Digital SLR Reviews Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Color Reproduction’

Canon EOS 50D 15 1MP Digital SLR Camera with EF S 18 200mm f 3 5 5 6 IS Standard Zoom Lens

Canon’s new EOS 50D bridges the gap between the novice and the seasoned pro with a perfect combination of high-speed and quality. It features an APS-C sized 15.1-megapixel CMOS sensor, DIGIC 4 Image Processor for fine detail and superior color reproduction, and improved ISO capabilities up to 12800 for uncompromised shooting even in the dimmest situations. It features a refined 3.0″ Clear View LCD monitor, Live View Function with optional Remote Live View Shooting, Face Detection Live mode, and a number of new automatic Image Correction settings. White Balance – Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten Light, White Fluorescent Light, Flash, Custom, and Color Temperature setting Updated EOS Integrated Cleaning System with a fluorine coating for better resistance to dust 9 cross-type high-precision sensors for accurate target subject acquisition and diagonal center cross-type AF point with f/2.8 and faster lenses EX-series Speedlites Compatible Flash Shutter Speeds – 1/8000 to 30 seconds ISO Speed – Automatically set, ISO 100-6400 (in 1/3-stop or 1-stop increments), Basic Zone modes ISO 100-3200 set automatically, Extension settable (with C.Fn.I-3-1) ISO 12800, and High Tone Priority settable ISO 200-1600 HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) output for displaying full high-resolution images on a High Definition TV Next generation DIGIC 4 Image Processor for faster processing – Maximum Bursts JPEG (Large/Fine) approximately 60 (Up to 90 with UDMA), RAW up to 16, and RAW + JPEG up to 11 Dimensions – Width 5.7 x Height 4.2 x Depth 2.9 (145.5×107.8×73.5mm) Weight – 25.7 ounces (730 grams) body

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars New Amazing Product for Best Available Price
Bought for my wife’s Birthday (professional photographer), she loves it over the overpriced, under performing, Nikon that she was using in her 1 year professional photography program. Camera, lens and all accessories are high quality and in perfect condition, never been out of box, packaged excellently and arrived almost 2 weeks before the beginning of the estimated shipping time frame. Amazing deal especially considering that I had to cancel my order from a mainstream photography equipment company who said it was out of stock for over 2 months, and is now charging almost $400 more than Amazon.com for the same exact thing, even though it still says out-of-stock.

5 Stars How to make your wife happy.
I don’t know much about photography so you may want to pan this review but my wife loves taking pictures. Her rebel was acting up so we bought this beauty. Although a little costly it was worth it to see how excited my wife was when she got it.

5 Stars Completely Satisfied
The Canon 50D is great. I added the Tamron AF18-270mmm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical [IF} Macro (Model Bo003) lens from Amazon to this camera and I am extremely satisfied with their performance together. The quality of my pictures with the new camera and len are significant. I was using a Canon Rebel Xt with a Tamron 18-200 lens.

2 Stars You get what you pay for
I have a Canon 1DIII, and was looking for a more compact second body. I was not happy with the prospect of either the 50D or 5DII but decided to give the 50D a try first. It’s not that it’s such a bad camera, it’s just leagues away from the 1 series, and in my opinion, leagues away from the Nikon D300. Why do I say this?

First, it’s not at all weatherized, which does matter to me as I do mostly outdoor shooting, and there are competing products from Nikon, Pentax, Sony, that are pretty well weatherproof.

Second, the viewfinder is small and dark, and there’s only 9 AF points, compared to 50 something in the Nikon D300, and at least 11 in most other cameras. I don’t need 50 points, but the little rhomboid pattern in the Canon amateur and prosumer lines is really sub-par for the industry.

Third, there’s more pixels, but then there’s also more noise, and fewer pixels would have been just fine, along with less noise. What good does ISO 12800 do, when the pic is unusable?

