Hewlett Packard - Photosmart E317 Digital Camera Review

When I first received my HP - Photosmart E317 Digital Camera as a gift from my husband a year or so ago, I was thrilled! I wanted a digital camera for so long. I have always loved taking pictures and now having two children and a crazy dog, I had so much more to capture. After about six months, I wasn't so thrilled.

About the HP - PhotoSmart Digital Camera 

This Hewlett-Packard digital camera has a built in flash and comes with a 5 MP optical sensor resolution, 2332 x 1740 effective pixel count, 16 MB internal flash memory, 1.5-inch color LCD and a slot for memory card secure digital (SD) or multimedia card (MMC) memory card. Digital zoom is 4 x, optical zoom is 1 x and has exposure control types of landscape, portrait mode, action and sunset.

My Experience

What I like:

• This camera was affordable at around $120 about a year and a half ago. It's even less expensive now. 
• It is lightweight and compact enough to carry around or throw in my purse.
• It's pretty much a simple point and shoot camera so it's quite easy to use.
• It only takes two double A batteries and the battery life seems to last a fair amount of time.
• I also like that I'm able to take video clips with audio.

What I don't like:

• The number one most annoying thing that I dislike about this camera is that just as I get ready to take my picture, the camera shuts off. I have no idea if it's a battery saver and turns off after a certain amount of time or if it has something to do with the battery compartment not shutting securely. When the screen goes black, I have slide the camera back and forth to get it to restart.
• The second most annoying thing is the delay between the time I snap the photo and the time it actually takes to capture the picture. 
• For some reason when I take pictures of people, there is usually red eye.
• The video clips a grainy and not very clear.

My Final Viewpoint     

The HP - Photosmart E317 Digital Camera has its good points but the bad points really do outweigh the good. I can't tell you how many shots I've missed because of the delay or because the camera decided to shut itself off. It is very frustrating to say the least. I really wouldn't recommend it and I am only giving it a 2 star rating.