It's Christmas time, for those of you who aren't aware, and I need to buy my mother a gift. She's been bugging me about a camera forever now, so I'm going to fulfill her wish. With that in mind, what do you recommend? I'm leaving for college soon, so I want to get her a really, really, really REALLY nice camera so she can have something to play around with while I'm gone. Money is not really an issue here (I've been saving up all year), I'm willing to spend up to $500. She's a simple woman, so I'd like a simple camera that takes superb pictures. Generally, that means point-and-shoot, but who knows, in today's world, even DSLRs like the Canon EOS Rebel XS are being called "consumer" cameras. So fire away with your suggestions, my mother needs your help! Thanks.
In my opinion, canon makes the best cameras. Buy her a digital camera. I would recommend the canon powershot (digital elph) series. A 10 megapixels version wtakes real good pictures and with a 4 gigabyte memory/flash card should cost you about $200.
Make sure if you take any pictures, especially pictures that your mom took herself or really really REALLY likes, save it to your computer if your camera has a memory card (duh). Just sayin'. Who knows if it might be stolen-along with all the pictures.......again.......just sayin'
One of the most trusted review sites for cameras on the web is www.dpreview.com . DSLRs are so nice but not sure if it's worth shelling out extra if she isn't going to learn to use the features or does not want to deal with the hassles that come with a DSLR. For a really easy to use yet great picture quality point-and-click, can't go wrong with Canon's A720 series. It doesn't try to be thin, lightweight, fashionable or have power zoom but it does point and click as good as it gets. Year after year, it receives the Highly Recommended award on dpreview. Also, if you want to save a little, older models in the series are not really worse.
Nikon's are just as good as Canons and cheaper. Also, definitely buy cameras online. As sad as it was for a pro photographer who loves the local stores to admit that, he says buy online now. But he also sad to buy your memory and other things at other online stores vs where you buy the camera. The camera online stores try to offset their low prices by overpricing accessories.
You are an awesome son. You're in high school and your dropping $500 on a gift for mom? Wow. I've never spent more than $50-60.
i just got a Canon DSLR Xsi and trust me..as much as they want to call it a consumer camera..it is not for the average person. in order for someone to use the full potential of this camera, you have to know a little bit about photography. aperture, iso speed, focal length, shutter speed...if these terms are making you go wtf..then learn them before you get it. also be prepared to use the viewfinder. the "live view" (previewing on the lcd) function is not the same as on a point and shoot camera. so if she is prepared to learn all this and deal with the differences in a dslr camera..then i would recommend the canon XS ...not the XSi. XS is a great choice for starters. Other choices are the D40 by Nikon, and Alpha series by sony.
IF you do buy online, make sure you go feel the camera in stores first. also buy from a reputable dealer online. a lot of website offer you a low price and then once you hit order, they will say oh it's out of stock, or do you want to buy more stuff..and you end up paying a ton more. B&H Photo, Amazon, Dell, Newegg..are all good sites.
Alright, thanks to all of you for your help, I'm going to check out dpreview.com right now. Where would I be without you guys...
For most mothers, picture quality isn't the most important issue. Most camera's from Canon, Nikon, or Sony will do the trick. They however want simplicity, small size, and a huge screen on the back so they can show the pictures they took. If image quality is important, Canon generally have the best image quality in the point and shoot cameras.
