necessary. As long as
a fast response time from the camera is not a primary consideration,
the HP R967's flexible modes make it is a camera that will
satisfy more advanced compact users, while still being useable
and an excellent learning tool for novices thanks to its help
screens.
Image Quality
compression, but it is only accessible as a custom option
of the image quality settings. At this level, images reveal
no compression artefacts, and retain a good overall sharpness.
However, as soon as the compression is increased, a commensurate
loss of details can be observed.