In summary, Canon has been resting on their laurels, made mainly cosmetic improvements in each iteration since their 20D came out, and I sold the camera a month after I bought it at a substantial loss on ebay. Good riddance, money can be recouped.

5 Stars I love this camera.
I had dreamt of buying a good digital camera for a long time. I had been shooting films until now since I could not afford a digital camera that produced the quality I desired.

In short, this camera is worth every penny (in my opinion of course). I totally fell in love with it the day I received it. The picture quality is awesome. The pictures are both sharp and the colors are spectacular. It has all kind of great features but what matters most for me is the picture quality. I already have one of my pictures taken on this camera displayed on a wall in the living room, it is 5.2 feet wide and even despite of the size, the picture quality is good.

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Canon EOS 50D 15 1MP Digital SLR Camera Body Only

Canons new EOS 50D bridges the gap between the novice and the seasoned pro with a perfect combination of high-speed and quality. It features an APS-C sized 15.1-megapixel CMOS sensor for tremendous images, new DIGIC 4 Image Processor for fine detail and superior color reproduction, and improved ISO capabilities up to 12800 for uncompromised shooting even in the dimmest situations. It features a refined 3.0-inch Clear View LCD (920,000 dots) monitor, supercharged Live View Function with Face Detection Live mode, plus a number of new automatic Image Correction settings and HDMI output for viewing images on an HDTV. Pick up the EOS 50D and youll experience true digital inspiration!

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars How to make your wife happy.
I don’t know much about photography so you may want to pan this review but my wife loves taking pictures. Her rebel was acting up so we bought this beauty. Although a little costly it was worth it to see how excited my wife was when she got it.

5 Stars I love this camera.
I had dreamt of buying a good digital camera for a long time. I had been shooting films until now since I could not afford a digital camera that produced the quality I desired.

In short, this camera is worth every penny (in my opinion of course). I totally fell in love with it the day I received it. The picture quality is awesome. The pictures are both sharp and the colors are spectacular. It has all kind of great features but what matters most for me is the picture quality. I already have one of my pictures taken on this camera displayed on a wall in the living room, it is 5.2 feet wide and even despite of the size, the picture quality is good.

2 Stars You get what you pay for
I have a Canon 1DIII, and was looking for a more compact second body. I was not happy with the prospect of either the 50D or 5DII but decided to give the 50D a try first. It’s not that it’s such a bad camera, it’s just leagues away from the 1 series, and in my opinion, leagues away from the Nikon D300. Why do I say this?

First, it’s not at all weatherized, which does matter to me as I do mostly outdoor shooting, and there are competing products from Nikon, Pentax, Sony, that are pretty well weatherproof.

Second, the viewfinder is small and dark, and there’s only 9 AF points, compared to 50 something in the Nikon D300, and at least 11 in most other cameras. I don’t need 50 points, but the little rhomboid pattern in the Canon amateur and prosumer lines is really sub-par for the industry.

Third, there’s more pixels, but then there’s also more noise, and fewer pixels would have been just fine, along with less noise. What good does ISO 12800 do, when the pic is unusable?

In summary, Canon has been resting on their laurels, made mainly cosmetic improvements in each iteration since their 20D came out, and I sold the camera a month after I bought it at a substantial loss on ebay. Good riddance, money can be recouped.

5 Stars Completely Satisfied
The Canon 50D is great. I added the Tamron AF18-270mmm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical [IF} Macro (Model Bo003) lens from Amazon to this camera and I am extremely satisfied with their performance together. The quality of my pictures with the new camera and len are significant. I was using a Canon Rebel Xt with a Tamron 18-200 lens.

5 Stars New Amazing Product for Best Available Price
Bought for my wife’s Birthday (professional photographer), she loves it over the overpriced, under performing, Nikon that she was using in her 1 year professional photography program. Camera, lens and all accessories are high quality and in perfect condition, never been out of box, packaged excellently and arrived almost 2 weeks before the beginning of the estimated shipping time frame. Amazing deal especially considering that I had to cancel my order from a mainstream photography equipment company who said it was out of stock for over 2 months, and is now charging almost $400 more than Amazon.com for the same exact thing, even though it still says out-of-stock.

