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More…The 6-megapixel HP Photosmart M537 is a basic point-and-shoot camera with a 3X zoom, a 2.5-inch LCD, and a very low cost ($130 as of 5/10/07). On the surface, the M537 offers an adequate number of features for the price, such as in-camera red-eye removal, a maximum sensitivity of ISO 800, and image stabilization.
HP Photosmart M537 Digital Camera (6.1MP, 2864x2152, 3x Opt, 16MB Internal Memory, SD/MMC Card Slot)
- Spec Navigator
- Digital Format
- Display
- Exposure
- Image Processor
- Included Software
- Lens
- Shutter
- Storage
- LCD Screen
- Exposure Controls
- Dimensions
- Power
- Flash
- Lens Features
- Connectivity
- Other Features
Image Processor
| Number of image sensor pixels | 6 megapixels |
| Image sensor | CCD |
| Maximum horizontal image resolution | 2848 |
| Maximum vertical image resolution | 2128 |
| Image sensor quantity | 1 |
| Image format | JPEG |
| White balance | 0 |
Lens
| Accessory Lens | No |
| Lens Model | HP Precision Lens |
| Telephoto Aperture Maximum | 4.8 mm |
| Wide-Angle Aperture Maximum | 2.8 mm |
Exposure Controls
| Maximum shutter speed | 1000 |
| Minimum shutter speed | 1 |
| Bulb setting | 0 |
| ISO equivalencies |
|
| Exposure settings | 0 |
| Exposure compensation range | 0 |
| Number of scene modes | 9 |
- Lab Tested
- How We Test Point-and-Shoot Cameras »
Pros
Anti-shake mode
Generous software bundle
Cons
Disappointing image quality
Few manual controls
Bottom Line
This basic camera offers an anti-shake mode and a generous software bundle, but its image quality was disappointing.
HP Photosmart M537
Photosmart M537 Digital Camera (6.1MP, 2864x2152, 3x Opt, 16MB Internal Memory, SD/MMC Card Slot) Review, by Eric Butterfield June 14, 2007
However, in our lab tests, the M537 earned an overall score of Poor for image quality, the lowest for any recently tested digital camera; it also earned some of the lowest recent scores for both color and exposure accuracy, and its images, which didn't look very sharp, suffered from more distortion than those of other models.
In my informal use, I found that the M537 could take attractive outdoor shots in afternoon daylight, but it proved less capable in low light. The camera offers a maximum of ISO 800 for shooting in low light--but you'll have to rely on the camera to pick the ISO for you because you can't select it yourself in the menus. This was something I wished I could have been able to do when taking landscape photos around sunset; some of these photos otherwise might not have come out blurry. One sunset photo that did look sharp turned out quite grainy; surprisingly, the EXIF data says that the camera chose ISO 100 despite the low light.
The M537's plastic case doesn't feel very rugged. However, it does fit well in the hand, and the L-shaped zoom control falls conveniently under your thumb. There are dedicated buttons along the top of the LCD for deleting photos and turning the flash on or off; a selector switch makes it easy to change from still photography to movie mode.
The M537 lacks some common features we've come to take for granted, even in simple cameras. For example, it doesna??t have an exposure compensation setting, nor does it even offer white-balance presets--much less a custom white-balance setting.
That's not to say the M537 does not come with some worthy features. The image stabilization thata??s available in its steady-photo mode improved the sharpness of indoor photos I shot in very dim lighting.
The Photosmart software suite on the bundled CD is generous, offering features for sharing photos, creating greeting cards, and printing in various layouts. Editing functions include cropping, red-eye removal, and an adaptive lighting feature that shows you nine subtle variations on your photo.
In our battery tests, the Photosmart M537 excelled, taking 345 shots before depleting a pair of AA cells.
Despite a generous software bundle and long battery life, low image quality makes the M537 a less attractive option than some other comparably priced cameras.
