HP PhotoSmart 945 5.3MP Digital Camera w/ 8x Optical Zoom

by HP

Product Details

Product Manual [2.85mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 3.4 x 4.8 x 3.4 inches ; 15.7 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000C8WLU
• Item model number: PS945
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,701 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 5, 2003

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The HP PhotoSmart 945, featuring an 8x optical zoom lens and a 7x digital zoom (for 56x total), is one of the most affordable "big zoom, big megapixel" digital cameras on the market. Geared for the advanced amateur, it features a 5.3-megapixel resolution, advanced photo features, and a wide variety of manual controls. But it also has such automatic features as an on-camera wizard for getting the best shot, direct printing, and HP's Instant Share.

Optics and Resolution
With its 5.3-megapixel resolution, you can snap bright, detailed images with the PhotoSmart 945 that can be enlarged to poster size. It features two resolution options: 2608 x 1952 (5 MP) and 1296 x 976 (1 MP). The Fuji Photo lens has an 8x optical zoom that's coupled with a 7x digital zoom for a 56x total zoom. It has a focal range of 7.6-61mm (35 mm equivalent: 37-300mm).

Movie Mode
In addition to taking still photos, the PhotoSmart 945 can also record up to 60-second movie clips with sound at a 288 x 208 pixel resolution. The QuickTime Motion JPEG format offers a limited resolution, which is great for capturing a short movie that can be e-mailed to friends and family, but is no replacement for a true camcorder.

More Features
The 945 also includes HP's new, exclusive Adaptive Lighting technology, which balances brightness relationships between bright and dark areas in a photo, preserving gentle contrasts but compressing harsh contrasts. With clear and easy to use "low", "high" and "off" settings, the camera automatically balances shots by lightening specific areas within a photograph.

HP's on-camera help allows you to access quick and clear guidance on how to take the best picture with the HP PhotoSmart 945 digital camera's wide ranging functions. In addition, its enhanced manual controls allow concurrent photos to be taken through "burst" mode without having to wait for the camera to prepare before each shot. Other available creative controls include aperture, ISO, shutter speed, exposure, white balance, color and sharpness

With HP's Instant Share feature, you can customize your camera with e-mail aliases and distribution lists of your family and friends. For each picture, you can designate up to 14 destinations, including e-mail addresses, compatible printers, and more.

Other features include:

• Large 2-inch LCD monitor
• Built-in flash with auto, on, off, night, and red-eye reduction modes
• Print photos directly to select HP PhotoSmart printers and all-in-one devices via include USB cable

Optional Camera Dock
The PhotoSmart 945 is also compatible with the HP PhotoSmart 8881digital camera dock, which enables you to easily transfer images to your PC or charge a set of included rechargeable batteries. Cutting down on desktop clutter, this convenient remote-controlled device enables you to easily transfer image files to your PC, print photos, or even view images on TV--all in one easy step

Storage and Transfer
The PhotoSmart 945 is compatible with Secure Digital (SD) MultiMedia (MMC) memory cards; a 32 MB SD card is included. When shooting in Best mode (2608 x 1952), you can store 11 images on the included memory card. Images can be downloaded to either a Mac or PC via USB 1.1, which means the camera can be connected to any USB-based Windows Me/2000/XP and Mac OS 8.6 or later computer without installing any software.

Power and Size
The camera is powered by 4 AA batteries (alkalines included, rechargeables recommended). It measures 4.84 by 3.35 by 3.35 inches and weighs 13.7 ounces excluding the batteries or 15.7 ounces when loaded with batteries.

What's In The Box
This package includes the HP PhotoSmart 945 digital camera, 32 MB SD memory card, neck strap, 4 AA alkaline batteries, USB cable for camera to PC, USB cable for camera to printer, and dock insert for use with optional HP PhotoSmart 8881 Camera Dock. It also comes with a CD-ROM featuring HP Photo & Imaging software for Microsoft Windows and Macintosh and ArcSoft Funhouse.

Product Description

5-megapixel effective recording * 8X optical/7X digital zoom (56X total) * JPEG resolution options: 2608 x 1952; 1296 x 976 * 2" color LCD viewscreen * LCD viewfinder *

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

79 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love this Camera!, October 4, 2003

By 

S. Campbell (West Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: HP PhotoSmart 945 5.3MP Digital Camera w/ 8x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

I've just purchased this camera and I love it! It takes me back to my 35mm SLR days. It is not a light-weight camera, but feels solid. Lots of features and beautiful prints. The shutter speed is a bit slow so you'll need a steady hand or tripod. But for the price and all of the extras it is excellent. I also purchased the docking station and it works like a breeze. I have an XP operating system and was able to set up in a matter of minutes.

50 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love the Zoom!!!, October 13, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: HP PhotoSmart 945 5.3MP Digital Camera w/ 8x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

I wanted a digital camera with a large zoom to replace my Nikon F50. The HP takes great picures and is very easy to use but the 8X optical zoom along with the electronic viewfinder makes this camera a great deal. Also put something in called Digital Flash on the menu. I am not sure how it works but brings out the details in shadows like no other camera I ahve ever used.

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very convenient, excellent qualitty images!, December 3, 2003

By 

D. Cernese (Pepperell, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: HP PhotoSmart 945 5.3MP Digital Camera w/ 8x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

I have been holding off buying another digital camera until the price tradeoff and quality was right. This was a good deal for the image quality and ease of use. The 8x optical zoom is a pleasure. With or without the Digital Flash feature, this camera does an amazing job figuring out appropriate lighting situations and adjusting accordingly. The macro mode delivers beautiful crisp close-ups.

I compared many shots at 5MP between the top two compression settings and it's very hard to tell the difference, both are excellent. It does not provide a "raw" format, however, but it does not seem necessary.

I'm disappointed is the slow reaction times after pressing the shutter. I knew this ahead of time, but you have to get used to it. This seems typical of affordable digital cameras. The autofocus speed is less than stellar. Also, the "burst" mode seems almost useless. It's a good idea, but because of variable focus time and SD-card write times between shots, you have no idea what's in frame or whether or not it's in focus. Again, only big-bucks gets past these issues.

I took several hundred photos on the first day, at least half of which were action shots outdoors in fading light. Most of them were surprisingly impressive quality and focus, only a few had out-of-frame or out-of-focus subject due to the shutter lag.

Overall, I'm very pleased. This camera will hold me long into the next generation of affordable digital cameras (I'm still drooling to replace my Nikon SLR, this camera does _not_ do that!).