Reviews for HP (Hewlett-Packard) Photosmart M525 Compact Camera

3x Optical Zoom - 1.7" LCD - 2576 x 1920 Image - 320 x 240 Video - MPN: L2103A

  • 5
  By member: weisiyu - May 6, 2007

A very good camera for its price

Strengths: Compact, light-weight, easy to use. Decent picture quality in well-lightened conditions. High performance-to-price-ratio

Weakness: Compromised image quality under low light.

This is my first digital camera from HP. While the market is dominated by Japanese brands, the image quality, light weight, portability, and low price make this little camera pretty competitive. Plus, SD card is the least expensive data storage for dig. cams, so I highly recommand this model.

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  • 5
  By member: Anonymous - Jun 4, 2007

Compact, Crisp, Cheap and Small LCD Display

Strengths: Camera looks very compact, very inexpensive, Great Picture Quality

Weakness: Nothing much but small 1.7inch LCD display

I always believe in HP Products, This camera is up to my expectations, Lightweight, great camera for this price. Instructions are pretty straightforward. It consumes battery more when compared to other models, but not too much though. Comes with rechargeable batteries. Video is even pretty good. I'm very happy with this camera and highly recommend it to others at this price range.

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  • 4
  By member: tmangan2 - Dec 12, 2006

Great little camera

Strengths: Easy to use. Nice menu explanation. Takes AA batteries.

Weakness: No viewfinder -- if that's a concern for you.

I've been using the M525 on and off for a week or two. I'm impressed. I've used a Fuji 2600 and Sony 8MP camera and the M525 is so much better than the Fuji. It takes clear pictures and the videos are pretty good too. I don't see as much detail as the 8MP of course, but this would be a great starter camera. The navigation menus are easy to read. The LCD titles explain choices like Flash, Delete, etc. very well. All of the icons have text accompanying them. I'm thinking about getting one for the grandparents, it's that easy to use. The lack of a viewfinder may be a hindrance to some, but anyone who has used a digital camera quickly realizes that using the LCD is much easier than sticking your eye up next to the view finder.


The only real concern I have is with the flash, or lack of it. Movies are not lighted by the flash. This is probably standard on all digital cameras, but movie mode in low-light conditions (living room with indirect sunlight) came out dark. And when the flash was used for pictures, it took me a couple of tries to get the exposure just right. It's not a big deal. And maybe as I get used to the camera, it will all make more sense.

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  • 4
  By member: cvn74rmo - Jul 8, 2007

Light and Inexpensive Digital Camera

Strengths: It's cheap and light, costs less than $100 and weighs 5 ounces. HP Photosmart Premiere is a great software application bundle. Has 16MB built-in memory. Uses SD Cards for memory expansion.

Weakness: No viewfinder, has only a 1.7 inch viewscreen. Image quality is not equal to some more expensive models

Designed for point and shoot, it's a compact camera that’s easy to use. Take photos at up to 6 MP for 4x6 inch prints and enlargements (the largest recommended print size estimated from the camera's resolution is 12x16 inches). You can record short mpeg video with audio using the built in camera microphone.

A case to protect the camera is not included. I added a leather case and 256MB SD Card.

I purchased a HP 6220 Camera dock that lets you easily connect to a computer and transfer photos. The dock has rechargeable batteries. The dock connections on the side prevent fit in the R series recess of the case for the HP Mediacenter m7690y TV PC.

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  • 4
  By member: m_corbelli - Apr 11, 2007

Good for the price

Strengths: Price, 6.0 megapixels, 3x zoom, built-in memory, takes SD cards, lightweight

Weakness: Lightweight (as in could easily break if dropped), no viewfinder, LCD small compared to other cameras in this class

I bought this camera because it was marked down, and I wanted one with more megapixels (6.0) than my old one (3.0) . I would rate the ease of use and picture quality about as good as expected for this price. The LCD is a little small considering what other cameras like this are now offering, and there is no viewfinder, so if you are over 50 figure you'll need your glasses. I like the built in 16 MG of memory, which isn't a lot but at least you don't have to run out and buy a memory card to at least begin to use it. Overall I'd say it's a decent entry level point and shoot digital camera.

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  • 3
  By member: rusblue - Jul 25, 2007

HP Photosmart M525 Digital Camera

Strengths: Ease of use is excellent, quality of pictures is alright.

