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HP PhotoSmart 635 Digital Camera

I have to say the HP 635 camera is one of the worst purchases I have ever made. The first one lasted about 1 month. The store I purchased it from replaced it. I think I have made about 12 pictures with it and now it is no longer working. Please don't buy this camera!!!!!! It is a piece of junk!!!!

Judy Burch
Thu Jun 10 20:44:18 PDT 2004

I'm problems keeping my batteries "alive". I'm using Energizer Lithiums; I put them in one day and the next day their dead without even using the camera. this is my 3rd camera. I received it as a gift from my kids on Xmax 2003; the batteries drained as soon as they were put in. I sent it back to the store and they replaced it. The second one died when I tried to install the "Share" feature. HP replaced it after giving them my credit card number for security. Now this one started the battery thing about 2 months ago. Tech support is no help at all. I've been waiting 2 months for the proper batteries to use. I even bought the energizer rechargeable lithiums; don't even know if they worked; they were drained the next day when I turned the camera on. I was told by one tech that you're supposed to take the batteries out when the camera is not being used. Does anyone else have any problems like this.

Linda Wentz
Mon Nov 15 19:23:16 PST 2004

I cannot believe all the bad reviews and comments about the 635 and HP still will not do anything. The problems with my 635 are pretty much the same problems which everyone else has: dependablity, battery life and the poor quality of the camera. Car manufacturs have to recall inferior products, or provide free repair, even after warrenty runs out. Why does HP not do the same!
Like most I will never buy another HP digital camera - or other HP product.

Dave Finch
Mon Dec 13 15:28:46 PST 2004

I totally agree--this camera is the definition of junk. It came free with my purchase of an HP computer...I should have known something was wrong when they told me that the printer and camera would not be covered in the extended warranty I bought. Obviously my problems were not an isolated case since so many others have described the same problems. I will really think hard before buying another HP product.

Craig P.
Sun Feb 13 14:12:07 PST 2005

And the beat goes on. Battery life is crap and so is the rest of it. Haven't even had the camera a year. However the pictures came out just fine. My next problem is that it will turn on and the Lens will not extend out any more. What kind of junk is HP selling here. My Printer is fine but thats just a matter of time I guess. Good luck to anyone out there with this camera. And to those who don't have it, please for your sake of sanity, never buy one.

Lenny P.
Wed Apr 20 16:39:35 PDT 2005

I agree the HP 635 Photosmart was crap, battery sucker If HP had any concern about being in the Camera business they would replace all the 635 cameras with newer ones free of charge or at least a $100 rebate when you buy a new one. Can not believe how bad.

Glen C.
Wed, 13 Jul 2005 11:58:35 -0700

After viewing many internet sites to find out if I was the only one stuck with this crap, I found out everybody has about the same problems. Online/Phone customer service were very poor and useless. I can't use any memory cards (then limited to 17 pictures at medium quality) with it since it doesn't start up when the slot isn't empty. Between taking pictures, I do have to remove the batteries (energizer rechargeable) so there aren't drained too quickly. However, the picture quality is good, indoor/outdoor, but at what price!

Pascal B.
Thu, 14 Jul 2005 20:01:36 -0700

There isn't much support from HP.I have a hp 635 camera & a 2410 photosmart all-in-one.And have had trouble with both of them.Telstra's fax guy in Australia put some pressure on & I recieved a Duet switch from HP after 14 months of trouble.Which is good.But it wasn't much good for my business.

Dennis
Sat, 30 Jul 2005 10:45:28 -0700

This is a pretty cheap, and today a pretty old camera too.
Comments like: "Please don't buy this camera!!!!!! It is a piece of junk!!!!", I can't understand. It's cheap, eats batteries like hell (if you dont buy proper very good NiMH-rechargeable), but it produces pretty good images in 2 MP.

I have taken 1000+ pictures with this camera and will take 1000 more. Pretty good build-quality too.

Christopher
Sat, 10 Sep 2005 12:48:49 -0700

De acuerdo con los comentarios.La HP 635 es la peor compra que he hecho. Un amigo y yo la compramos al mismo tiempo y luego de vencida la garant�a no funcion� m�s, y no hay manera de repararla. Estoy pensando poner una denuncia contra HP Venezuela por enga�o al p�blico. Hay que hacer algo. Enga�ados del mundo: Unios!!!

