Buying Xmas Present for Mum. Canon P&S?

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

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.

Joseph Meehan wrote:
Sorry I seemed to hit a hot button there. I should start by telling
you I am not all that young (I'm over 60) On of my occupations was
camera sales. I have sold many cameras to people of all ages. I know
from much experience that many older (and they very young) have this
common problem. I also know what family members when buying gifts often
don't realize it.

My original statement was not intended to cause any individual
embarrassment, in fact it was intended to do exactly the opposite. I
also agree that many 70+ individuals who have no problems at all with
even the most complex cameras. But I stand by my statement when I said
most (maybe should have been many) are more comfortable with the easier
to use equipment. I for one dumped a cell phone for another because the
buttons were not comfortable for me. Likely if I were 18 years old
(maybe even 40) I never would have noticed it.

Getting old is not so bad if you consider the alternative. :-)


I will turn 65 this month, and I am quite able to make manual settings,
use a light meter, set up bounce flash units, and go through all the
settings on most cameras, and even understand what they mean, but I
don't WANT to mess with all that just to get a picture of the little
girl next door doing something amusing. Likely by the time I got all
those things set, she would have quit doing what was amusing, and gone
back inside. A simple P&S camera set to 'auto' (and just about any DSLR
set the same way) would do the job, just nicely. It is often not what
older people CAN do, but what they are willing to do, relative to
manipulating controls, and learning menus, and dealing with shutter or
aperture settings. Most people are quite happy with a photograph if it
looks pretty good printed at 4x6. I think that the average 70+ person
could manage a camera with zoom, and a few manual settings, provided
they weren't required to do anything much to get any given picture. My
brother won't mess with a lot of technology, not because he isn't smart
enough (he was an 'industrial waste water analysis technician' for 35
years), but because he just doesn't want to mess with it.

ray wrote:
On Sat, 08 Dec 2007 18:11:31 -0600, Ron Hunter wrote:

ray wrote:
On Sat, 08 Dec 2007 21:23:38 +0000, Ali wrote:

She's 55, but you are quite right, thanks for pointing that out. She is
great at many things, but technology isn't her strong point. It will
literally be zoom in and out, and press the button.

No offense, but if "technology isn't her strong point" are you sure a
digital camera is a great idea? They are obviously of most use when you
can connect to a computer, download, edit, print, etc. At the very least
she would have to submit the cards somewhere to have them printed, then
format for next batch.

And she wouldn't have to take film to the SAME PLACE to get it developed
and printed? Your argument doesn't hold any water.

I think the film operation might actually be simpler. At any rate, it
would be less strenuous for a technophobe.

How? You have to rewind the film, remove it, put it in the little
envelope, and take drop it in the slot. Or, you pop out the flash card,
drop it into the slot in the machine at the store, and press 1 print 4x6
glossy, and come back in an hour.
How is film any easier?

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.

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.

On Dec 8, 1:55 pm, ray wrote:
On Sat, 08 Dec 2007 21:23:38 +0000, Ali wrote:
She's 55, but you are quite right, thanks for pointing that out. She is
great at many things, but technology isn't her strong point. It will
literally be zoom in and out, and press the button.

No offense, but if "technology isn't her strong point" are you sure a
digital camera is a great idea? They are obviously of most use when you
can connect to a computer, download, edit, print, etc. At the very least
she would have to submit the cards somewhere to have them printed, then
format for next batch.


My mom is not all that good with technology, but she really likes
their digital camera and has no problems using it and making prints.

But then she is only 81.

Scott

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.

Cheers all.

I actually ordered 3 of them (dad, brother, sister), because my family don't
take enough photos! Now there is no excuse! Also means I won't have to
scan any more film. ;-)

Me personally, I am happy to carry SLR's and lenses, but for them they need
something small, so that it isn't a burden. Also, a new toy is an excuse
for them to take more photos.

Bought something else for my mum in the end, but of course I think mum and
dad will end up using the same camera anyway.

Hopefully a stepping stone...



"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?)