HP PhotoSmart 618HP's capable mid-level model offers 2.1 megapixels, an optical zoom lens, and ease-of-use.<<Video, Power, Software :(Previous) | (Next): Reference: Datasheet>> Page 12:Test Results & ConclusionReview First Posted: 03/19/2001 |
Test Results
In keeping with our standard policy, our comments here are rather condensed, summarizing our key findings: For a full commentary on each of the test images, see the PhotoSmart 618's "pictures" page.
As with all Imaging Resource camera tests, we encourage you to let your own eyes be the judge of how well the devices performed. Explore the images on the pictures page, to see how well the 618 performed, and how its images compare to other cameras you may be considering buying.
Overall, the 618's white balance system did a pretty good job: It did better than average with the difficult incandescent lighting of our indoor portrait shot (leaving only a very slight greenish cast in the images), and turned in about an average performance on the rest of our test shots. The white balance showed some tendency to change with exposure compensation settings, particularly in the Indoor Portrait and Closer Portrait test shots. but this didn't prove to be a significant problem. We did notice that the 618's white balance usually produced either slightly cool or slightly warm results. The deviations were never extreme, but we felt if it could only have "split the difference" somehow, it would have been consistently very accurate. Still, overall color looked quite good in most shots, with relatively good accuracy, though slightly weak saturation levels. Bright red objects, such as the red flower in the Outdoor Portrait and the large, red color block of the Davebox, often had a pixelated appearance, a not-uncommon effect in digicams we've tested. The strongest instance is in the Outdoor Portrait, where pixels are very distinct along the edges of the red petals. The other large color blocks of our Davebox test target appeared nearly accurate (though the cyan and kelly green blocks are a little weak). The 618 manages to distinguish between the red and magenta color blocks on the middle, horizontal color chart (which is a common problem area for many digicams), and picks up the variations of the Q60 chart all the way to the "B" range. Overall, we felt the 618 showed fairly good color, despite the warm and cool color casts and somewhat low saturation.
In our "laboratory" resolution test, the PhotoSmart 618 turned in only an average performance among two megapixel cameras, with resolution of about 600-650 lines per picture height in both horizontal and vertical directions. Beyond the absolute resolution figures, the image showed an overall softness that we observed in most of our other test shots. The detail is there, we suspect there's just a tad too little in-camera image sharpening being applied.
Optical distortion on the 618 is about average at the wide angle end, where we measured an approximate 0.7 percent barrel distortion. The telephoto setting produced much better results, as we saw only a half pixel of pincushion distortion or less, which was too small to measure. Chromatic aberration is low, showing about a two pixels of faint coloration on each side of the black target lines. (This distortion is visible as a very slight colored fringe around the objects at the edges of the field of view on the resolution target.)
We found the 618's optical viewfinder to be a little tight, showing approximately 80.3 percent of the wide angle view at the 1,600 x 1,200 resolution size, and approximately 80.5 percent of the image at the 800 x 600 resolution size. The optical viewfinder remains tight at the telephoto setting as well, showing approximately 81.25 percent of the image area at the 1,600 x 1,200 resolution size, and about 81.16 percent at the 800 x 600 resolution size. The LCD monitor fared slightly better, showing approximately 98.5 percent of the image area at wide angle, for both resolution sizes. However, the LCD's frame accuracy became a little loose at the telephoto end of the zoom range, showing approximately 98.4 percent of the image area at the 1,600 x 1,200 resolution size, and about 98.16 percent at the 800 x 600 resolution size. We say "loose" because the heavy black lines we use for measurement are just barely out of frame with the telephoto LCD shots. We determined the frame accuracy by measuring vertical line on the right side of the images, which is just barely cut off at the bottom of the frame. Given that we like to see LCD monitors as close to 100 percent accuracy as possible, the 618 still does a good job. (Just remember to frame a little extra into your telephoto shots when using the LCD monitor.)
The 618 performs very well in the macro category, capturing a minimum area of just 1.47 x 1.11 inches (37.43 x 28.07mm). Detail and resolution both look great, with the intricate details of the brooch completely visible and fairly sharp. We can even see the tiny fibers of the gray background. Color balance is a little warm from the automatic white balance setting. Noise is very low, and only faintly visible in the gray background. The 618's built-in flash does a good job of throttling down for the macro area, cooling the color balance slightly, but producing fairly even illumination throughout the image. The details of the dollar bill are crisper in the flash exposure, though the brooch and coin details soften slightly.
The 618 performs reasonably well in the low-light category, as we were able to obtain a bright, clear image only as low as one foot-candle (11 lux). The target was still visible at light levels from 1/2 to 1/16 of a foot-candle (5.5 to 0.67 lux), but with a strong orange cast and much higher noise levels. (You could arguably still use images at the 1/2 and 1/4 of a foot-candle light levels, despite the noise and color cast.) Noise level remains low from the one foot-candle light level and up, though it increases with each darker light level from 1/2 of a foot-candle on down, becoming moderately high at 1/16 of a foot-candle. (We direct readers to Mike Chaney's excellent Qimage Pro program, for a tool with an amazing ability to remove image noise without significantly affecting detail.) To put the 618's low-light performance into perspective, an average city night scene under modern street lighting corresponds to a light level of about one foot-candle, so the camera should be able to handle most average nighttime city shots pretty well.
Overall, the 618 proved to be a "middle of the road" camera, apart from it's much better than average macro performance. Color is consistent and accurate, if slightly understated. Resolution is about average for a two megapixel camera. As noted the macro performance is better than average. We see the 618 as a solid, consistent performer, distinguished mainly by the easy-to-learn user interface provided by its Digita operating system, and the good package of software that accompanies it.
Conclusion
A 2.11-megapixel CCD, expanded feature set, and more extensive exposure controls make the PhotoSmart 618 a good midrange addition to Hewlett-Packard's digicam line. While we're not crazy about the Digita user interface, which we feel nests too many important camera functions too deeply within the LCD menu system, we do have to admit that everything is presented in a clear, highly understandable fashion. Its easy-to-use automatic mode and more advanced exposure options like aperture and shutter priority, make the 618 a good choice for novice digital photographers who want to buy a camera that will grow with them. On the image quality front, the PhotoSmart 618 does quite well. Overall, it is a worthy competitor in the 2-megapixel-with-zoom digicam category, and certainly worth consideration for anyone shopping for a good all-around performer in that resolution range.
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