Clemente Larez
Wed, 21 Sep 2005 09:02:50 -0700

I bought the 635 for my daughter about 8 months ago online from Staples....Man does it eat batteries.. she took it to Hawaii took about 30 pics now it wont stay on more than 3 seconds and the lcd doesnt come on anymore....I feel really bad I cant get her pics down loaded and the online people at HP seem to feel this is a great camera ...No Problem buddy...yea right .....anyone have any ideas I agree it this was an auto it would be recalled...

barry leslie
Sat, 29 Oct 2005 19:45:30 -0700

NEVER BUY FROM HP

BOMA

boma
Mon, 28 Nov 2005 06:14:31 -0800

Cant believe this! I have an old Digital Camera purchased in 1996 from Sanyo and it still works perfectly. I purchased a HP 635 and in barely a year it is completely dead! I contaced HP and they would alow me to send it in and take off a few dollars on a refurbished model. I am completely enraged. I take perfect care of my equipment and now it doesn't even power up. I had all the same battery issues as the other people on this thread but chalked it up as a "Powerful Camera" that eats up batteries. Even the first week of usage it ate quite a few batteries!The customer support was helpless answering simple questions about the camera. I will NEVER by HP products again. Please do yourself a favor and purchase your next cameras from another company. Save some money and aggrivation.

Paul D.
Wed, 14 Dec 2005 15:33:09 -0800

Man am I livid. Just got off with hp tech on line. This 635 is a piece of !@#$@#%^&^&**!!! No longer under warranty so they tell me its a hardware problem but they are so sorry can't replace but they will give me credit toward the purcahse of a refurbished upgrade. I'm going somewhere else. Never will I buy another hp product.

Jaime H

Jholguin
Mon, 19 Dec 2005 20:40:09 -0800

I hate HP damn it my step father bought this for me 2 christmas ago it lasted 4 weeks!! now all it does is blinks and beeps at me.. HP support had me resetting it 500 times before saying we will offer you a refurbished upgrade for 160 buck buck bucks

AJ
Sun, 26 Feb 2006 17:04:43 -0800

hello everybody,i dont knw y u r all r talking about the bad qualities of the camera,,it is very very good camera ,there is not any problem in the camera,u have the problems with ur own,so i have it n i m using it,it is working well

shaheen
Tue, 28 Feb 2006 04:05:47 -0800

I had similar problems that Linda Wentz had with HP 635 camera. This is peice of crap. i would never buy another product from HP

dillu
Sun, 12 Mar 2006 16:24:31 -0800

I ordered this camera on-line for $66.00, thought that was cheap! When I received it, I took 4 pics and it turned off saying batteries depleated. These were brand new batteries! Any how, no I see why $66.00. You get what you pay for! If you want to buy this camera, think TWICE!!!!

Doc
Thu, 16 Mar 2006 08:58:00 -0800

Doc, were you using Alkaline or Heavy Duty batteries? Today's digital camera technology are quite power hungry. I experience the same thing with my first digital camera, the Olympus Camedia C-2500L. It turned out that the digital cameras need new a battery technology. And that is today's Ni-MH rechargeable batteries. If you were using regular batteries, give the Ni-MH batteries a try.

Chieh Cheng
Thu, 16 Mar 2006 16:39:32 -0800

This camera STINKS. Mine has just died after taking 1350 pix in 20 months. E-mail help is poor, telephone is expensive and poor. �20 to be told "But it WILL communicate with XP". No - It just won't communicate with the outside world at all!

Alan T
Mon, 20 Mar 2006 13:09:29 -0800

I have had this 635 for a while now.The first one i got died after a couple days.The second one i got still works but consumes batterys like crazy.It was my first digital cam. So i really didnt know any better.Now i found some forums explaining they have a faulty capacitor that is the reason for the battery drain.HP knows this but wont fix them.So now we are stuck with a piece of crap camera.

