Simple point and shoot

Looking for some more advice!



My parents are going to treat themselves to a new digital camera for their
Christmas and have asked me for advice. I've done what I always do and have
a short list of three decent cameras; however they're the ones I would buy
myself and probably have more features than my parents are ever likely to
need.



My shortlist is:-

Canon Ixus 75.

Canon Ixus 800 IS

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W100.



My parents are both in their 60s and aren't too interested in photography,
all they want to be able to do is take decent pictures of the grand kids
without thinking (or twiddling with the camera). They'll probably not be
printing anything bigger than 7" x 5".



I guess the priorities a

1. Simplicity

2. A decent sized LCD (eyesight isn't the best!)

3. A short shutter delay, (lag?).

4. Camera size - not too big or heavy.

5. Zoom range around 35mm -120mm equiv. at 35mm.



My short listed cameras may be a bit too complicated however the IS on the
Canon Ixus 800 would probably be a bonus. Is there any on my list that are
definite no no's based on the priorities? Are there any other cameras that
I should be considering?



Your help, as always, is appreciated.



Kevin

I've just added the Fuji FinePix F30 to my shortlist...


"Kev" (replacenumbersforlette rs) wrote in
message ...
Looking for some more advice!



My parents are going to treat themselves to a new digital camera for their
Christmas and have asked me for advice. I've done what I always do and
have a short list of three decent cameras; however they're the ones I
would buy myself and probably have more features than my parents are ever
likely to need.



My shortlist is:-

Canon Ixus 75.

Canon Ixus 800 IS

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W100.



My parents are both in their 60s and aren't too interested in photography,
all they want to be able to do is take decent pictures of the grand kids
without thinking (or twiddling with the camera). They'll probably not be
printing anything bigger than 7" x 5".



I guess the priorities a

1. Simplicity

2. A decent sized LCD (eyesight isn't the best!)

3. A short shutter delay, (lag?).

4. Camera size - not too big or heavy.

5. Zoom range around 35mm -120mm equiv. at 35mm.



My short listed cameras may be a bit too complicated however the IS on the
Canon Ixus 800 would probably be a bonus. Is there any on my list that
are definite no no's based on the priorities? Are there any other cameras
that I should be considering?



Your help, as always, is appreciated.



Kevin

The most important thing is the user interface and the manual!

Your seclections are fine, but your parents could have a tough time
navigating the menus and manuals.

There is no simple answer to this. I teach digital photography to mostly
senior citizens and find that they need some hand-holding and that very few
digital cameras are really user friendly.

"Kev" (replacenumbersforlette rs) wrote in
message ...
Looking for some more advice!



My parents are going to treat themselves to a new digital camera for their
Christmas and have asked me for advice. I've done what I always do and
have a short list of three decent cameras; however they're the ones I
would buy myself and probably have more features than my parents are ever
likely to need.



My shortlist is:-

Canon Ixus 75.

Canon Ixus 800 IS

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W100.

Any short list not containing at least one Nikon Coolpix is too short a
list. I may be prejudiced -- on the other hand, I have owned virtually all
major brands of digital camera (except Sony) and my preference for the kind
of camera you're looking for is emphatically Nikon Coolpix.





My parents are both in their 60s and aren't too interested in photography,
all they want to be able to do is take decent pictures of the grand kids
without thinking (or twiddling with the camera). They'll probably not be
printing anything bigger than 7" x 5".



I guess the priorities a

1. Simplicity

Any digicam set to "green camera" mode is surely simple enough. All of them
have other modes and useful controls which your parents may never have any
interest in, which can simply be ignored.



2. A decent sized LCD (eyesight isn't the best!)

Loads of compacts and ultracompacts available now with 2.5" LCDs. In a major
brand it might be hard to find a digital camera *without* a fairly
good-sized LCD. Usually (and increasingly) this is at the expense of not
having an optical viewfinder, but most people don't use them anyway --
except in some conditions of bright sunlight, when LCDs may be a problem.



3. A short shutter delay, (lag?).

All digicams have some shutter lag. If your parents can get used to the idea
of pressing the shutter release only partway to let the camera sort out
focus and exposure first, and *then* press it all the way to take the
picture, this shouldn't be a problem. But it is probably the chief
difference between using a digital as opposed to a 35mm point-and-shoot.



4. Camera size - not too big or heavy.

In the eye of the beholder. But all Nikon Coolpixes are just the right size,
neither too big nor too small, too heavy nor too light. ;-)



5. Zoom range around 35mm -120mm equiv. at 35mm.

Most compacts/ultracompacts have 3x zooms typically equivalent to 35-105mm
or 38-114mm in a 35. Some of the new Nikon Coolpixes have 3.5x zooms
equivalent to 36-126mm, such as this Nikon Coolpix P4:
http://nikonusa.com/template.php?cat...roductNr=25540

That is probably as close to your stated requirements as you can get.





My short listed cameras may be a bit too complicated however the IS on the
Canon Ixus 800 would probably be a bonus. Is there any on my list that
are definite no no's based on the priorities? Are there any other cameras
that I should be considering?