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Canon EOS 50D 15 1MP Digital SLR Camera with EF 28 135mm f 3 5 5 6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens

Canons new EOS 50D bridges the gap between the novice and the seasoned pro with a perfect combination of high-speed and quality. It features an APS-C sized 15.1-megapixel CMOS sensor for tremendous images, new DIGIC 4 Image Processor for fine detail and superior color reproduction, and improved ISO capabilities up to 12800 for uncompromised shooting even in the dimmest situations. It features a refined 3.0-inch Clear View LCD (920,000 dots) monitor, supercharged Live View Function with Face Detection Live mode, plus a number of new automatic Image Correction settings and HDMI output for viewing images on an HDTV. Pick up the EOS 50D and youll experience true digital inspiration!

User Ratings and Reviews

2 Stars You get what you pay for
I have a Canon 1DIII, and was looking for a more compact second body. I was not happy with the prospect of either the 50D or 5DII but decided to give the 50D a try first. It’s not that it’s such a bad camera, it’s just leagues away from the 1 series, and in my opinion, leagues away from the Nikon D300. Why do I say this?

First, it’s not at all weatherized, which does matter to me as I do mostly outdoor shooting, and there are competing products from Nikon, Pentax, Sony, that are pretty well weatherproof.

Second, the viewfinder is small and dark, and there’s only 9 AF points, compared to 50 something in the Nikon D300, and at least 11 in most other cameras. I don’t need 50 points, but the little rhomboid pattern in the Canon amateur and prosumer lines is really sub-par for the industry.

Third, there’s more pixels, but then there’s also more noise, and fewer pixels would have been just fine, along with less noise. What good does ISO 12800 do, when the pic is unusable?

In summary, Canon has been resting on their laurels, made mainly cosmetic improvements in each iteration since their 20D came out, and I sold the camera a month after I bought it at a substantial loss on ebay. Good riddance, money can be recouped.

5 Stars Completely Satisfied
The Canon 50D is great. I added the Tamron AF18-270mmm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical [IF} Macro (Model Bo003) lens from Amazon to this camera and I am extremely satisfied with their performance together. The quality of my pictures with the new camera and len are significant. I was using a Canon Rebel Xt with a Tamron 18-200 lens.

5 Stars New Amazing Product for Best Available Price
Bought for my wife’s Birthday (professional photographer), she loves it over the overpriced, under performing, Nikon that she was using in her 1 year professional photography program. Camera, lens and all accessories are high quality and in perfect condition, never been out of box, packaged excellently and arrived almost 2 weeks before the beginning of the estimated shipping time frame. Amazing deal especially considering that I had to cancel my order from a mainstream photography equipment company who said it was out of stock for over 2 months, and is now charging almost $400 more than Amazon.com for the same exact thing, even though it still says out-of-stock.

5 Stars I love this camera.
I had dreamt of buying a good digital camera for a long time. I had been shooting films until now since I could not afford a digital camera that produced the quality I desired.

In short, this camera is worth every penny (in my opinion of course). I totally fell in love with it the day I received it. The picture quality is awesome. The pictures are both sharp and the colors are spectacular. It has all kind of great features but what matters most for me is the picture quality. I already have one of my pictures taken on this camera displayed on a wall in the living room, it is 5.2 feet wide and even despite of the size, the picture quality is good.

5 Stars How to make your wife happy.
I don’t know much about photography so you may want to pan this review but my wife loves taking pictures. Her rebel was acting up so we bought this beauty. Although a little costly it was worth it to see how excited my wife was when she got it.