Michael Frank
Sun, 9 Apr 2006 11:40:12 -0700

I have bought many HP products & they are GREAT, you can get junk in anything, most of the time I have found it's user error, anytime I had a problem HP took care of it ASAP.

sorry about your problems, but don't blame all HP products

Dave
Mon, 10 Apr 2006 09:41:09 -0700

I keep on hearing people slag this camera - will I have just been given one with no instructions. Could any one send me the instructions and anything else they want to be rid of!!!

Me I am an OAP on limited income.

Rosemary J Ross-Marion
Tue, 11 Apr 2006 05:57:25 -0700

I bought a hp 635 and the batteries that came with it depleted after about 4 pics. So I bought new high quality Ni-mh batteries. This did not solve the problem. So for those who keep suggesting we may be using the wrong batteries, no, you were just lucky and got one of the few cameras that werent' a lemon.

tamara
Fri, 25 Aug 2006 10:20:11 -0700

I am having the same problems as the rest of the people who have made a comment about the hp 635 2.1 Mp 12x zoom digital camera. I am on vaction and want to take photos and I cant why because it just wont turn on Im pissed. I comes on when it wants to and cuts of when it wants to it has a mind of its own likw a chucky doll its possessed... I need to be compensated.

Portia
Fri, 01 Sep 2006 06:37:28 -0700

I also bought a HP 635 from a Staples online offer, I am sure it is over a year ago. I agree with the comments that it eats batteries until I switched to Ni-MH. Now the camera is dead. I am now stuck. I do not know what to do. And yes, I will definitely be careful about buying cheap HP cameras now.

Simon
Sun, 05 Nov 2006 17:42:26 -0800

This camera is crap. Mine camera eats batteries like Rosey O'Donnell(sp?) in a bakery. 12 high res pics? What a POS. The only good thing is that I didn't pay for it. Shame on you HP.

Heath
Sun, 03 Dec 2006 19:14:53 -0800

I only paid $4.00 for my Hp 635, but it's $4.00 too much for this "2 mega pixel monster". It's much the same as everyone elses, this one be a battery gobbler too! Pooh on you HP, this one ain't gonna gobble no more, cause tonight's the night when I find out how many screws you got in it. I'll turn your HP-iece of S#!t into tiny little pieces. Roland

roland
Tue, 12 Dec 2006 16:44:50 -0800

If you, who have had problems, purchased the camera for well under $100.00 you likely bought a used camera, not a new one. That would probably account for well over half the negative remarks. If you didn't use Nicads or Lithiums you got what you deserved in battery life. If you did use Nicads or Lithiums and did not follow the initial charge directions you will not get the life you should from them.
With that said, I have a 635 but it's too new to tell yet. I've also had a 500 that failed in short order. On the other hand I still have one of the original Photosmart cameras that works great.
Go figure.

Bill
Thu, 14 Dec 2006 17:41:05 -0800

Rosemary J Ross-Marion,
Check your email....
Site for camera info.
Search results for "HP Photosmart 635 Digital Camera"
Link to Manual.
hp photosmart 630 series digital camera with hp instant share user's manual

Enjoy.

Bill
Thu, 14 Dec 2006 17:53:53 -0800

A friend gave me a HP 635 she didnt want anymore kept running down the batteries.You couldnt even take 2 or 3 pic's they would be dead. I did alot of goggling then decided to try what found out and now I have a feebie that dosnt eat batteries and take's a nice picture.
They have a bad capacitor the keeps the time when you change batteries.They go bad and start draning batteries. Well take it out you have reset the time when changeing them seems to be the only trouble it causes and now I can take a few 100 pics. Just look for the small silver capacitor looks like a watch battery I just cut little strips and left them apart and coverd with silicon.

Attached Image:

Picture 105.jpg

Tim
Thu, 21 Dec 2006 10:30:30 -0800

Oh yea The picture is the part I took out.

Tim
Thu, 21 Dec 2006 10:39:26 -0800

Had put my email in wrong on the first two post. This one is right.

Tim
Thu, 21 Dec 2006 11:31:36 -0800

Hey, 635 isn't that bad. I own this battery guzzler for last 3yrs ... only thing bad with it is ITS A CRAZY BATTERY GUZZLER. You use 2600mAH*2 batteries that would last only for few hours ... CRAZY product from HP.

