Customer Reviews

HP PhotoSmart 435 3.1MP Digital Camera

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

I love doing product reviews. I like to think, while writing one, that I am actually talking to someone, telling them about the product in question. And as a reviewer, there are some companies whose products I love to review. Hewlett-Packard (HP) is one such company. I have had a long and happy relationship with every HP product I have used and reviewed over the last decade. So it saddens me when, after testing the HP Photosmart 435 digital camera, it came time to write this review.

The Photosmart 435 is a 3.34MP digital camera that you can also use to take small Quick-Time movies with. While not a large camera, the Photosmart 435 is by no means tiny. It fits easily in a purse, but not in the pocket of your pants. (Unless you are wearing cargo pants.)

The camera is not stylish, but rather plain and boxy. This works for me, as I don't always want to call attention to my camera. It does not look expensive, and at $149 (US) it is not. If anything, the design reminds me of a 110 Film camera I owned in my teenage years. It has that feel in my hands, very familiar.

Operation is simple. Slide the lens cover, which doubles as the on/off switch, and take a picture. There are a variety of options, from picture quality, shutter speed, flash, red-eye flash, zoom, and most of the other features every digital camera sports. So far so good.

The Photosmart 435 has 3.34MP resolution at its highest quality setting. As I already own a 3.1MP camera (The Kodak DX3900) I had an idea what to expect in image quality. In fact, I was expecting somewhat better looking photos with the Photosmart 435, being a higher resolution camera. I was sorely mistaken. The image quality, most times, is decent to good. However, the quality of the pictures is not at all consistent. I found that out of ten pictures taken indoors under normal lighting conditions, eight of the ten photos would be of decent quality, while the other two would be very poor. I don't know why the image quality is so unpredictable with this camera, but after extensive testing, I would personally not use this camera.

Also like most digital cameras, the Photosmart 435 has an image display viewfinder. The 1.5-inch LCD is used to set options, review pictures or movies, and can be used instead of the optical viewfinder. For those who hate looking through the tiny optical viewfinder when taking pictures, the image display viewfinder is a much better choice.

The problem here is the quality of the Photosmart 435's 1.5-inch LCD display. It is far and away the worse I have ever used. In live mode, the display is a green and blurry mess, all but unusable. In picture review mode, it is somewhat better, but still far and away sub-par to any other digital camera I have used in the past.

One of the biggest disadvantages is the zoom. There is no optical zoom on the Photosmart 435, but rather digital. A digital zoom is always sub-par than a optical zoom, and that is true here as well. The 5X Digital zoom works as advertised, but any picture zoomed became pixilated and not at all sharp. After playing with the various settings, I found that if I had to zoom up on an object with the Photosmart 435, it simply was not worth taking the picture.

Taking photos of objects in motion, even a slow walking cat, really showed the Photosmart 435's shortfall. After taking pictures of a cat in both normal and action shutter speed mode, the pictures were blurry and unusable.

The big test, however, came when I gave the camera to our eight-year-old daughter, Brittaney, and told her to take pictures around the yard of anything she wanted to. The conditions were very cold, around thirty degrees and frosty, but the sun was very bright and the fall colors look beautiful. Brittaney took a total of 17 pictures. One of the first problems I noticed was that every other picture had a nice close-up of a finger. Because the lens on the Photosmart 435 is receded, it is very easy to block the lens with your hand while taking a picture. Camera's that have a lens housing that sticks out some, extends from the camera body itself, usually prevents this. The pictures she took, about ten, that was unobstructed by a finger, came out blurry or the camera had too much light. Different setting made no difference.

The Photosmart 435 does come with 16MB of internal memory, so you will not have to run out and buy extra storage. However, today, 16MB will quickly prove too small. It is nice, though, that the 16MB is internal, not a card that you will toss out when you upgrade to a 256MB memory card. This is great if, by chance, you fill your memory card up and still need to take a few pictures. I wish more digital camera's would have internal, built-in memory. Unfortunately, you can use one storage device at a time. If you have a memory card installed, the internal storage will not work. The Photosmart 435 takes the smaller SD / MMC Memory cards, not Compact Flash.

The Photosmart 435 ships with its own software solution, HP Director, which you can use to store and transfer pictures. While the software does work fine, I preferred using iPhoto. The Photosmart 435 works perfectly well with iPhoto, as expected. But if you use the Photosmart 435 to take video with, you will need to use the HP Director software to capture that file from the camera, as iPhoto will not work. Also, the HP software does not find the Photosmart 435 when running Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther) but does under 10.2. If you do buy this camera, look for an update to their software if you are running 10.3. As I type of this review, there is no update for the HP software. In fact, I have not seen anything on the HP website that indicated you can download updates. The only option I have found is to order a CD-ROM.

The video capture feature is more gimmick than anything. The clips are small, grainy, and not worth using to record your important memories with. But it is fun! My kids liked the ability to capture video and audio using the Photosmart 435. I have less worry letting them practice being the next Spielberg with this camera than I do turning over my Canon Camcorder to them. All the video recorded can be used in iMovie, so this is a neat and fun way to let kids learn the basics of shooting video and editing in iMovie.

