Digital camera recommendation 4 my Dad - complete beginner who needs something basic
- Thread starter Klute
- Start date
What will he be using it for, and what budget? Canon ELPH series might be good for dad. Some models have wifi built in for easy uploading to social media.
Just about any digital camera under $100-150 is point and shoot. After you show him how to load that photos into the computer a few times it will be easy. Check at the local big box electronics shop.
Best to ask the sales people and have a look at the cameras. Larger cameras have more options and might be better in some cases, but are more complex and less convenient to carry around.
These 2 downtown camera stores are fairly close to each other.
https://www.downtowncamera.com/
http://www.henrys.com/
These 2 downtown camera stores are fairly close to each other.
https://www.downtowncamera.com/
http://www.henrys.com/
Having removable batteries is the most important feature iMO especially for travel. You can find AA batteries just about anywhere. It's a pain when you have to deal with proprietary batteries and chargers. Then you need the travel adapters.Go to Best buy and get a Nikon point and shoot. good snapshots, no settings, small enough to carry everywhere. uses AA batteries.
Also keep in mind the type of PC connection cable. Some cameras use proprietary cables.
I find the easiest way is to plug the SD card into the PC and copy from there.Having removable batteries is the most important feature iMO especially for travel. You can find AA batteries just about anywhere. It's a pain when you have to deal with proprietary batteries and chargers. Then you need the travel adapters.
Also keep in mind the type of PC connection cable. Some cameras use proprietary cables.
On the other hand, those proprietary batteries tend to last a lot longer than AA's do. And then most people end up buying rechargeable AA's, so you end up carrying around a charger anyway. We have had a couple Nikon Coolpix cameras and still have the P80 as our backup camera to the DSLR we use now. Great little camera. Easy to use.Having removable batteries is the most important feature iMO especially for travel. You can find AA batteries just about anywhere. It's a pain when you have to deal with proprietary batteries and chargers. Then you need the travel adapters.
Also keep in mind the type of PC connection cable. Some cameras use proprietary cables.
You have probably sorted this out by now but it's a little hard to give advice without knowing how much you want to spend and what he is likely to do with the photos. Just post them? Get prints made? Also, what is he likely to photograph? Grandkids? Ladies? Flowers? Cars? But likely you have gone to one of the stores and received good advice.
If I was to get one point and shoot camera it would be the Sony RX100 Mark II. It's far superior to anything else. Although I don't think it's in OPs price range lol. Anything else is a waste and most latest smart phones match or exceed the sub $250 price of a point and shoot + IMO is a waste of money. The RX 100 II also takes great video and surpasses any camcorder in the price range.Highly recommend the Sony RX100, Panasonic LX5 or the Olympus XZ2 or the e-pm2. All are small but have decent performance. Just leave in auto and the camera will take care of the rest.
Kind of defeats the purpose of having a compact camera while travelling if you have to bring a laptop with you. You can use SD cards with some tablets, but most need cables to do so. The myriad of flash memory out there is a nuisance too e.g. Compact Flash, SD, MMC, Memory Stick, XD, and the micro and mini variants that you can't always find while travelling or they're crazy expensive.I find the easiest way is to plug the SD card into the PC and copy from there.
And no cables or card readers to mess with when you're using a smartphone. Just need to find wifi and you're good to upload to social media.P&S camera are so good now that any beginner can use them. In fact, camera phones are also unbelievably good. That is how they caught the Boston Bombers (pics from a camera phone).
There's no way that a smart phone successfully replaces a P&S camera. The limited shutter speeds on a phone means a very string reliance on a very rudimentary flash.And no cables or card readers to mess with when you're using a smartphone. Just need to find wifi and you're good to upload to social media.
Needless to say, there are a lot of really P&S cameras on the market. When I went looking for one, the differentiator for me was ruggedization, usually and simply marketed as waterproofness. All the major manufacturers make them, but the best known are made by Olympus, Panasonic, and Pentax. I ended up buying a Sony and was blown away by the picture quality.
I agree with blackrock, smartphone cameras do not compare. Not only are the sensors in P&S cameras higher resolution, but they have larger aperture lenses which makes for a sharper image, and better images under sub-optimal lighting.
I agree with blackrock, smartphone cameras do not compare. Not only are the sensors in P&S cameras higher resolution, but they have larger aperture lenses which makes for a sharper image, and better images under sub-optimal lighting.
I would recommend going to Costco and pick out one of the simple point and click cameras that they have to offer.
+1 :thumb:If I was to get one point and shoot camera it would be the Sony RX100 Mark II. It's far superior to anything else.
It runs about $700-$750.. If you would like to go a bit less expensive then look at the previous generation Sony RX100 which goes for about $600
If you want to go cheaper then check out the Canon S120
$369.
12.1 Megapixel 1/1.7" CMOS Sensor
Canon 5x Optical Zoom Lens (24-120mm)
3.0" High Resolution Touchscreen LCD
Full HD 1080/60p Video
DIGIC 6 Image Processing Engine
Enhanced Wi-Fi Capabilities
Continuous Shooting at 9.4 fps