Ravi
Mon, 25 Dec 2006 00:35:51 -0800

Oh MY GOD!! its so true this camera is the biggest piece of crap i ever purchased in my life.... i had this thing for my cousins wedding and the batteries died 3 times....ENERGIZER LITHIUMS!!! my mom had just bought it and i kept on gettin in trouble bcuz i wasnt getting good pics... THIS THING IS GARBAGE...

Nick
Tue, 02 Jan 2007 18:48:59 -0800

I have a HP635 unfortunately,the first one went bad after 2 months,HP replaced it ,now the replaced one only makes blurryed stripes and color pictures ,it is 20 months old and took 1000 pictures,its good to throw away.
I sended an e-mail to HP asking for repair or a rebate for an upgrade ,dont even got an answer,Atitude of HP is not acording to the level of the company .

jean pierre
Tue, 16 Jan 2007 20:15:57 -0800

Well hmm, let me get this straight. You bought an entry level camera and now it is broken? Boo Hoo! It's normal for anything entry level to break and then expection a company to bedn head over heals to help you for this entry level product is even more ridiculus. The camera sucks, I have one too, but thats no reason to not buy from the manufacturer. HP is now making some of the best PCs and notebooks around. Then again anyone who bought this as a "good" camera probably buys dells! Sorry for your issues but come on ranting online and insulting the company is ridiculus and imature.

G.H.
Fri, 26 Jan 2007 16:42:44 -0800

im also facing the same problem it is draining out the power so i have to carry 4 sets of batteries while going out while my friends go on with a single pair for two days, i have cahnge the batteries each time like a hunter changes the bullets in his double barrel gun.

but here tim suggested a solution did anybody tried it?
is tim really sucessful in solving the problem
tim make it clear and help us.

prvn
Mon, 29 Jan 2007 10:13:31 -0800

Hi the camera is still working fine with Energizer Lithium I can take around 175 to 200 pictures.It took me about 2 hours to remove the capacitor and you will need some knowledge of electronics and tools for working on them.To remove the capacitor you need to take the camera apart there 8 screws on the outside to remove.Dont miss the one behind the battery door now should be able to pull it apart one half will come all the way off the other is connected.Now you can look in the middle of the two circuit boards and see the capacitor. To remove it you have to take the boards apart there will be 3 or 4 more screws and tape that has to be peeled back and 1 or 2 connections to unhook. Once you remove the capacitor make sure the leads are not touching I also put some silicone over them.

Tim
Wed, 31 Jan 2007 22:50:45 -0800

I have the same camera

the guy who sold it to me said it was a christmas present but as they unpacked the box, put in the battery, 10 photos and battery gone empty.

I bought it with a cheap price, thought, 2500 mAh ni-cd will help but no luck, same problem. I also tried FIRMWARE update. no luck, same problem.

then I found this site. COOL!!! I like hacking :))

I am thinking of removing the capacitor too. anyone tried? what will I loose ? it will only forgot the date and time?

that would be OK for me. BUT if it also forgets the settings: FLASH, etc, then I will be sad :(

I am trying to ask an independent camera service guy to REPLACE the capacitor. if no chance then fuck, remove it I dont care. the camera is a good 2,1 megapixel camera! fast and handy!

PLS !! do not blame HP! yes-- this error sucks. the camera is good ! 2,1 megapixel, nice fotos, and the camera is QUICK !! small bad thing: no playback for video capture. who cares.

HEY MAN, HP is not bad ! HP PC-s, servers, printers are world class I am an IT GUY I KNOW THAT! HP wanted to participate in digital camera business , HP IS NOT A TRADITIONAL DIGITAL CAMERA MANUFACTURER ! Your falut that you bought it, sorry! read REVIEWS on the internet before buying!!..buy canon etc..instead, companies who manufactured cameras before digital era, too.

martin
Thu, 15 Feb 2007 04:49:31 -0800

so, I dis-assembled my camera, removed the "capacitor" and everything is OK now!

and, when I replace the batteries relatively fast, the camera does not even forgets the settings! (time, date, etc) now I can take with a 2500mAh recgargeable battery 100-200 shots or more.

how did I removed the capacitor? (shown at the pic I attached, te small thing which looks like a watch battery)