Unfortunately, the Photosmart 435 is a sub-par digital camera. The price, at US $149, makes it inexpensive. Simply reading the specifications in its documentation would sounds like a great deal: 3.34MP, internal 16MB of memory, able to capture video and audio, a 1.5-inch LCD, the ability to use an optional dock, and an optional AC adapter, and more. The reality is that the Photosmart 435 has horrible power consumption (I used three sets of batteries in one week of testing, a total of around 100 pictures!) sub-par picture quality, and a near-useless LCD display.

I am disappointed with the Photosmart 435. I expect much better from HP. I am hoping that the next HP camera we review will better meet my expectations of quality HP products. The Photosmart 435 does not feel or operate at the expected quality of an HP product.

MyMac Rating: 2 out of 5

Tim Robertson

If you're looking for a camera with lots of creature features and super clear pics, look elsewhere. This is a basic camera, with the right amount of features for the price. It's a good starter camera, but do not expect to use alkaline batteries with this one. You WILL NEED 2100mah or better AA NiMH rechargeables. It does have decent battery life with a set of those, but for all day shooting, I'd recommend carrying at least an extra pair of these batteries. The software that comes with the camera has good features for a beginner. If you're looking to do professional pix with this camera...FORGET IT. If you want something that will take acceptable pictures for digital storage or email, then this camera will fill the bill. It does decent 640x480 video with audio, with a 256MB SD card, it will give you about 20 minutes (provided your batteries do not run out first).

I agree with other reviewers who found this to be a well-priced, but underperforming camera. I received this camera as a gift, and decided to keep it to supplement at Kodak DX6490. Of course, there's no comparison in terms of quality and performance (or price), but the standout features of the HP are worth mentioning.

First of all, this is a nice pocket camera, except that the sliding lens cover (& power switch) is altogether too easy to open. On a couple of occasions, I've downloaded pictures of the inside of my jacket pocket. Other than that, the size is right.

The camera runs through batteries like a Suburban runs through gasoline - if you buy this camera, get it with a recharger & several spares. The battery indicator on my camera is also a little fickle - I don't know that I've every seen it showing a full charge. Of course, the LCD display can be turned off to conserve battery life, etc., but it really is quite quick to consume juice.

The picture quality is excellent for the size and price. I really have no complaints with the digital zoom's quality, but its performance leaves a lot to be desired. The digital zoom is slow, and the control is unwieldy.

One other irritating feature is the USB port on the side, which is covered by a fairly rigid piece of rubber. This makes connecting the camera a two-handed operation - and it can be a little bit frustrating to try to connect it in a hurry. I imagine that the Photosmart dock would be preferable, but my DX6490 came with a dock and I'm not in a hurry to buy another.

I haven't used the software yet, since the Kodak software works so well, and iPhoto on my Mac works beautifully with both the Kodak & HP, but the rest of the HP imaging suite (image editor, scanner & print software) works pretty well when it isn't leaking memory (HP has a fix for this, but the download is huge & I can't be bothered ordering the CD).

Overall, this is a nice camera to keep in the car, in a pocket, or in a briefcase - but it's not the camera I would choose for challenging or critical photography.

this is a really sexy little camera. hp's nicest looking attempt at digital photography, this lil guy looks far more expensive than he really is. however, the HP name is not synonymous with image quality. when compared with canon's 3.2mp a300, the hp 435 may look like its competition, but it won't act like it. on best mode, there's really no comparison in quality - the canon wins hands down. however, for the price, and ease of use, this HP wins.

Pros:
-one sexy camera
-lightweight

-looks like it cost $500
-fast shutter speed
-long movie clips w/ sound
-2 second bootup time
-USB storage device mode
-battery life is decent
-white balance/ev compensation
-software is a no brainer
-inexpensive

Cons:
-3-4 second image processing time on best mode
-digital zoom is useless
-image quality could use improvement

if you're considering the hp 320, spend a lil more and get this camera instead. if you're considering the more expensive canon a300, then get that because the quality is there. the hp 435 is your basic point and shoot camera with decent quality dressed up in a sexy outfit. it gets 4 stars because its sexy! but image quality is a 3. so in reality, this camera is a 3.5.

Advantages:
Price- For the price, I guess that this could be considered a decent camera. But this camera is definitely a case of getting what you pay for.
Size- This camera easily fits into a purse or a coat pocket, which is typically important to the point and shoot consumer.

Disadvantages:
Photo clarity-it seems that HPs target market is the beginning digital user, however, I am guessing that they also assumed that for the price, this beginning user 1. should not expect much and 2. would not know enough about digital technology to know the difference. The quality of the photos that this camera produces is not nearly as good as the 2.1 megapixel camera that my parents use for taking photos of the grandkids.

Zoom: again, given the price, I have to qualify with the fact that one shouldn't exactly expect a state of the art experience. However, HP should have just left the zoom feature out altogether. You may be able to get a relatively decent photo at 1X (even relative to the subpar quality of the photos with no zoom) anything higher than that and you will have to pull out grandma's bifocals to get rid of the fuzz.

