[ort888]

One of my wife's childhood friends has asked me for advice on buying a digital camera. Here's where it gets complicated though... without getting into it, let's just say that this girl has some major problems. She has suffered brain damage due to a long bout with cancer and has trouble doing certain things. She has a lot of problems with electronics and remembering small details. Her mind works fine for somethings and not so great for others.

At any rate, she really wants a digital camera even though she doesn't own a computer. So my question is this... is there a line of cameras out there designed to be super easy to use? What would you guys recommend? Is there anything out there specifically for the tech-illiterate?

[production_coordinator]

I would recommend a dirt cheap camera (the lowest end sony or whatever) and just mark the "on" and "photo" buttons in red with a magic marker... and say "don't use the other buttons"

"Click this one to turn it on, and this one to take a photo"

Just have her walk the card into a store (or give it to someone).

[SpaceMonkey]

Kodak CX7220. Or whatever is their ultra low-end at the moment. Less than $100. They tend to have non-modal buttons. This means that the buttons always do the same thing, and don't change functions depending on what mode you're in, which I imagine would be a plus for someone who has trouble keeping track of details.

[ort888]

Yeah, those kodak ones do look pretty easy. I don't know how much she wants to spend, but I think she would be willing to spend more to get a nice big screen. I'll probably just go with her to best buy and let her pick the kodak she likes best.

I'm surprised no one has come out with one that is simple to the point of being ridiculous. I would think that you could get it down to about 2 or 3 buttons.

[Visnaut]

Fuji FinePix Z1

Open lens cover to turn on, close it to turn off. Top right button does what you always expect it to. Nice big screen.

Couldn't get easier. Plus the picture quality is superb for a lens that small, and the startup time is super quick.

I highly reccomend you take a look at it.

[PB2K]

you should see my mother holding a digicam and trying to get a picture, she has a weird habit to watch thru the viewer and checking it by looking at the lcd screen, so she holds it at armlength, no closeby, no at armlenght again... she doesnt understand autofocus, she doesnt understand zooming in/out. it sucks that compact take time to boot because then she gets really confused about whats happening within those 5 seconds. i havent seen a good picture since she went digital. and the battery drains within 3 minutes so thats also a cause of stress. My brother and sister download the pictures for her.

[tooki]

Kodak's digital cameras tend to be very easy, with clear displays and well-designed menus that aren't full of jargon.

tooki

[zmcgill]

Originally Posted by PB2K

you should see my mother holding a digicam and trying to get a picture, she has a weird habit to watch thru the viewer and checking it by looking at the lcd screen, so she holds it at armlength, no closeby, no at armlenght again... she doesnt understand autofocus, she doesnt understand zooming in/out. it sucks that compact take time to boot because then she gets really confused about whats happening within those 5 seconds. i havent seen a good picture since she went digital. and the battery drains within 3 minutes so thats also a cause of stress. My brother and sister download the pictures for her.

What's there to understand about autofocus, doesn't it do it for you? And shouldn't most of those things be solved with a quick, hey ma, let me explain this in 5 seconds.