1. : I removed the screws: 2 at the right side, 2 at the left, 3 from the bottom + the small screw behind the battery-compartment door, I popped the cover, removed a longer screw to remove the back (caution, it is wired to the body) .. I do not remember there were any more screws... tip: put a kitchen plate under when you remove the screws, you will hear when you drop someting) (do not forget to put back the battery door ant the cover of the USB afterwards :) )

2. :and, as Tim wrote, I looked for the capacitor on the circuit boards. I DO NOT REMOVED the upper circuit board, I do not wanted to do this! it was so heavy attached: with data-cables, screws, it was even fixed with a strong, transparent adhesive tape.

I looked BETWEEN the circuit boards, and I got lucky: I FOUND the CAPACITOR. LOOK WHERE THE SCREWDRIVER POINTS on the photo!!!

I did the following: I BROKE THE CAPACITOR OFF the circuit board, with a help of a tweezers. look at the pic: the capacitor has CONNECTORS fixed to the capacitor and this connectors are soldered to the circuit board. I moved the capacitor with a tweezer UP AND DOWN and lightly to left and right (take care do not brake any part out of the circuit board, try just to break the soldering)

thats all.

cheers, Martin from Hungary (Europe)

Attached Image:

IMG_3975.JPG

martin
Wed, 21 Feb 2007 03:46:46 -0800

I am sorry..

removing that part I mentioned did not helped. I guess there are not only one capacitors, OR I really have to totally dis-assemble the two motherboards to see clearly.

sorry :(

Martin
Wed, 11 Apr 2007 12:52:44 -0700

OMG...where was this sight when I bought mine?? Yes it is a battery eater for sure. Now mine won't work at all...I try to take a pic and all I see is nothing..it's like having the lens cover on it!!

GRRRR

MidwestGal
Mon, 07 May 2007 14:20:00 -0700

I've had this camera since it came out. The batteries were constantly being eaten up. Eventually I put it away and just recently took it out to use - put new batteries in it and took one picture. Suddenly the camera froze up, I messed with it for awhile but nothing helped. I turned it off and tried to turn it on the next day.. batteries dead!
I had no idea there were so many problems with this camera. I am only upset because this was a gift (I also have the dock) and I feel like they wasted their money. So it goes with electronics.
This is my second product thru HP and although they are both older - I have had a problem with both. I am not blaming the company as I am sure they have some great poducts out there now, but personally I will not get another HP product.
Out of the many MANY comments here, there are a handful of positives. Do not buy this camera, go with a experienced model, not something just recently introduced. Something where the kinks have been worked out. There are so many options so research is good! :)

Brooke
Tue, 08 May 2007 12:51:16 -0700

HP is terrible. I can't believe someone in this thread wrote "don't blame HP"? What planet are you on??? BLAME HP. It's their terrible product!!

It is clear they had a bad design. The business decision they have made is also clear in my opinion... screw over the consumer so that the loss is absorbed by millions of individuals instead of HP! This minimizes their risk... instead of replacing each camera and owning up to their error, they give everyone the run around. Lawsuits are very unlikely... who is going to legally take on a corporate giant over a $100 camera? (If you're out there...I'm in!) They take everyone through the same strategies... first they claim it's improper battery selection, then the make you try rechargeable, then they offer a rebate on a new, MORE EXPENSIVE HP camera (most likely to cover the administrative cost of creating this "strategy") , then if a consumer (like myself) is adamant, they claim it's not a warranty issue. Guess what HP? You're right, it's not an issue of warranty because the warranty is for a FUNCTIONING, correctly assembled product. This is an issue of a mass produced DEFECT. Fortunately, I get a call about once a month from HP looking for our IT business. I manage the IT in our company, and we have a significant budget for IT upgrades. I have made it clear that until I get a replacement camera for FREE, we will NEVER, EVER purchase another HP product. I encourage everyone who has been screwed by HP to follow this concept. You should exercise ANY leverage you have. The more we talk about this, the more power they will lose. It will be a slow battle, but the TRUTH is, it is a battle that can be won if EVERY SINGLE person who has been screwed emails their friends, co-workers, HP, HP's competitors, etc. and makes it clear that this type of management of this problem is unacceptable to the consumer.