Eric Butterfield
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PCWorld Lab Results
- Rating Breakdown
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64
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70
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75
- See Complete Lab Results »
Performance Comparison with Similar Point-and-Shoot Cameras
64
77
See a full Comparison Chart of These Point-and-Shoot Cameras »
Performance
| Battery Life (minutes) | 188.75 |
| Battery Life Score | Very Good |
| Image Quality Score | Poor |
| Image Quality, Color | 43.3 |
| Image Quality, Distortion | 34.9 |
| Image Quality, Exposure | 46.6 |
| Image Quality, Exposure--Flash | 51.6 |
| Image Quality, Exposure--Normal | 44.5 |
| Image Quality, Overall | 42.9 |
| Image Quality, Sharpness | 31.3 |
| Number of Batteries | 2 |
| Number of Shots | 345 |
User Reviews
Average User Reviews for HP Photosmart M537 Digital Camera (6.1MP, 2864x2152, 3x Opt, 16MB Internal Memory, SD/MMC Card Slot)
1 Review Add your own »
- Latest User Reviews 1 review
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Reviewed by: johnL
Duration of ownership: 1 Day
Strengths: It's easy to use, uses AA batteries, photos look good enough for email
Weaknesses: Photos are NOT good enough for enlargements
Overall: This seems to be a good little camera, until you try to make blow-ups or look at the full-size photo on your computer. Any area of solid color in the photo (like, say, SKIN!) has HUGE blobs of different colors in it. A 6MP camera should be able to produce an 8x10 print easily, and this one fails horribly; full-frame 8x10 prints are absolutely unacceptable, and even full-frame 4x6 prints are not very good. Videos also are very jumpy with very bad sound. We used this camera for a day, taking pictures indoors and out, and we thought it was great until we looked at the enlargements. Forget it! There are plenty of cameras that are better than this one for the same price; we switched to a Fuji F650 and love it.
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User Reviews From Around the Web
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Reviewed by:
Strengths: no strengths
Weaknesses: everything.
Overall: everything about this camera was terrible. if you take a picture, it'll look good but try to zoom in and you'll see what appears to be blotchiness and big spots of yellow & brown all over your picture. the shutter time is terrible, and the battery life isn't worth two pennies. i absolutely hate this camera. i've moved to a sony cyber shot now. it is terrific. don't bother with this camera, because you'll end up replacing it in do time.
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Reviewed by: m_gupta001
Strengths: 6 MP, high resolution, takes crisp picture, SD\MMC card slot, antishake mode, red eye reduction
Weaknesses: battery life, poor audio quality for video, smaller LCD screen
Overall: I used this camera for couple of weeks and I really like the features and extra stuff it offered for the price. Its a slick point and shoot camera with very easy to use interface. It consumes a lot of battery so it always advisable to carry 2-3 set of rechargable batteries. Shutter speed is not that good. it takes a while for the flash to go off and come again. This matters when you are taking picture of any moving object and you don't want to miss the shot.
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Reviewed by: NISHIPRASAD8
Strengths: cheap,take good picture6.1 MPslick design
Weaknesses: bad battery life,only 16 MB internal memory,bad night picture
Overall: I got this from staples with free printer. its a good point and shoot camera for beginner. It does the decent job. Takes great camera in day light .. nice slick & sturdy body. It has a bad battery life, only 16 MB internal memory so you need to buy extra memory card.
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Reviewed by: badari
Strengths: Inexpensive, ease of use, AA batteries
Weaknesses: low light image quality, shutter lag
Overall: I bought this camera as its easy to carry around. Pictures are nice quality with enough lighting, camera is easy to use. Image quality is not so great under low light conditions. One of my biggest complaint is shutter lag - it takes few seconds to take the picture after pressing button. We are used to almost instant click with my other expensive camera. But for the price I paid (under $60), I am completely happy with the purchase. One more feature this camera has which I missed for a while is, the ability to imprint date on the photo image. Overall, its a decent starter camera.
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Reviewed by: thuwoody
Strengths: It's cheap. And the picture quality is pretty good. Easy to use. Very good anti shake.
Weaknesses: The LCD is not good, and it just stop working sometimes.
Overall: The picture quality of this camera is very good among products with a similar price. I purchased this one after comparing the picture quality of several other products. And it really worth the price. But the LCD is not so good. The pictures will looked very ugly on the LCD. But they are good when transferred to the computer. And the computer stopped working twice within one month. I have to take out the batteries to reset the camera. But it's just a cheap camera. And I am satisfied with this one.
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