Buying Xmas Present for Mum. Canon P&S?

Hi all

I am looking to buy a P&S for my mum for Christmas and although I know a
fair bit about photography, ironically I have absolutely no idea when it
comes to P&S cameras!

I am looking for something that is from a reputable manufacturer, fairly
small, decent photos straight out of the camera, nice looking and especially
easy to use. Being a long term Canon fan I have seen the Canon IXUS 75 that
I quite like the look of, which are about £150.

Anyone used this camera, or similar cameras? What are they like? What is
the shutter lag, startup time, battery life, etc. like? Easy to use?

(Sorry, I don't know what it's called in the US, maybe the PowerShot SD750?)

"Ali" wrote in message
...
Hi all

I am looking to buy a P&S for my mum for Christmas and although I know a
fair bit about photography, ironically I have absolutely no idea when it
comes to P&S cameras!

I am looking for something that is from a reputable manufacturer, fairly
small, decent photos straight out of the camera, nice looking and
especially easy to use. Being a long term Canon fan I have seen the Canon
IXUS 75 that I quite like the look of, which are about £150.

Anyone used this camera, or similar cameras? What are they like? What is
the shutter lag, startup time, battery life, etc. like? Easy to use?

(Sorry, I don't know what it's called in the US, maybe the PowerShot
SD750?)
You might consider the Powershot A570is (US model name). I ordered one for
my partner who likes taking pictures but is not into the hobby that much. He
uses an old 35 mm Minolta P&S which still takes fine pictures but he wants a
digital now. I got one from Staples.com for $149.95 after $30 coupon and
free shipping. The A570IS is a little larger but uses AA batteries and has
optical image stabilization which may be of interest to your mum.

Ali wrote:
Hi all

I am looking to buy a P&S for my mum for Christmas and although I know a
fair bit about photography, ironically I have absolutely no idea when it
comes to P&S cameras!

I am looking for something that is from a reputable manufacturer, fairly
small, decent photos straight out of the camera, nice looking and
especially easy to use. Being a long term Canon fan I have seen the
Canon IXUS 75 that I quite like the look of, which are about £150.

Anyone used this camera, or similar cameras? What are they like? What
is the shutter lag, startup time, battery life, etc. like? Easy to use?

(Sorry, I don't know what it's called in the US, maybe the PowerShot
SD750?)

Generally speaking, Kodak comes out on top of the 'easy to use' contest.
However, I am sure if you stick to the 'consumer models' of the
Canon line, such as the A560, she will be more than pleased with it.
After all, most people just set it to 'auto', and snap away.

"Ron Hunter" wrote in message
...
snip
After all, most people just set it to 'auto', and snap away.

Exactly! I suggested the A570 IS rather than the A560 for its addition of
image stabilization at little extra cost.

Ron Hunter wrote:

snip

Generally speaking, Kodak comes out on top of the 'easy to use' contest.
However, I am sure if you stick to the 'consumer models' of the Canon
line, such as the A560, she will be more than pleased with it. After
all, most people just set it to 'auto', and snap away.

Personally I'd get the Kodak C653 with an Easyshare Camera Dock, and the
KAA2HR rechargeable battery.

This would enable charging batteries and transferring of photos to the
computer without having to remove any access doors, batteries, or memory
cards. It has an optical viewfinder which is a very important feature.

I bought a C series and dock for my mother several years ago, and she is
able to manage transferring photos to the computer, and even managed to
e-mail some photos to me. I can't imagine her dealing with memory card
readers, external battery chargers, USB cables, etc. Not the greatest
P&S camera, but adequate quality photos, and great ease of use.

In article , SMS
wrote:

Personally I'd get the Kodak C653 with an Easyshare Camera Dock, and the
KAA2HR rechargeable battery.

I've never been a fan of these dock things. You have to drag the damned
dock with you to suck the pictures out. And Kodak digital P&Ss aren't
the best value for sure.

