digital camera for parents

[Lulu]

Hey guys,
My parents are going to Europe this summer and are totally stuck in the middle ages as far as technology goes. My dad tried taking a pic with my digital camera and got so flustered with it . I was wondering if anyone knows one of the more basic digital camera models that isnt pricey and just a simple point and click so my parents can take a nice camera to Europe with them...

thanks
lulu

 

[runner]

define "isnt pricey". The Canon Powershot 410 is a 4MP camera, and all you do is turn it on and to take a picture, you press a button. It is about $350, but you'll want to get a big enough memory card so they don't have to switch them out. You can get a 1GB compact flash card for about $70 at Frys. This model can also fit in a shirt pocket.

 

[KMcCoy33]

As far as cameras that are user friendly and still take a really good picture, I have had success with the Olympus and lower end Sony models. You are probably going to get more of what you would like with the Olympus. The Olympus C-50 and C-60 have worked out well for my grandparents, cousin, and aunt. You can find the C-60 (a 6.1 MP model) for $300 at most places. Precision Camera here is Austin has it for $300. The C-50 you can usually find on eBay and some online stores for a little cheaper. The camera is pretty nice and easy to use. As far as the Sony cameras, the P100 would be a good one to look at. I don't have much experience using any of the other brands though. If you are in Austin, I have two older digital cameras that I don't use anymore and would sell. One is a Sony DSC-P8. It has a lithium rechargable battery so they wouldn't have to worry about buying batteries and is a 3.2 MP. It is practically brand new. I used it for about 4 months and have the box and everything. The other is a much older Olympus that is just a 2.1 MP. It is probably the easiest to use camera I have used, but uses AA batteries so can get expensive if you are constantly using it. I don't have the box for it, but have all the manuals and extra rechargable AAs for it. Or if you wanted to just check them out to see what kind you would like to buy for them, I'm usually around. Anyway, hope I helped you a little.

 

[txzen]

You know, if they are flustered trying to take a picture, they are going to hit the wall when they come back from the trip.

How are they going to share the pictures they take with friends/family? Are they going to link the camera to a TV to look at them, or will they display them on a computer? Are they able to install and run the image management software? Could they use a place like Ophoto or Shutterfly to share images and print the ones they want? Do they have a fast enough internet connection to do that? Are they going to be able to rotate and crop images? Will they be able to learn how to resize an image so that it's small enough to email to friends/family?

Digital cameras are great, but for those who don't do well with computers and aren't up to date on internet technology, it could be too frustrating. Of course, they could just take the camera or card to a place that will make pictures direct from the storage media, but how much of an improvement is this over film? A little cheaper, I guess, since the film is free.

Anyway, these are the Q's I fielded this Christmas - both the parents and inlaws got their first digital camera.