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Olympus Evolt E520 10MP Digital SLR Camera with 14 42mm f 3 5 5 6 and 40 150mm f 4 0 5 6 ED Zuiko Lenses

Your life is full of priceless, fleeting moments that you want to keep just the way you see and feel them. Preserve each moment with the E-520. With the E-520’s Live View, you can shoot your subject while viewing it on the LCD monitor, so it’s just like shooting with a compact camera. In addition to phase-difference detection AF, the E-520 incorporates a high speed Imager AF that offers easy 11-point multi-area autofocusing with Live View simply by half-pressing the shutter button. Face Detection AF automatically detects up to 8 faces at a time and adjusts focus appropriately. Accurate composition is assured by the monitor’s 100% field of view. The E-520 is equipped with a 2.7″ HyperCrystal II LCD monitor with high-definition 230,000-dot resolution, improved contrast ratio, and enhanced color reproduction capability. While shooting with Live View, framing-assist patterns or a histogram can be displayed on the LCD monitor to improve your picture composition and check exposure condition. The E-520 incorporates a Live MOS sensor with 10-Megapixels, Olympus’ original TruePic III image processing engine delivers improved imaging, gradation expression and color reproduction capabilities as well as minimized noise at high ISO setting. Olympus’ highly acclaimed dust reduction system employs a Supersonic Wave Filter in front of the image sensor, which vibrates at such high speed and with such great power that it removes even the most stubborn dust; dust that cannot be removed by just shaking the image sensor or by discharging the static electricity. Weight – 475 grams (body only)

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Great Camera
my first slr and i love it,great picture quality and easy to use!but i still have to learn more about this camera.

5 Stars Great Camera, Great Lenses and Features Galore
The E-520 is my very first DSLR and I have had it now since April ‘09 (the Easter Bunny brought it and I can’t say enough good things about this camera or this combo.

The camera body is lightweight enough to carry all day without getting tired but sturdy enough to not feel “cheap”. The two kit lenses cover most of the distances the average user will want or need, and again neither one is a back-breaker. I use the 40-150mm when I am going to spend a day at the zoo to bring the animals closer to me (since they won’t let me get closer to them .

One really nifty feature that the camera offers is the ability to use Live View Boost to focus and frame pictures with an infrared filter in place on the front of the lens and to actually see what the camera will record. Pretty cool.

The controls are easy to use and I think the only challenge I have encountered where they are concerned is not in using them but in remembering what to use when and to remember what menu it is under. Fortunately, most of the things you will need most often (wb, AF, Flash, ISO, etc.) also have dedicated buttons easy to find right there on the camera body. You can also set your own custom profile combos to allow you to quickly switch from one set up to another without having to remember what you did the last time that you liked.

The 20 scene modes make life very easy especially when you are just starting out or if you don’t want to think and just want to shoot. And the ability (with the optional waterproof housing and light) to shoot underwater would be a really cool thing to do.

Color is great, clarity is great, the ability to remotely control the FL-36R or FL-50R flash units without having to have them attached to the camera by wires of any kind is great too.

A word about the proprietary XD card (the camera supports three different recording formats, CF, XD and Microdrive (But who uses those really?)) you can have the card in the camera in addition to the CF card and I would recommend having one just for the panoramic assist option which is only available if you use the XD card. The panoramic assist supports horizontal and vertical pans and the stitching software is built into the Olympus Master software that comes standard with the camera.

The only down side to having this camera is that you may find it difficult to find all the different lenses available at your local camera store (but there is always Amazon) as Nikon and Cannon have much better marketing. Oh, and one more word about lenses, you can get adapters which will allow you to use not only Olympus OM mount lenses from your SLR but also Pentax, Minolta, Nikon, Cannon, Miyama, and all the rest. Olympus only makes the OM mount adapter but you can find all the others aftermarket. You will need to be able to manually focus and set the f-stop on the lens itself as those features won’t be supported through the adapters but it sure opens up options.