Mr. Strat wrote:
In article , SMS
wrote:

Personally I'd get the Kodak C653 with an Easyshare Camera Dock, and the
KAA2HR rechargeable battery.

I've never been a fan of these dock things. You have to drag the damned
dock with you to suck the pictures out. And Kodak digital P&Ss aren't
the best value for sure.

I beg to differ with you on both points. Kodak cameras are excellent
values, and I can use the dock, a USB cable, or take out the card, and
pop it into a card reader (which is what I usually do). The dock is
handy to keep the batteries charged, and I have a place to keep the
camera, so I don't have to hunt for it.

Ron Hunter wrote:
Mr. Strat wrote:
In article , SMS
wrote:

Personally I'd get the Kodak C653 with an Easyshare Camera Dock, and
the KAA2HR rechargeable battery.

I've never been a fan of these dock things. You have to drag the damned
dock with you to suck the pictures out. And Kodak digital P&Ss aren't
the best value for sure.

I beg to differ with you on both points. Kodak cameras are excellent
values, and I can use the dock, a USB cable, or take out the card, and
pop it into a card reader (which is what I usually do). The dock is
handy to keep the batteries charged, and I have a place to keep the
camera, so I don't have to hunt for it.

Yes, the big advantage is the flexibility. For technophobes, it's easy
to drop the camera on the dock and not deal with cables, removing cards,
etc., but if you want to remove the card, or charge with the AC adapter
but not the dock, that's possible too.

However, other than for the dock, I wouldn't buy a Kodak P&S.

SMS 斯蒂文• � wrote:
Ron Hunter wrote:

snip

Generally speaking, Kodak comes out on top of the 'easy to use'
contest. However, I am sure if you stick to the 'consumer models'
of the Canon line, such as the A560, she will be more than pleased
with it. After all, most people just set it to 'auto', and snap away.

Personally I'd get the Kodak C653 with an Easyshare Camera Dock, and the
KAA2HR rechargeable battery.

This would enable charging batteries and transferring of photos to the
computer without having to remove any access doors, batteries, or memory
cards. It has an optical viewfinder which is a very important feature.

I bought a C series and dock for my mother several years ago, and she is
able to manage transferring photos to the computer, and even managed to
e-mail some photos to me. I can't imagine her dealing with memory card
readers, external battery chargers, USB cables, etc. Not the greatest
P&S camera, but adequate quality photos, and great ease of use.

My wife has the C743, which makes good pictures, and is small, light,
and easy to use. BUT, low light performance is well below my standards.
It simply refuses to work under light conditions my older DX6440
handles just fine. I suspect that just about any other camera in the
same price category would exhibit the same problem, however.

Ali wrote:
Hi all

I am looking to buy a P&S for my mum for Christmas and although I know a
fair bit about photography, ironically I have absolutely no idea when it
comes to P&S cameras!

I am looking for something that is from a reputable manufacturer, fairly
small, decent photos straight out of the camera, nice looking and
especially easy to use. Being a long term Canon fan I have seen the
Canon IXUS 75 that I quite like the look of, which are about £150.

Anyone used this camera, or similar cameras? What are they like? What
is the shutter lag, startup time, battery life, etc. like? Easy to use?

(Sorry, I don't know what it's called in the US, maybe the PowerShot
SD750?)

Whatever you buy, make sure that it has an OPTICAL viewfinder in
addition to the standard LCD monitor. It is very frustrating to try to
compose an image on an LCD screen when the sun is behind you.(The most
common situation). The sunlight washes out the screen and you are
shooting blind. To Canon's credit, they left the optical viewfinder on
the A560 and A570. They left it OFF of the SD750.
Canon applies an anti reflective coating to the LCD monitor of the
SD750, which they claim "reduces" the glare from the screen in bright
sunlite. I would be very cautious about this claim. Try composing in
bright sunlight before plunking down your money.
Bob Williams