Discuss it with your employer (I did) and ask this question" Do we really want to buy a product for our business from a company that cheats its consumers when they make a mistake in it's construction? We would lose money AND the product?" The answer is obvious.

HP's product development, customer care, management and disregard for these issues is a problem. If they will not correct it, NO ONE SHOULD BUY FROM THEM. Do not be fooled if they have a particular product that works. The problem is when THEY DON'T.

It would be so much better if we could all post praise and have happiness with our purchase of this particular product, but unfortunately, due to HP's management of this situation, their ENTIRE operation is now in question. BE CAREFUL. FInd a product manufacturer who will support you and recognize the value in a consumer's satisfaction.

Tom Skillman
Thu, 17 May 2007 10:31:02 -0700

GEt a kodak c763 7.1 mp FREAKING GREAT. OMG YES 66 dollars for freaking hp 635 66 dollars a month in battery bills

ELijah
Thu, 14 Jun 2007 11:29:18 -0700

Hey.

I give up. I got this (HP 635) as a gift from my dad a while back. Anyway, the batteries seem to get used even when the thing is turned off. Even if I stick a pair of charged ones in, I can't take many photos using flash.
After not using it for a while, I tried to turn it on. Since the batteries were almost dead, the camera program froze while starting. No buttons worked, couldn't even turn it off again, so I removed the batteries while it was on: big mistake. Next time I put batteries in and started it, it acted all crazy: the lens-moving mechanism got stuck in some kind of loop going out/in all the time. Again, out with the batteries, in with them, turn the camera on. Since the lens was halfway out, it refused to boot properly and turned off.
I have taken the thing apart, but can't see how I could fix the lens again.. going to recycle the piece of crap.

This is why my parents get "I don't need any gifts" and why I buy expensive stuff while they're whining about it. Those are not guaranteed to work either, but they are usually better than this.

LTar
Thu, 05 Jul 2007 01:59:17 -0700

Has anyone tried the capacitor removal suggested by Tim other than martin? I would like to fix the capacitor problem as well with the HP 635 but it seems like Tim's suggestion has one success and one failure. Does anyone know if the capacitor martin removed is the correct one to remove based on where he said it was located?

Todd
Tue, 10 Jul 2007 13:46:47 -0500

Hello there!

so, as I posted on this camerahacker site in my second post: I was unable to fix that camera, it still functions, but it still drains batteries :(

as I removed the cover, I found, that the two printed-circuit boards are fixed together with a yellow self-adhesive film, kind of a strong glue-type! I got scared that I damage the thin, foil-covered copper wirings, which go from one board to another because the glue-tape was on them also (check the picture on the site)

So, I got a little angry because the camera was ment for my mother (2,1 mpix is enough there..) and I could not fix it. but, it was a cheap buy so I looked and looked again and found a "capacitor-like" element (after google-ing like you) which I decided to remove. I could not remove by molding: I broke it out with a pair of a tweezers :)

tha camera is still a battery killer :(

now I think, I will drill a small hole in the plastic cover and install a switch , I will disconnect the power between the batteries and the main part: as you would remove the batteries from the battery-bay... no other idea here.

Martin
Tue, 10 Jul 2007 14:36:59 -0500

Hp635 is not a very good product the battery sicks once you take a couple of pics the battery is gone. The pics that I took came out real nice however the screen is just black you can't see to take a picture the only thing ou can do now is view and upload the pictures onto the computer. SO like the rest of you guys I would never purchase another HP Camera this life time. Or will I advice anyone to purchase any of HP cameras..

K atrina
Sat, 14 Jul 2007 21:32:05 -0500

I am another sucker who bought this product. Its performance is quite erratic and, today, after putting in two new batteries, I was able to take and transfer three pics before it told me I had exhausted my batteries. I tested the batteries and they still have plenty of power. I have emailed HP Service but, after reading all of the above, I am not at all hopeful. I will never buy another HP product.

Ian Beaumont
Sat, 28 Jul 2007 07:25:10 +0000

I got to update my previous two comments.

AS I REMOVED THE CAPACITOR shown above in my picture, the camera's main error GOT FIXED.

