Small idiot proof camera recommendations?

Gosh, there are so many of them. My wife loves her Nikon Coolpix 5200. It is
even smaller than the 3100 she had before and you can get great pictures
almost anywhere.

I also got her the book "How to Photograph Your Life" by Nick Kelsh. All the
pictures in it were taken with a small point and shoot digital camera. It is
basically a picture book, comparing the standard "amateur" shot with one
that has a little bit of thought in it. It goes by subject, such as how to
photograph your vacation, how to photograph your dog, how to photograph a
graduation, etc., without using any technical jargon at all or fiddling
around with a lot of camera settings.
 >> Stay informed about: Small idiot proof camera recommendations? 

"William Regan" <williamregan.RemoveThis@yahoo.com> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:2a09c171.0411231603.1c71955b@posting.google.com...
 > My wife has a Canon ELPH APS camera that thankfully died recently.
 > She wanted another APS but I have convinced her to go digital. She
 > liked the APS camera because it was really small and she thought it
 > was cool looking.
 >
 > What would be a good small digital camera that would be easy to use?
 > She doesn't need lots of features and options, just idiot proof point
 > and shoot with zoom.

If she's concerned with the looks, I recommend to take a look at any of
these:

<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_reviews/sl300r.html" target="_blank">http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_reviews/sl300r.html</a>
(there is a 4MPixels version, too, called "Finecam SL 400R")

<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/t3.html" target="_blank">http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/t3.html</a>

And the newer Sony DSC T5

I have the SL 400R, find it very stylish. Picture quality is good.
Drawback: battery has not really big cacpacity and the flash is meek. On
the pro side: the design, the size, the nice feature with the swing body
which lets you take pictures in unusual positions and the speed (over 3
pictures / sec).

Kind regards

robert<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Small idiot proof camera recommendations? 

 >"William Regan" <williamregan.RemoveThis@yahoo.com> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
 >news:2a09c171.0411231603.1c71955b@posting.google.com...
 > My wife has a Canon ELPH APS camera that thankfully died recently.
 > She wanted another APS but I have convinced her to go digital. She
 > liked the APS camera because it was really small and she thought it
 > was cool looking.
 >
 > What would be a good small digital camera that would be easy to use?
 > She doesn't need lots of features and options, just idiot proof point
 > and shoot with zoom.

IMHO any of the Nikon Coolpix range is worth looking at.

The older models may still be available if you're on a smaller budget.

HTH
--

regards
Les<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Small idiot proof camera recommendations? 

Most of the reviews for Kodak cameras that I read when researching my
purchase made a point of highlighting the Kodak's "ease of use". I didn't
buy one because I was looking for something with more control, but it sounds
like your wife might be looking for a Kodak.

Tbob

"William Regan" <williamregan.TakeThisOut@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:2a09c171.0411231603.1c71955b@posting.google.com...
 > My wife has a Canon ELPH APS camera that thankfully died recently.
 > She wanted another APS but I have convinced her to go digital. She
 > liked the APS camera because it was really small and she thought it
 > was cool looking.
 >
 > What would be a good small digital camera that would be easy to use?
 > She doesn't need lots of features and options, just idiot proof point
 > and shoot with zoom.
 >
 > Thanks,
 > Bill<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Small idiot proof camera recommendations? 

Below $250, go for the Nikon Coolpix series mentioned above. For the
ultimate "cool" look and great pictures, see the Canon SD110, SD300, S410.
Don't forget to add the cost of a decent size memory card (although SD and
CF cards are very cheap these days).

"William Regan" <williamregan.RemoveThis@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:2a09c171.0411231603.1c71955b@posting.google.com...
 > My wife has a Canon ELPH APS camera that thankfully died recently.
 > She wanted another APS but I have convinced her to go digital. She
 > liked the APS camera because it was really small and she thought it
 > was cool looking.
 >
 > What would be a good small digital camera that would be easy to use?
 > She doesn't need lots of features and options, just idiot proof point
 > and shoot with zoom.
 >
 > Thanks,
 > Bill<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Small idiot proof camera recommendations? 

