HP Photosmart R937

HP has done a good job with the touch screen interface in terms of both organization and touch sensitivity. In the course of testing the R937, rarely had to hit an icon more than once to get a response.

And seldom touched the wrong command in error because it was set too close to the one wanted. If you have especially large fingers, you may find it helpful to use the little plastic stylus tab that comes attached to the camera's wrist strap.

The screen is viewable in all but extreme light conditions, and the camera doesn't eat up too much battery life. You shouldn't have any problem getting through at least a day of typical snapshot photography, and you can charge the R937 over its USB connection a nice option.

Aside from the shutter release and power button, there are few physical controls on the camera a display button that hides the touch screen icons, a mode switch that selects photo, video, or review and a zoom toggle. The toggle control is laid out vertically instead of horizontally, which may take some getting used to.

Not designed for photographers who prefer manual controls, the R937 is for those who'd rather just point the camera and press the shutter release. To this end, it offers 11 automatic photo capture modes and a video mode. Beyond these basic modes, there are just a few advanced tools for controlling exposure, such as auto bracketing and a spot meter.

Snapshot photographers who want to get the most out of their automatic options will be pleased with the help features HP provides. The included advice is more extensive than most, with items such as general photography tips and accessory information.

The features available in the R937's photo review (playback) mode are more noteworthy than most of its shooting mode options. For instance, the HP Design Gallery lets you make numerous in camera adjustments to color, brightness, and contrast cropping and other image parameters; and to apply a wide variety of effects and borders.

What's nice about the effects is that the look of each one can be adjusted with on screen sliders, and multiple effects can be applied to an image at once. You can, for example, take a photo and turn it into a dark blue sketch on a light blue background with some atmospheric blurring around the edges.

To appease your vanity, the Design Gallery includes tools for minimizing blemishes that you can select on the touch screen, and there's even a slimming effect. The results of the blemish correction feature won't get you a job as a photo retouched, but they'll generally improve images printed and displayed at smaller sizes.