5 Stars Thank the gods for digital cameras!
I shopped and I compared before buying. While the E-520 is not my first SLR–I have owned and shot with Nikons and Canons for many years–it is my first Digital SLR. I am very comfortable with it. It is sturdy, good looking, flexible and efficient.

The main complaint I see regarding the E-520 is its ability to focus. That is a valid complaint. However…

First, every lens that Oly makes is different in its auto-focus characteristics. Yes, you will have to become familiar with each lens separately, but this is true of all SLR cameras and lenses.

Second, some lenses are better than others at AF. Most of the complaints I see come from birders, and they are probably using the 40-150 kit lens, or the 70-300 lens. These lenses do take some getting used to.

I was shocked when I received the 70-300. It’s a monster! But I have been able to focus on a wire 100 feet away, then move the camera and focus 200 yards beyond that within a split second; same with the 40-150 kit lens after a little practice.

In low light, I recommend that one ALWAYS focus manually.

As far as the quality of the image produced by the E-520 (once you master the focusing aspect), it is spectacular. I have spent hours comparing images from the E-520 to those from Nikons and Canons. There is virtually no difference. (Check out the review and compare images at: [...]

If you’re willing and able to spend $8000 for the top Nikon body (and another $10,000 or so for lenses), you will get that little bit of extra resolution and snappy auto-focus. But you didn’t spend $18,000 for the Olympus E-520.

Is it fair to buy a $25,000 Pontiac Solstice and expect it to perform like a $160,000 Ferrari?

The E-520 is an amazing camera. Period. Full stop. It’s even more amazing when you consider that you can buy it with two kit lenses and add the 50mm “Pro” lens and still have spent under $1000.

Happy shooting!

4 Stars Shooting into a crowd
For the beginning to mid range photographer this is a great deal. The body is around $500, the lenses can be $100 each.

The camera is real good in manual. However I have a lot of trouble with the scene or auto modes. The flash comes up and it is confusing why it won’t take the shot sometimes. Long story short, the auto metering system is too stupid for its own good.

In manual there can be a little noise at expected setting but noise filter, reduction, shock, and Image stabilization leave you with no excuse for that to become a problem. The shutter can do 1/4000 to 60″/Bulb; overall a good range. Aperture is all in the body (the lenses don’t have manual aperture.) Focusing is excellent and many options are offered in that regard. There are good on board effects, sharpness, contrast, saturation, greyscale with tint balance, and many more.

The dust feature is priceless. The lenses come with respective hoods. CARD SOLD SEPARATELY (that one got had me biking up to Walmart 8 in the morning. Warning- the software for downloading is kinda sucky. I would just copy from removable disk.

Overall I say it’s a great camera for the hobbies, student, or superstar on the way up! I am of the opinion that this is one fully loaded, serious piece of equipment at the top it its class.

5 Stars E520 is a great feature-packed entry level DSLR
I bought my E-520 in November of 2008 and we purchased this second camera for my father.

As said before in many other reviews, the E-520 is a DSLR with full control over it’s features. In-body image stabilization works great and allows all 4/3rds lenses to be stabilized.

The E-520 pairs beautifully with the 50mm f/2.0 Zuiko Digital Macro.

The 14-42mm is a versatile wide angle and the 40-150mm is a great entry level telephoto.

Check out the reviews on [...]

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HP Photosmart Pro B8850 Professional Photo Printer Q7161A B1H

The high-quality, efficient HP Photosmart Pro B8850 Photo Printer produces vivid prints in seconds, allowing you to create eye-catching marketing materials or to preserve your family memories with stunning quality–all from the comfort of your own home or studio.

The printer achieves precise color printing with its eight individual, pigment-based HP Vivera inks, which provide wide-ranging color for lifelike results. It also prints stunning black-and-white photos with true neutral grays and deep blacks. And basic color calibration automatically adjusts the print settings to maintain accuracy–ensuring consistent color reproduction, print after print. When printed on HP Advanced Photo Paper, your photos will have exceptional, archival-quality that will resist fading under glass for over 200 years.

