HP 318 2MP Digital Camera

by HP

Product Details

Product Manual [4.53mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 1.7 x 4.5 x 2.7 inches ; 6.4 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B00005OUJW
• Batteries: 4 AA batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,222 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 20, 2001

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT BUY, January 13, 2002

By 

Lee (Windber, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: HP 318 2MP Digital Camera (Electronics)

I spent months researching digital cameras before deciding on the HP 318, and the time spent was well worth it. The camera itself is little, but is big on quality and features. I love the 2X zoom, and the full-color preview screen provides good display clarity, plus the ability to magnify the displayed image. Using the features built into the camera is incredibly user-friendly, too. Even if you've never used a digital camera before, you won't find this one difficult to use, but that's not to imply that this camera is in any way 'simplistic' when it comes to quality. You'll also have a hard time finding another camera that provides 2.31 MP for the same price. I recommend buying a 64MB flash card to go with it. At the lowest quality setting, you'll be able to store nearly 1,000 pics on it (another great feature about this camera- you have 3 quality settings to choose from). All in all, one of the best investments I've ever made.

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent entry level digital camera, November 19, 2001

By 

Lawrence Bond - See all my reviews

This review is from: HP 318 2MP Digital Camera (Electronics)

Great for the beginner. Clarity of prints is excellent at 4x6 and even 5x7. Very user friendly. The software is excellent and is my preference to make quick adjustments, crop, and print into album pages and varied size prints. The only down side is the lag between shots but this is a small inconvenience considering the quality and price. The best pics come from inside day shots. Outside, the camera has some difficulty deciding on exposure given varied light intensity. Inside night shots have somewhat the same problem but they are still quite acceptable though one needs to almost use the LCD to get a clearer perspective of what you will get. This camera is actually fairly easy on batteries. I can get 500+ shots per set of batteries.

I did upgrade to a Nikon Coolpix 880 within a few months of buying the camera so if you are an intermediate photographer you'll probably not want to start here. Still I won't sell mine as it is a great backup camera. For most novice's I'd recommend it.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth It, December 2, 2001

By 

Paul Frandano (Reston, Va. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: HP 318 2MP Digital Camera (Electronics)

After a few weeks, I like the 318 just fine. It is, however, a tremendous battery pig, as all the digital cameras are, and you'll need to pick up the 8 rechargeable batteries and a charger. This'll run you 40 simolians. Litium AA batteries are about 10 bucks a quartet, so you'll be ahead of the game by Xmas if you get the rechargeables. You might also want to get a 32 or 64 meg flashcard. I want one, but I haven't got it yet--I'm still playing around and getting used to digital photography.

One thing that astonishes me is the tremendous light sensitivity of this system; if you play around with the autofocus (that is, if you learn how to manipulate what the camera thinks it wants to do), you can literally, faithfully, and often very dramtically, shoot the light you see. This is probably characteristic of all digital cameras, but I LOVE the chiaroscuro effects this one captures.

Mild gripes: at the lowest resolution (there are 3 settings options), the 2x "zoom" (which doesn't scale out, it just pops out to 2x--hence "zoom" is a misnomer) is useless and pixilates ridiculously. And it takes some time to get used to the fact that the camera will take a second or two--literally--to focus, and it won't let you snap off a shot in virtually real time unless you're already depressing the button for focus. And it's clear that HP low-balled the market with this system because they plan on selling you a big box of exorbitantly (yes, exorbitantly) priced accessories--wait until you get a load of the catalogue HP includes in the packaging.

But the camera is nice, the softward and cable are useful, and the price is spot on. Recommended.