When I put in a FULLY charged accu, it WILL NOT BE DRAINED even overnight.

BUT. When I start to take photos, with and without flash, I am only able to take 15-25 photos then batt's empty.

So "I GUESS" the camera consumes AT OPERATION too much power, too.

Batteries will not be drained, when inserted, but even with a 2500 mAh accu, you are able to take not much images.

Martin
Sat, 25 Aug 2007 06:01:56 +0000

Thanks, Martin. Could you show us a "accu"? I am not familiar with what they are . . . or where to get one.

Chieh Cheng
Sat, 25 Aug 2007 15:42:48 +0000

THIS CAMERA IS A PIECE OF JUNK. NOT WORTH THE MONEY I PAID FOR IT. I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THE BATTERIES. I EVEN BOUGHT A PLUG CHARGER FOR IT AND STILL NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maria Carson
Fri, 07 Sep 2007 17:45:25 +0000

I've 635 camera,i bought it 3 years ago; last good image was at 10.2007...before 2 weeks I took a picture, but picture was blur; local HP service still can't change CCD sensor, only whole unit; can I repair(clean) CCD sensor, or substitute it with another available sensor ??
regards

Attached Image:

CCDsensor.jpg

Dimitrije
Mon, 21 Jan 2008 12:05:50 +0000

I bought my HP Photosmart 635 from Officeworks in Melbourne, Australia. They were on special for $150 with a $50 rebate I think. So for $100 it seemed like a bargain.

The first camera used batteries too fast to be right so I returned it. Officeworks wouldn't refund and referred to HP. I tried to get a refund from HP but they refused. I referred the matter to Consumer Affairs. After 2 months HP still wouldn't refund and offered a replacement. I had no choice, so I accepted a replacement.

The second camera wouldn't even start, so I returned that direct to HP for another replacement.

The third camera was still using batteries too fast. I contacted HP to get a refund and was told I could pay $150 for another camera. I hung up in disgust.

All through this problem, HP 'customer support' were very unhelpful and dismissive. I vowed like many others: TO NEVER BUY HP PRODUCTS EVER.

The fact that HP were trying to offload faulty cameras for $100 makes them despicable, as they must have know about this problem and didn't care. Instead of junking all remaining models and refunding all existing faulty cameras they decided to put many people through a very annoying experience and to take $100 at the same time. That says a lot about the culture at HP.

One comment I remember from HP 'customer support': 'we're getting out of the camera business'. They are still in it...

Regarding the battery problem:

After the first camera went through Duracells (alkalines) like crazy, I bought a fast nimh charger and some 2300mah nimhs, which were the highest capacity at the time, but the problem remained.

The batteries would be fully charged, put in the camera, and within 1 hour the battery display would read nearly empty. If you ignored it, it didn't matter, the camera would shutdown. So it is not a battery problem. It is a camera problem.

I also researched the WWW regarding this problem and found the capacitor issue mentioned in other's comments. The capacitor continually drains power at a high rate whether the camera is on or off. I have to remove the batteries whenever I turn the camera off. This means resetting the date/time over and over, but the camera still uses too much power, so I'm lucky to get an hour of use.

It is a shame that a simple capacitor has ruined an otherwise basic camera that takes good images. The sensor is the smallest type 1/3.2" around but as it only 2mp the pixels per mm are only: 360. This compares favourably to the renowned low light camera the Fujifilm F30 with the large 1/1.7" sensor and 336 pixels/mm. So the images it does manage to take are clear and fairly noise free. Then they can be upscaled with software to a large size and achieve a good result.

David T.
Mon, 18 Feb 2008 15:22:43 +0000

All you guys have missed the point. You are doing your patriotic duty to uphold the American Economy. Damn if it works or not. We have jobs. By the way I use mine for robot parts.

Yogi
Thu, 04 Dec 2008 23:42:51 +0000

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Title: PhotoSmart 635 instruction manual
Weblog: Camera Hacker
Excerpt: I keep on hearing people slag this camera - will I have just been given one with no instructions. Could any one send me the instructions and anything else they want to be rid of!!! Me I am an OAP on limited income.
Tracked: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 08:49:33 -0700

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