HP Photosmart R847 review

Image quality
Unfortunately, the R847's photos disappoint just as much as its performance impresses. Unacceptable levels of noise appear even at ISO 100. If you dare hit ISO 800 or ISO 1,600, grain utterly consumes any and all detail in your shot. The R847's predecessor could only reach ISO 400, and now we know why: photos taken at higher sensitivity levels look horrible.

Shooting speed (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Typical shot-to-shot time

Time to first shot

Shutter lag (typical)

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T20

1.3

1.3

0.4

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W80

1.2

1.8

0.6

Kodak EasyShare C875

1.4

2

0.2

HP Photosmart R847

1.3

1.9

0.5

HP Photosmart R837

1.6

2.5

0.5

Besides noise, the R847's shots suffered from some painful distortion. Wide-angle shots balloon out comically, while telephoto shots pinch inward. In the end, while you can coax the camera into grabbing decent shots at ISO 100, it simply misses far more than it hits.

Conclusion
With its disappointing picture quality, the HP Photosmart R847 simply isn't a very good camera. It might be well-designed, and it might shoot quickly but those boons just can't make up for its horribly noisy, distorted photos.

Additional editing by Shannon Doubleday