Weakness: Cannot format for more pictures. No IS capability

I have had this camera for only about three months, seems ok to me, have only took a 100 pictures so far, tried all the buttons, and they work fine. I used it with a HP Photoprinter and all works fine.. For the price SO far its decent.... but there are better cameras out there for the same price point.

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  • 3
  By member: cheaposale - Dec 29, 2006

HP M525 - Great starter Digital Camera

Strengths: Easy point and shoot camera, straight forward menu controls, light weight and small.

Weakness: Not so great video/picture quality indoors, no viewfinder, looks ugly plain

Bought this camera for a great price and its worth every dollar. Very easy to operate. even my 6 yr old knows how to use it. but so so quality both built and picture and video.
not the greatest design but have simple controls. great choice if you looking for a no frills simle PS DC.

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  • 3
  By member: Anonymous - Jan 22, 2007

HP M525 Digital Camera

Strengths: crisp pictures; pict bridge compatible; 3x optical zoom

Weakness: lack of a viewfinder

This camera came bundled with a 128 megabyte SD card; which was not noted on on the bundled package, so you might want to reference this. We chose this camera because of the bundled price with an HP printer. The particular camera model was selected because we needed something with at least a 3x optical zoom, which has so far been satisfactory. the total zoom of 21x (7x digital + 3x optical) is not as sharp as we had expected. I miss the use of a viewfinder however, as I normally use a viewfinder over an LCD. Picture quality is on par with a 6mb camera.

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  • 3
  By member: ebjian - May 15, 2007

HP PhotoSmart M525 Digital Camera

Strengths: Internal memory, AA battery, good price

Weakness: poor picture quality

I bought this because it is cheap and I left it in my car for emergency purpose. It has a 16MB internal memory so that you don't need to pay extra for SD card. Also it uses AA battery. The weakness is its poor picture quality. If you want a dencent camera, don't buy this. If you just want a camera for jun or emergency, buy this one.

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  • 3
  By member: Pegasi - May 8, 2007

Very nice camera

Strengths: Very cheap, less than 60$. Good looking, small size. Use AA batteries which is easy to get replacement and a free SD slot.

Weakness: Image quality is only average but enough for daylight use. 600 MP is too much for a 1/2.5" CCD. LCD too small.

It is very nice camera for daily use. I personally bought it for my mother who knows little on how to operate the electrical items. I do not expect very high quality images so the price is especially cheap.

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  • 3
  By member: jasonaztw - May 9, 2007

HP M525 digital camera

Strengths: User friendly interface, compact, good picture quality, uses cheap SD card

Weakness: small LCD screen, no viewfinder,

I've been using this HP M525 camera for 3 weeks. It has given me good photos when using the automatic modes. However, night shots came out below average and a bit fuzzy. It's very to use and learn. The size is good for the shirt pocket. However, the LCD screen is only 1.7" and is not very readeable under sunlight and is of lower resolution. I'd recommend this for a beginner but not for an advanced user.

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  • 3
  By member: zuomai - Jun 2, 2007

Cheap and easy to use

Strengths: Price, internal memory, light weight

Weakness: poor picture quality, small LCD

I bought this in May, and used for couple times. It is pretty cheap, less than $70. so don't expect too much on the picture quality. It comes with internal memory which means you don't need to pay extra if you don't want.

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  • 3
  By member: vivianzhang08 - Oct 6, 2007

photosmart M525 digital camera is a good one

Strengths: small, light, cheap

Weakness: plastic casing, small LCD

We bought this camera from staples. It is cheap but good camera. It is small and light. The casing is made from plastic, so I guess it will be easy to get broken.
The LCD monitor is pretty small. So far we are happy with the photos taken using this camera. If you have tight budget, I strongly recommend this one. It is great for a college student.

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  • 2
  By member: xiaoshe - Jun 11, 2007

HP PhotoSmart M525 Digital Camera is not so good

Strengths: Light and cheap

Weakness: Lots of noise and artefacts in pictures

I don't like this camera.It is cheap but the quality of the photos is not acceptable.
The LCD monitor is too small. It is light but bulky. The case is probably made by plastic. I don't know how long it can last.b

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  • 2.3
  TopTenREVIEWS.com - Jul 16, 2008

Hp Photosmart M525

Hp Photosmart M525 receives an overall TopTenREVIEWS score of 1.86 out of 4.00. It is ranked the #362 standard digital camera of all time. The overall rating represents an intelligent balance of features, value as a function of price to features, and a summary of reviews from a variety of sources. The TopTen REVIEWS' formula gives a picture of important consumer features, market value, and a...

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