Bying a camera for a senior

[eharper]

This camera is for my 65 y.o. mother-in-law. The last camera she had might have been a Brownie (from my wife's description, and the time frame -- 1970's).


Budget
* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? $150-$200, maybe a little more if it's warranted by some features

Size
* What size camera are you looking for? Or does size not matter at all to you?
Compact, but not too small, for older hands. Also preferably fewer, larger buttons and controls

Features

How many megapixels will suffice for you?
Minimum 4 megapixels, preferably more

* What optical zoom will you need?
3x-4x

* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)
6

Do you care for manual controls?
No

General Usage
* What will you generally use the camera for?
Snapshots

* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?
Usually 4x6, occasionally 5x7

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?
Indoor photos, probably not low light

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?
No

Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate?
No

Are there particular models you already have in mind?
No

(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)
Image Stabilization


She'd prefer both an EVF and previewing the shot on the LCD. Turning off the LCD to save battery should be an option.

Other important features:
Easy to download photos to her computer -- plug the cable directly to the camera, be able to copy or move files, an easy way to delete photos off the camera without going through menus on the LCD would be nice.

AA Batteries, with good battery life.

Thanks,

Eric

[John_Reed]

I'm 67, older than your mother-in-law, and I don't have any problems with the buttons small and large on my my cameras. There are lots of older users on these forums who are spending a lot of time with their cameras. Hey, we can still see! Isn't that amazing?

Normally I'd recommend a Panasonic, being an avowed Panaholic, but since you think your MIL would need a viewfinder, I'd suggest one of the Canon cameras that has one, like the SD700 IS, (http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/cameraDetail.php?cam=846) for example. One of our resident Canonologists could perhaps make an even better suggestion? But that one looks like it covers all your bases pretty well.

Gotta go now. My guide dog wants to go for a walk! :p

[eharper]

I didn't mean to imply anything negative by using the term "senior". In my MIL's case, she does have difficulty with small buttons, and she's not a techno-whiz. Perhaps this would only be a problem with an ultracompact, but it is important to my query.

Regarding the Canon SD700, it's a bit out of her price range at over $300. Are there other Canons (perhaps in the A series) that would fit the bill? I think the most important features are:
AA batteries and good battery life
Easy to use in a full auto mode (auto flash popup for example)
Easy to get pictures off the camera into her computer.

Thanks,

Eric

[John_Reed]

I didn't mean to imply anything negative by using the term "senior". In my MIL's case, she does have difficulty with small buttons, and she's not a techno-whiz. Perhaps this would only be a problem with an ultracompact, but it is important to my query.

Regarding the Canon SD700, it's a bit out of her price range at over $300. Are there other Canons (perhaps in the A series) that would fit the bill? I think the most important features are:
AA batteries and good battery life
Easy to use in a full auto mode (auto flash popup for example)
Easy to get pictures off the camera into her computer.

Thanks,

EricIn the "Reviews" section of this site, they list all these cameras, and the SD700 says "From $239...", so maybe it's still a candidate. It doesn't use AA batteries, but frankly, given the probability that your MIL won't be shooting tons of photos, why sweat that? A rechargeable Li-Ion battery that comes with cameras using them will generally cover way more than a day's shooting. They're easy to handle, don't tend to get lost in purses, etc. AA batteries aren't all wonderment.

But the main reason I selected the SD700 IS was that it was priced low, it has an optical viewfinder, AND it has image stabilization. You can get lower-priced Panasonic cameras (like the LS2, e.g.) that also have stabilization, but they don't have a viewfinder, only an LCD. The nearest Panasonic camera to her price range with stabilization AND a "viewfinder" (electronic one) would be the FZ7, an ultra-zoom that sounded beyond her needs.

I'd suggest you go to the "Reviews" page on this site, and scroll down through the choices of cameras, see if you find something else that might work for you/her?

[SpecialK]

There's a buyer guide right here at DCRP (top of main page) The Canon A540 is highly rated and about the only one in your budget.

Note that all camera require you to go through a menu or use the LCD to delete images. How else are you going to see and choose them?

[eharper]

There's a buyer guide right here at DCRP (top of main page) The Canon A540 is highly rated and about the only one in your budget.

Note that all camera require you to go through a menu or use the LCD to delete images. How else are you going to see and choose them?

Download them to the computer, then delete en-masse from the memory card?

Thanks for the recommendation.