Hewlett-Packard Photosmart E217

This is a rant.

Inexpensive

Works best with High quality , rechargable AA's. Kind of defeats the purpose of using AA batteries.

Battery life is a real issue for me. I either have a dud or they all are duds.

Perhaps i am not evolved enough to take the leap from the old mechanical camera which lives under the seat of the truck, always works and never needs batteries.

Cheap -

Takes OK Pictures and video

Easy to use. Small children quickly figure it out. View screen gives instant feedback on picture quality.

This camera was cheap enough so kids can use it with a low level of parental concern.

Did I say Cheap?

Poor power management. There is a trade off between ease of use and good battery life. The settings on power-up make it easy to use, but quickly drain the batteries.

Alkaline AA's should last more than 10 minutes in a camera. Batteries used are new Duracell and in date. HP says I would be far better off using Cadmium or Metal Hydride which defeats the purpose of using easily available AA batteries. You have to remember to keep stuff charged up. I've got better things to do.

First time Digital Camera Owner.

Great website. Technician implied the problem is not the camera, but the user.