Point and Shoot Recommendation: My sister, who is 77, is looking for a point and shoot camera. Budget is around $300. She wants something where the lens will zoom. She is also looking...

Pysanka Artist Loc: Rochester, NY

My sister, who is 77, is looking for a point and shoot camera. Budget is around $300. She wants something where the lens will zoom. She is also looking for a camera where she doesn't have to fiddle looking for certain presets like "beach shots" or "low light shots." She wants a camera that will recognize to do that on its own. Any recommendations?

Shel B

We've used a little Nikon Cool-Pix with great results. I have no reason to think that the Nikon is any better than any other camera in that price range.

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

You can get a Sony pocket camera. The DSC-WX220 for $197 Brand New. It has a fixed zoom lens from 25-250mm. And it has the features you mentioned in the camera menu. You can get a free carry case, and a SanDisk 16gb SD memory card with it, from B&H Photo.

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

Pysanka Artist wrote:

My sister, who is 77, is looking for a point and shoot camera. Budget is around $300. She wants something where the lens will zoom. She is also looking for a camera where she doesn't have to fiddle looking for certain presets like "beach shots" or "low light shots." She wants a camera that will recognize to do that on its own. Any recommendations?

I don't think any camera is able to recognize beach shots or low light shots on its own. That's why they have the little dial with the icons on it.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

DWU2 wrote:

I don't think any camera is able to recognize beach shots or low light shots on its own. That's why they have the little dial with the icons on it.

Not true. I have a couple Panasonic and an Olympus that have an "iA" mode on the little dial.

After shooting the "blood moon" doing my best with the manual, I tried "iA". The camera shifted gears and started doing low light, multiple exposure, stacking into a JPEG. A little symbol in the upper left had icons for a "night mode".

Yesterday I had my little Olympus on a ski day. My granddaughter was standing with Mt Rainier in the background, the sun was high and bright, harsh light and shadows were everywhere. The camera picked an appropriate "snow mode" and added a touch of fill flash.

I would list the cameras, but they are a hundred or so above the OP's budget.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

A check on B&H suggests:

All are under $300, have plenty of zoom and automatic shooting modes.

Panasonic Lumix DC-FZ80
Canon PowerShot SX530
Sony DSC-H300
Nikon COOLPIX B500

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

bsprague wrote:

Not true. I have a couple Panasonic and an Olympu... (show quote)

Intelligent Auto, or its equivalent from various camera makers will do its best to give a well-exposed shot, but I think, for the most part, if you tell the P&S camera you're taking beach/snow photos, macro, sports, backlit, portrait, etc. by turning the little dial, the camera will be more likely to render a well-exposed (and, to an extent, composed) picture for the casual shooter. That's why its there.

SS319

You and your sister should spend a day at a camera shop. handle many different cameras and find the one SHE is comfortable with. It sounds like this is to be a friends and grand kids camera with a few sunsets thrown in, so you are in a range where there are a plethora of cameras. If she picks it out, she is far more likely to use it for more than a couple weeks.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

DWU2 wrote:

Intelligent Auto, or its equivalent from various camera makers will do its best to give a well-exposed shot, but I think, for the most part, if you tell the P&S camera you're taking beach/snow photos, macro, sports, backlit, portrait, etc. by turning the little dial, the camera will be more likely to render a well-exposed (and, to an extent, composed) picture for the casual shooter. That's why its there.

Dan,

You are absolutely correct. Any human input, for the most part, should improve the shots. I've believed that for the 60 years I've played with cameras.

Trouble is, lately, I've been playing with the automatic stuff in both cameras and post processing. I keep getting jolted with how good it really is. It totally goes against my grain and the grain of forums like this one.

My wife was suggesting that I'm so fussy with my gear it was getting in the way of results. As a near joke, she gave me an Olympus "Tought" TG-5 (about $150 above the OP's budget.) As a return joke, I put it on iA and have left it there. "This will never work!", I told her. The damn thing with its too tiny sensor keeps getting photos I would have lost due to fussing with settings, lenses, finding my camera bag and other distractions.

Spend a week or two on nothing but iA and see what you get!

Pysanka Artist Loc: Rochester, NY

bsprague wrote:

Not true. I have a couple Panasonic and an Olympu... (show quote)

Yes, please list the cameras -- my sister may up her budget if she can get what she wants!

Pysanka Artist Loc: Rochester, NY

SS319 wrote:

You and your sister should spend a day at a camera shop. handle many different cameras and find the one SHE is comfortable with. It sounds like this is to be a friends and grand kids camera with a few sunsets thrown in, so you are in a range where there are a plethora of cameras. If she picks it out, she is far more likely to use it for more than a couple weeks.

Great suggestion! Thank you!

Pysanka Artist Loc: Rochester, NY

mas24 wrote:

You can get a Sony pocket camera. The DSC-WX220 for $197 Brand New. It has a fixed zoom lens from 25-250mm. And it has the features you mentioned in the camera menu. You can get a free carry case, and a SanDisk 16gb SD memory card with it, from B&H Photo.

Thank you!

ctsteps5

pentax x-5

Pysanka Artist Loc: Rochester, NY

ctsteps5 wrote:

pentax x-5

Thank you.

aellman Loc: Boston MA

bsprague wrote:

Not true. I have a couple Panasonic and an Olympu... (show quote)

I find it amazing how smart AUTO is on contemporary cameras. For many hobbiests, it's all they ever need to use. I have had several Canon Elph models and found them absolutley terrific. A current one is the PowerShot ELPH 190 for $149. That would be my choice. >Alan