What a "GREAT" Camera!
This is one of the BEST looking/feeling Camera I have ever had - it does "NOT" have that Cheap Look to it like so many do - it is easy to use & the pictures are 'Nice' looking! It is such a 'great' Camera that I bought my Dad one - he LOVES it! Since, there is Miles between me & my Parents we send photo's often to each other. So, if anyone is looking into buying one of these - DO IT - You won't be Sorry :-)
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It's been a great camera!
I bought this camera for Christmas in 1999, not sure whether or not I would like a digital camera. Since that time, I've taken more pictures than I ever have before. I've used it to take snapshots, pictures of my family for my web pages, Christmas cards, even with a tripod for a family picture, using the self-timer. Sure, now, there are newer cameras with better resolution and more features, and I would like to own one of those, also, but I can't see living without this. It's so easy to use, and it has stood the test of time.
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Great, hard working camera!
I have purchased five of the HP C200 cameras over the past few years - one for each member of the family plus a spare to keep in the car. They are easy to use, feel more like a "real" camera than some lightweight digitals, and are very sturdy. Using highest resolution the photos print out great. (I send to Wal-Mart so not expensive either.) I highly recommend this camera; of course, I don't think it's produced any more!
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Reasonable for its time, now outdated
Pros:
Decent quality still shots- seems best for landscapes
Simple operation if not trying to alter settings
Quick 'start' time if in viewfinder mode
Cons:
Poor quality motion shots
Poor and difficult to use zoom
Poor resolution/low number of pictures able to take at high resolution (given recommended memory cards)
Poor battery life with LCD
Hard to read Status screen
Photo load time (time for one picture to save so that you can take another) seems to vary, usually long (5-6sec) if trying to take subsequent shots
Compatibility with higher memory (greater than 32MB) questionable
Doesn't seem to have 'automatic adjustment' mode for light conditions
Take home message: This camera may have been good in its day, but for the price of $200, ones with much better resolution and zoom can be bought.
Several years ago, we got two of these cameras as our first digital camera purchases. After a few outings, I became frustrated at the battery life since I tended to leave the camera open with LCD on to be 'picture ready'. In a more recent outing I restricted to mostly viewfinder use and got much better battery life - although the batteries are still a pain to change, since two of the four have to be slid into/out of the body (and don't always slide properly onto the battery remover strip). After being disappointed with image quality, I started using greater resolution (3 modes available) but had to get larger memory cards - eventually buying a 64MB card. There was one or two occasions after downloading pictures that this card was not recognized by the camera, but could be fixed by formatting the card after picture download - of course if you don't check the card's readiness before you leave your computer behind, you might get stuck with a useless card. I usually use the middle quality setting as a compromise between memory card space and picture quality. I have been able to get some decent landscape pictures but haven't been able to get true action pictures that aren't blurry. However, I was able to get some decent pictures in a recent helicopter ride, despite the fact that the helicopter was moving (best pictures were at a slow pace). To avoid power loss during picture download, I bought a separate card reader, rather than fooling with power adapters. The flash is difficult to turn off since you have to press the flash setting button several times, this is made even more troublesome if you are in low light and can't read the top 'settings' screen. This was made most apparent to me in a recent trip to an aquarium, where lights were dim for easier viewing of animals that prefer dim light, and I couldn't use flash because of glare on the glass. The camera also does not 'remember' that I had turned the flash off if I turned it off and turned it back on. To use the digital zoom, you have to open the camera, turn on the LCD, and click "2X zoom". Even after that hassle, objects tend to look far away. Newer cameras usually have zoom buttons or wheels that make zoom much easier, and 3X is often considered 'baseline'.
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