Jeffrey Stetz <please.TakeThisOut@nospam.net> wrote:
 >Below $250, go for the Nikon Coolpix series mentioned above. For the
 >ultimate "cool" look and great pictures, see the Canon SD110, SD300, S410.
 >Don't forget to add the cost of a decent size memory card (although SD and
 >CF cards are very cheap these days).

I've got the S400 (direct ancestor of the S410, not that I can even
tell from the specs how they differ). I love it, although I'll admit
I havn't figured out how all the modes work yet.

It came with a 64 meg card, which I soon upgraded to a 256 meg card.
I immediately discovered that I had plenty of memory capacity, but
would run out of battery long before I filled the card

So, my suggestion is if you add a bigger memory card, also budget for
the cost of some extra batteries. Canon wants $40-something for them,
but they're available from aftermarket sources for $10-12. I just
bought two from <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.sterlingtek.com/." target="_blank">http://www.sterlingtek.com/.</a> $9 each plus shipping
came to $25 for the pair. Sterling didn't claim any specific
capacity, but the ones that showed up are marked 1440 mAH.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Small idiot proof camera recommendations? 

In article <TJ%od.93466$5K2.34171@attbi_s03>, "tbob" <tbob DeleteThis @home.com>
wrote:

 > Most of the reviews for Kodak cameras that I read when researching my
 > purchase made a point of highlighting the Kodak's "ease of use". I didn't
 > buy one because I was looking for something with more control, but it
 > sounds
 > like your wife might be looking for a Kodak.
 >
 > Tbob
 >
 > "William Regan" <williamregan DeleteThis @yahoo.com> wrote in message
 > news:2a09c171.0411231603.1c71955b@posting.google.com...
  > > My wife has a Canon ELPH APS camera that thankfully died recently.
  > > She wanted another APS but I have convinced her to go digital. She
  > > liked the APS camera because it was really small and she thought it
  > > was cool looking.
  > >
  > > What would be a good small digital camera that would be easy to use?
  > > She doesn't need lots of features and options, just idiot proof point
  > > and shoot with zoom.
  > >
  > > Thanks,
  > > Bill

I had a Kodak DC4800 and was very impressed with their tech support.
Son has a Kodak. Daughter has a Nikon Coolpix. I have a Canon A80 to
replace the Kodak because it was cooler and sexier and takes movies
(fair quality only but satisfactory for my purposes). I love the A80
for its swivel screen -- I can put the camera low without getting ME low
(old bones, lousy joints, and all). All take very fine pictures
point-and-shoot, as well as manual settings. I really like the Canon.
--
-Barb, <www.jamlady.eboard.com> Updated 10-22-04; Popovers!.
"Peace will come when the power of love overcomes the love of power."
-Jimi Hendrix, and Lt. Joe Corcoran, Retired; St. Paul PD, Homicide Divn.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Small idiot proof camera recommendations? 

My son has a nice Pentax which can be run "Point and Shoot," or with
other features. I have an Olympus C-5000 that when run in "auto" mode
is quite simple. My wife, who has used film cameras, picked up on the
basics of the digital Olympus in about 10 minutes. Easy to experiment,
etc., thus learning is much easier. Only problem she had was "poking"
the shutter button before the autofocus had time to lock on.
 >> Stay informed about: Small idiot proof camera recommendations? 

William Regan wrote:

 >My wife has a Canon ELPH APS camera that thankfully died recently.
 >She wanted another APS but I have convinced her to go digital. She
 >liked the APS camera because it was really small and she thought it
 >was cool looking.
 >
 >What would be a good small digital camera that would be easy to use?

Since she had a Canon before, the learning curve will likely be shorter
with another Canon as many of the icons and settings are the same.

 >She doesn't need lots of features and options, just idiot proof point
 >and shoot with zoom.