The printer’s high quality matches its efficiency. It can produce 4-by-6 inch-photos as quickly as 10 seconds per print. The printer’s input tray holds up to 60 sheets of photo paper, and it has a 50-sheet capacity output tray. The high-capacity ink cartridges make for more affordable printing and fewer interruptions. Plus, photos are ready to handle immediately and resist water, smudges, and humidity–all designed to save you time.

The printer is compatible with Adobe Photoshop CS3 for easy management and streamlined printing, and the HP color management tools fully support Adobe RGB, sRGB, and ICC profiles for greater color control.

What’s in the Box
Photosmart Pro B8850 printer, power supply, power code, HP 38 cartridges (photo black, matte black, gray, cyan, magenta, yellow, light cyan, light magenta), HP 70 print heads (magenta/yellow, light magenta/light cyan, matte black/cyan, photo black/light gray), CD with HP Photosmart software, user’s guide, and quick start poster.

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars B8850
Setting up was easy, but learning to select the right options took some time. I use Photoshop CS3, so I have to choose application control when setting up to get perfect results. One problem was printing 8X10s on 8.5X11 paper. It stretched the image to the full paper size. This problem was solved by making the 8X10 to size and pasting it on a white 8.5X11 blank white image. Another problem was the 6.5 mil kodak paper would get gripper marks on the bottom part of the paper. Using Ilford Gallerie smooth pearl paper has worked great, with no marks. It is a heavier than recommended paper, but I have had no problems using it. I love the quality of the prints and the waterproof long lasting feature of the pigment based ink. When using the special media tray, the printer pushes the print through the back slot, then prints on the paper coming forward onto the trays. I had thought it printed out the back, but no, it comes back forward. A little more room is needed for this. I am pleased with the results of the printer and Amazon had the best price.

4 Stars Great Photo printer!
This printer is awesome for making clear, vibrant prints up to 13 x 19. It’s easy to set up. It is large–you’ll need a big space for it and noisy, but the pictures are worth it. I had a Canon 9900i previously and this printer does at least as good if not better job. I’m an advance amateur and like to print my pictures from Photoshop Elements at 8×10 or larger. The only detriment I’ve run into is that it doesn’t like the cheap paper…as long as I stick to the HP stuff, it works great. I’m impressed with the colors and accuracy of the prints.

1 Star Incredibly Frustrating
I have had this printer for over 7 months now and only 1 out 5 pictures are accurate in regards to color. I bought Element 7.0 just to make sure that I would get the best quality picture and have had unending problems. I have called the help desk to find out ‘how do I know if the plug-in is working?’ They can not help. I either reach India or Canada (Canada is definitely better). The only info they have is what I already know. I have followed all the instructions to make sure my color management is at peak performance. No Luck. I only use HP paper recommended. After uninstalling and reintsalling both photoshop and printer software I am no better off. The first picture printed came out great! Then the printing seemed to revert back to the original sorry state. I have spent [...] in ink to get maybe 3 decent pictures. . The best photos you can hope for needs to be printed using Printer manages color. They aren’t great and definitely not worth the money.

By the way, all of the paperwork that is included with the printer states that the printer is NOT compatable with CS3. Whoever wrote the reviews on the photo websites didn’t try it out.

I bought the printer directly from HP hoping for better service. No Luck They promised me a price match. I have not received the rebate promised. Now I just have to figure out how to return this monster.