The Coolpix P4 also has Vibration Reduction (Nikon's term for IS) as well as
the simplicity of operation (in "green camera" mode), a large 2.5" LCD, the
36-126mm (equiv.) lens, light weight, and a small, smooth, pocketable shape.

It does have some features that your parents would probably never use, such
as aperture priority mode and a large assortment of scene modes, and its 8.1
megapixels is surely more than they'll need for the size prints you mention.
If they don't find it too pricey (as I write this it's $291.89 at
BuyDig.com) they can just ignore the features they have no interest in and
leave the dial set at the auto-everything "green camera" mode. Practically
*any* digital camera they buy today will have modes and features that
they'll probably never use.

Otherwise, there are several less expensive Coolpix models which have a
slightly narrower 3x zoom range and no VR. The Coolpix L3 for example is
Nikon's lowest priced model, also light and compact, has a 38-116mm (equiv.)
lens, a pretty good-sized 2" LCD and uses AA cells -- ordinary alkalines in
a pinch, though of course NiMH rechargeables are to be preferred. It's
$125.69 with free shipping, same place. Several other models between that
and the P3/P4 cameras in price.

Neil

Thanks Neil, I'm a biased Canon user but I'll check out your Nikon
suggestion too.

"Neil Harrington" wrote in message
...

"Kev" (replacenumbersforlette rs) wrote in
message ...
Looking for some more advice!



My parents are going to treat themselves to a new digital camera for
their Christmas and have asked me for advice. I've done what I always do
and have a short list of three decent cameras; however they're the ones I
would buy myself and probably have more features than my parents are ever
likely to need.



My shortlist is:-

Canon Ixus 75.

Canon Ixus 800 IS

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W100.

Any short list not containing at least one Nikon Coolpix is too short a
list. I may be prejudiced -- on the other hand, I have owned virtually all
major brands of digital camera (except Sony) and my preference for the
kind of camera you're looking for is emphatically Nikon Coolpix.





My parents are both in their 60s and aren't too interested in
photography, all they want to be able to do is take decent pictures of
the grand kids without thinking (or twiddling with the camera). They'll
probably not be printing anything bigger than 7" x 5".



I guess the priorities a

1. Simplicity

Any digicam set to "green camera" mode is surely simple enough. All of
them have other modes and useful controls which your parents may never
have any interest in, which can simply be ignored.



2. A decent sized LCD (eyesight isn't the best!)

Loads of compacts and ultracompacts available now with 2.5" LCDs. In a
major brand it might be hard to find a digital camera *without* a fairly
good-sized LCD. Usually (and increasingly) this is at the expense of not
having an optical viewfinder, but most people don't use them anyway --
except in some conditions of bright sunlight, when LCDs may be a problem.



3. A short shutter delay, (lag?).

All digicams have some shutter lag. If your parents can get used to the
idea of pressing the shutter release only partway to let the camera sort
out focus and exposure first, and *then* press it all the way to take the
picture, this shouldn't be a problem. But it is probably the chief
difference between using a digital as opposed to a 35mm point-and-shoot.



4. Camera size - not too big or heavy.

In the eye of the beholder. But all Nikon Coolpixes are just the right
size, neither too big nor too small, too heavy nor too light. ;-)



5. Zoom range around 35mm -120mm equiv. at 35mm.

Most compacts/ultracompacts have 3x zooms typically equivalent to 35-105mm
or 38-114mm in a 35. Some of the new Nikon Coolpixes have 3.5x zooms
equivalent to 36-126mm, such as this Nikon Coolpix P4:
http://nikonusa.com/template.php?cat...roductNr=25540

That is probably as close to your stated requirements as you can get.





My short listed cameras may be a bit too complicated however the IS on
the Canon Ixus 800 would probably be a bonus. Is there any on my list
that are definite no no's based on the priorities? Are there any other
cameras that I should be considering?

The Coolpix P4 also has Vibration Reduction (Nikon's term for IS) as well
as the simplicity of operation (in "green camera" mode), a large 2.5" LCD,
the 36-126mm (equiv.) lens, light weight, and a small, smooth, pocketable
shape.

It does have some features that your parents would probably never use,
such as aperture priority mode and a large assortment of scene modes, and
its 8.1 megapixels is surely more than they'll need for the size prints
you mention. If they don't find it too pricey (as I write this it's
$291.89 at BuyDig.com) they can just ignore the features they have no
interest in and leave the dial set at the auto-everything "green camera"
mode. Practically *any* digital camera they buy today will have modes and
features that they'll probably never use.

Otherwise, there are several less expensive Coolpix models which have a
slightly narrower 3x zoom range and no VR. The Coolpix L3 for example is
Nikon's lowest priced model, also light and compact, has a 38-116mm
(equiv.) lens, a pretty good-sized 2" LCD and uses AA cells -- ordinary
alkalines in a pinch, though of course NiMH rechargeables are to be
preferred. It's $125.69 with free shipping, same place. Several other
models between that and the P3/P4 cameras in price.

Neil

On Oct 29 2006 2:16 PM, Kev wrote:

I've just added the Fuji FinePix F30 to my shortlist...

Kevin

I love the F30. But you may want to consider the F20 which is similar to
the F30 but with less bells and whistles and more automatic.

Rob-L in L.V.

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