HP Product Presentation - If HP had just come clean and called the camera what it really is, something for your pre-teen to use to take photos of kids with braces at the movies, then I would not have been as disappointed. The fact that this is advertised as a 3.3MP camera and a camera that will take great pictures could be considered false advertising.

This one will definitely be heading back east to the 13 year old niece to use with her friends, where it belongs.

I think the key here is to evaluate your expectations, and this camera meets my expectations and then some. Seems like some of the reviewers on here are scolding hp for creating a camera targeted at the "snapshot" crowd. If you bought a $25 Forman grill and expected it to do a pig roast you'd be disapointed too. Look back at the pictures your parents took of you when you were a baby, its likely that the hp435 is a big step up. I like the ease of use, and the superior printing to the digital camera I bought 5 years ago, and the battery drainage is drastically overdraumatized, I got aquainted with the new camera on the included batteries and in future plan to use the rechargables i bought with the camera, because again, I EXPECTED IT TO DO THAT. if you want a magazine cover outcome, keep shopping, but if you want a fun little camera that is surprisingly flexable and has a lot of bang for the buck, you're here.

HP PhotoSmart 433/435 (same camera, two different model numbers) is a superb 3MP digital camera.

Pro's,
0. Fits easily in any pocket.
1. Feels great in hand, solidly built and looks sexy.
2. Picture quality in day light is awesome, average in low light.
3. Prints from 3MP come sharp even at 8"x10" size.
4. Sliding lens cover protects the lens against damage.
5. Uses standard SD card media and has internal memory to store more pictures.
6. Has TV-out & USB ports.
7. 5x zoom to get you closer to your subject.
8. Uses standard AA battery cells and takes about 300 pictures on a single charge!
9. Stong flash and almost no redeye.
10. Extremely fast to startup and very little shutter lag.
11. Very easy to use menus and user friendly design.
12. Playback mode is fast and menus are very reposive.

Con's,
0. It doesn't come with rechargeable batteries, so buy 2 pairs at any local store.
1. No free prints offer from hp.

In short if you are looking for a small, easy to use and reliable digital camera then HP 433/435 is perfect. Its one of the best digital camera's of 2003. Thanks hp!

i have tested a few low budget digital cams (kodak cx6200 (awful), HP 620 (bad pictures), canon a300 (also a great cam) and the fujifilm a205 (too much price for what you get) and i don't understand the problems with the quality of the pictures. the hp 435 can make very beautiful and clear pictures, very sharp and colourfull (30bit!). you must have 2100 mah nimh batteries, then you can take a lot of pictures (about 450!!!) with TFT screen turned on.
-??????????LCD viewfinder shows everything in yellow and moves in slow motion, so you really don't have an idea of exactly what you are taking a picture of??????????- i think it's a joke or something, my viewfinder is good, good colours and no slow motion.
in my opinion the hp 435 is a great cam with great futures and beautiful and very sharp pictures. fast picture taken and video with sounds (it's just for fun).
with the 3.14 CCD the 5x zoom is good to use. software is very friendly to use.
and the price..........

(sorry for my english, I know it's not very good)

The Photosmart 435 is one of the lowest priced 3 megapixel cameras in the market. It combines ease of use, high-quality materials, and diminuitive size with all the features you would come to expect in this price range. One of the nicest features is video recording capability with sound limited only by camera memory.

This is an ideal second or spare camera. With the low cost of ownership, you can feel free taking the Photosmart 435 along on those trips where you would think twice taking your $500+ camera. This camera would make a great gift for teenagers and students. Forgo any HP accessories, and just pick up some decent rechargeable batteries and a case.

HP created the 435 by omitting the most costly features. What you won't find here are an optical zoom lens and the normal bundled accessories (such as rechargeable batteries, memory cards, cases, AC/DC charging adapters, etc). The Photosmart 435 also sacrifices high-quality imaging in favor of lower cost, so don't expect archival digital images. If you consider the cost of the camera, then the images are more than adequate and well suited for email and web pages.

this is a really sexy little camera. hp's nicest looking attempt at digital photography, this lil guy looks far more expensive than he really is. however, the HP name is not synonymous with image quality. when compared with canon's 3.2mp a300, the hp 435 may look like its competition, but it won't act like it. on best mode, there's really no comparison in quality - the canon wins hands down. however, for the price, and ease of use, this HP wins.

Pros:
-one sexy camera
-lightweight

-looks like it cost $500
-image quality is pretty good
-fast shutter speed
-long movie clips w/ sound
-2 second bootup time
-USB storage device mode
-battery life is decent
-white balance/ev compensation
-software is a no brainer
-inexpensive

Cons:
-3-4 second image processing time on best mode
-digital zoom is useless
-image quality could use improvement

if you're considering the hp 320, spend a lil more and get this camera instead. if you're considering the more expensive canon a300, then get that because the quality is there. the hp 435 is your basic point and shoot camera with decent quality dressed up in a sexy outfit. it gets 4 stars because its sexy! but image quality is a 3. so in reality, this camera is a 3.5.