For specific models, you need to post a budget, because they all take
good photos. The price difference is usually megapixels, features, and
body size. See this page for US versions:

<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/controller?act=ProductCatIndexAct&fcategoryid=113" target="_blank">http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/controller?act=ProductCatIndexAct&fca...oryid=1</a>

For a small camera that is easy to use and takes decent photos, the A400
is a reasonable choice. I picked one up recently for myself when it was
on sale. It's perfect for get-togethers, parties, and other social
events where I don't want to carry around my big SLR and lenses.

It takes just 2 AA batteries and I use a set of 4 rechargeable batteries
for it. If I run one set down, I just pop in the second set. And in the
odd situation where I might run both down, I can always use Duracells or
Energizers from the corner store. I wish more cameras, including my SLR,
used AA batteries.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Small idiot proof camera recommendations? 

Thanks everybody for the suggestions. I've tentively decided on the
Canon S410. It turns out that my choices are somewhat limited because
I have the original verrsion of Windows 98. The Nikon Coolpix, Canon
SD200/SD300 and others require at least Windows 98Second Edition.
I'd like to give my wife another choice.
Any other suggesstions for a Win98 compatible camera?

Thanks,
Bill



pross.TakeThisOut@dejazzd.com (Paul W. Ross) wrote in message news:<91c6534c.0411281045.682f5c01.TakeThisOut@posting.google.com>...
 > My son has a nice Pentax which can be run "Point and Shoot," or with
 > other features. I have an Olympus C-5000 that when run in "auto" mode
 > is quite simple. My wife, who has used film cameras, picked up on the
 > basics of the digital Olympus in about 10 minutes. Easy to experiment,
 > etc., thus learning is much easier. Only problem she had was "poking"
 > the shutter button before the autofocus had time to lock on.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Small idiot proof camera recommendations? 

William Regan wrote:

 >Thanks everybody for the suggestions. I've tentively decided on the
 >Canon S410. It turns out that my choices are somewhat limited because
 >I have the original verrsion of Windows 98. The Nikon Coolpix, Canon
 >SD200/SD300 and others require at least Windows 98Second Edition.

You should have the requirements clarified by Canon and Nikon. If I
remember correctly, the only difference between Win 98 and SE in regards
to digicams, is USB v2 support. And since USB v2 is backwards compatible
with v1, you can still use basic Win 98.

The reason they list SE as the minimum requirement, is for the faster
USB speeds.

 >I'd like to give my wife another choice.

There are plenty of choices. Visit a big chain store like Best Buy or
whatever, and peruse their selection to get some ideas, then come back
here and ask for recommendations on those models you liked.

 >Any other suggesstions for a Win98 compatible camera?

Any USB camera should work fine...you just won't get the faster transfer
rates of v2, that's all.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Small idiot proof camera recommendations? 

Bill <bill.TakeThisOut@c.a> wrote in news:rbadncOeeIkmRS3cRVn-sA@golden.net:

  >>Any other suggesstions for a Win98 compatible camera?
 >
 > Any USB camera should work fine...you just won't get the faster transfer
 > rates of v2, that's all.
 >

This might not be true. For some cameras you need drivers.
But ... you can always get an W98 compatible flash card reader.


/Roland<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Small idiot proof camera recommendations? 

Roland Karlsson wrote:

   >>>Any other suggesstions for a Win98 compatible camera?
  >>
  >> Any USB camera should work fine...you just won't get the faster transfer
  >> rates of v2, that's all.
 >
 >This might not be true. For some cameras you need drivers.

We're not talking about drivers, just compatibility with Windows.

Most if not all USB cameras will need drivers of some kind in Windows
95B through to 2000. Win XP comes with PTP support built-in, so you
don't need drivers, but you can install them if you wish.

The issue is USB v2 compatibility...not if you need drivers or not.

 >But ... you can always get an W98 compatible flash card reader.

Yes...and that's generally the best method. The camera's interface is
often slow compared to a high speed USB connection and a card reader.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Small idiot proof camera recommendations?