2 Stars Disappointed
I took a chance when I bought this unit because I saw the bad ratings. I must say that I’m usually able to work with an HP product and get it to work. This is one of four HP Printers that I’ve owned in the last 5 years. I have an HP Color Laser (sucks because it doesn’t print on heavy cardstock), an older HP color inkjet that was passed onto the kids, an HP Photosmart 8450 that I used to use before this, and this B8850. Two reasons I bought this: (1) large format and (2) waterproof prints. It is waterproof and it does print on the large format paper. That’s why I gave it two stars. It does do what I bought it for. However, a print is only as good as it looks, large or small and this one is terrible. First, the color that I get is not even close to the screen. Now, before you say I need to calibrate my screen, take into account that the 8450 can and will print the EXACT color on my screens…plural. I’ve move the photo editing software back and forth and even used a third monitor and they all produce the same color. The 8450 can reproduce it perfectly. I’ve tried several methods to get the B8850 right and it’s just not working. All my colors are too pink and I can’t adjust the color to the fine detail it needs to be. Photos of my baby at the beach look like she’s sunburned and I know she wasn’t. I’ve been able to get it close, and I guess that will have to do. The other major problem I have with this printer is that it has less detail that I’m used to getting from the 8450. I print a lot of digital scrapbook pages that have texture and depth. The detail in the prints and photos isn’t nearly as good as from the 8450. I see some detail, but the entire print seems blurred a little. I don’t think it’s a problem with the unit. It think it’s just meant to replicate a photo from a developer. At first I thought it was because I was always using matte paper in the 8450 but I just printed the same print on the same paper from both machines and the 8450 was superior. Now, some people like the “photo” appearance, but I spend a lot of time trying to make my digital pages have detail and look like they are 3D. The 8850 loses some of that and I’m very disappointed. I’ve had this for 9 months and I’ve worked with it a fair amount. I just can’t return it at this point and I’m not willing to risk another brand at this time. Something I found out today…my 8450 prints that were printed on HP Advanced Photo Paper…are WATERPROOF! Tested by smearing water across the print and it slightly discolored it until it dried and was back to same color. So it looks like I’m gonna keep my 8450 and use the B8850 only when necessary. Oh, yeah…and the 8450 is networked already. Side note, I have had 3 HP laptops (just ordered 2 more for a total of 5) and one desktop over the last 5 years too. I usually love HP and still do, so when I say I’m disappointed with this printer, I’m really not liking it.

1 Star Very sad printer
I had read the reviews and thought about the HP B8850 for a long time. A friend was getting incredible results from a lesser HP printer. So I bit the bullet even knowing it was a noisy and expensive printer to use. I wanted to upgrade from my trusty Epson 1270 that was just starting to give me fits after 6 years and also get the pigment inks.

What a mistake, I spent the first day trying to get a decent print, they all turned out magenta. Sure enough the yellow was plugged up and trying 4 or 5 intensive cleaning cycles did not help.

The tech guy (in India) said I didn’t take the plastic off the cartridges. They are self-sealing and came out of sealed bags. I said if I didn’t take it off then all of the colors would not print. He had to go to the “lab” several times for help. He simply was not familiar with this printer even though he was polite.

I spent 3 hours on the phone with the HP tech and then he sent me to the warranty dispatcher that was going to send me a new print head. I said that would not fix it as the yellow ink had thickened to a mustard like consistency. I wanted all new ink (8 tanks) and heads (4 heads)! as I also had used allot of ink and paper. He escalated this to a “Case Manager” who did call back but I had already returned the nightmare printer.

This printer has tubes that go from the ink to the head so it was clogged there too. What a poor design for consumers but good for them as it uses allot ink to fill the tubes and by now I had used 25% of my ink including the yellow that did not print, where did it go?

When I took the printer back the next morning, I exchanged it for very quite and beautifully printing Canon Pixma Pro 9000 II. Yes it has dye inks but its design is very nice and the ink tanks sits directly on the single removable print head. I still have full ink after several 13×19’s and a dozen 8 1/2 x 11’s. The Canon also came with some nice software for free.

Maybe my bad experience is rare but even if the HP B8850 had printed nicely, the way to load the paper, its loud clunks and clicking sounds would have been reason to return it. I also purchased HP’s premium plus paper to only find out in the manual it was not supported by this printer! No where on the printer box or paper package did it state this.

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