for the serious

I just recently got my hp photosmart 945, i love the design and the way it fits in your hand. I have to say i read the negative reviews before i got it, but since i never had a problem with my HP hardware, I decided to go for it anyways. It was the right thing to do, because I haven't got many of the problems that people comment about on this site; my camera seems to work just fine, and although the rechargeable batteries dont work quite as well as the ones specifically designed for digital cameras, their performance is still acceptable.

Now, I have to say it is true that, given a specific set of values, it takes the camera a while to take the picture, as the screen goes blank it is hard not to move and ruin the shot. However, it is also true that the same thing happens with the slow speeds on a Reflex, and its just a matter of practice until you get the precision you need in order not to ruin a shot, and if it never happens, you can always use a tripod! haha

What can I say, if you are either a starter, or a professional amateur, stay away from this camera and go for a Sony or Canon instead, which have similar features and near same quality. If you are like me, a student who requires the best PC-friendly camera, stay with HP. I'm sure you will love it.

I had a chance to compare this camera with Toshiba M700 and Kodak DX4690. I rate this camera as much ahead in image quality than two above, so that HP 945 comes at the top, then Toshiba M700 and the last one is Kodak DX6490. I haven't bought this camera at Amazon, I bought it at Business Depot. To be short, I would agree with almost all negative reviews about lacking some features in this camera but it does the job.
About a negative review given by Steven Kozuch. Steven, you probably got a camera with a manufacture defect. I had something like this with the first Kodak DX6490, everything was wrong and it was freezing every few minutes. The second one was okay. Steven, I tried to reproduce you problems and I couldn't. I had reviewed more than 300 pictures/images (from the internet, my friends and myself) taken by all three cameras and the HP 945 was the best. Indeed, non of the digital cameras can give you the same quality as a film camera in the same class, so you can really compare them when you have a chance to put one next to another under the same conditions.
The HP 945 was the fastest in getting focus and it was the best in white balance and it was the best in image quality and it was the best in taking pictures in low light and without any light at all (only flash).
Sure, there are better cameras, but as many people are excited about Kodak DX6490 I can say, take the pictures and compare them, be very picky about image quality, the rest you can live with.

I have probloms with getting indoor shots w/o the flash on. If I keep the flash off, all shots come out blury. And in museums or public places having the flash on isnt allowed, causing me too lose some good pictures. However, when I take outdoor pictures or use the flash indoors, they come out great; if I can hold the camera straight enough to get the shot. I love using the black and white, sepia features. great focous, has three second delay to shoot. Overall; good for childrens b-day parties or regular use where you wont get upset losing a few shots. In that case theres plenty of cheaper camera that have the same quality. The professionals are recomendin kodaic products in the digitals. I bought mine at another retailer w/ only a thirty day return policy and couldnt return it to upgrade.