Any advice on a specific camera to buy for an elderly fellow with parkinson's? I'm okay with buying a regular camera for myself, but I have no idea on what specifics might make one camera better over another for this specific instance. I'd think shutter speed would be the biggest factor in a clearer image (but then, I don't really know what I'm talking about).
We're worried that his shaking hands might lead to blurry images, so we want something that'll accommodate for that.
He's dead set on something with a touch screen on it, as my grandpa is enamored with the newest technology available, even if he has no idea how to use it. I think I could talk him out of it if there was an easier option, and ease of use is the biggest issue. He needs a camera that will make up for his shaking hands, and that he can navigate very, very easily. Other than reviewing and deleting images, I don't imagine he'll use any of the special features, so I don't care about any of that.
Any recommendations?
Posted by AchillesHeel (Member # 11736) on :
I got my mom a camera recently, at BestBuy I found one thats a little bigger than usual so it was easier to hold. The camera also uses disposable batteries so she doesnt have to worry about charging it. I would discourage the touch screen, just because of the price for something that basically makes it harder to keep up, but I whole-heartedly suggest getting a digital picture frame to go with it, especially one that has an SD slot, I know my mom appreciates not having to go through the computer to put the pictures in the frame. And theres a wide variety of touch-screen digital frames too.
Posted by Pegasus (Member # 10464) on :
You could teach him to always use it on shutter priority mode. This is usually indicated by "S" or "Tv" on the dial. Then just leave the shutter speed set to something somewhat fast, like maybe 1/200 or faster. The camera will then adjust aperture and ISO to make a correct exposure with the fast shutter. As far as he is concerned it would still be fully automatic.
Posted by Mucus (Member # 9735) on :
You can experiment with cameras that have image stabilization, many Canon and Sony cameras I think. I don't know if they're designed for quite this use, but its worth a try.
Anything beyond point and click is really beyond him. I've given up on showing him how to use his laptop, even after making little videos that explain how to do something that he can watch as many times as he needs. Anything other than pointing the camera at something and snapping the shot, and zoom, is never going to stick, and it'll frustrate him.
Mucus -
Thanks, that's what we're looking at now. The Nikon Coolpix line has what looks like a nice image stabilization feature on it, and after playing with it in the store he seems to really like it. Unless people have bad things to say about Nikons, we're headed in that direction.
Posted by AchillesHeel (Member # 11736) on :
It took me two years to get my grandma to remember, the green button is to answer the phone and red to hang up. Imagine if I told her it was a calculator and scheduler to boot.
Posted by TheBlueShadow (Member # 9718) on :
I was quite proud of teaching my nana how to use the camera on her phone.
Of course, I was then subjected to the pictures.
I'd go for the Nikon, especially if he's used it and still likes it.