With the plethora of affordable digital cameras available now, we have to wonder why HP is offering one without an optical zoom. Equipped with only a 7X digital zoom, this 4-megapixel camera doesn’t cost much; however, sluggish performance and mediocre image quality overshadow the Photosmart M23’s ease of use, attractive design, and price point. If you’re in the market for an easy-to-use point-and-shoot camera, you’re better off paying a few more dollars or dropping to a 3-megapixel model and getting an optical zoom.
Images from the HP Photosmart M23 were just so-so. Although we did not notice any big color shifts, natural light and the flash resulted in slightly cool images, while tungsten light made images overly warm. Colors didn’t look particularly vivid either.
Aside from occasional hot spots from the flash, exposures came out generally even and fairly accurate. The Photosmart M23’s dynamic range is somewhat limited, however, so highlights and shadows often lost detail. And even when we were able to get the autofocus to work, images were still a little soft and lacking in fine detail.
Noise was manageable at ISO 100 and slightly above, but it became more evident at higher sensitivity settings. High-contrast edges exhibited blue halos as well as some noticeable purple fringing.