Easy to use camera for old folks

Persuaded my mum to get out and see something of the world following the death of my dad this summer.

She’s decided on a trip to Norway, with Hurtigrunting (whatever) cruises following a thread on here.

I’ve suggested a camera. Dad always bought fairly poor cameras, so she’s never been a snapper. She has limited mobility and feeling in her hands, so doesn’t want anything “faffy”. Changing lens is a no-no.

Anyone got any suggestions about what camera might be worth getting? I think something a bit more substantial than a point-and-shoot, but not too heavy.

Up to £1k. Not bothered if it’s the latest generation.

Or, is the answer just to use her iPhone?

(Edit: she’s got an iPhone 11. So if the answer is iPhone, should we upgrade that to a ??)

Yeah phone I reckon. I mean it’s easy, two clicks on the side button on my pixel opens the camera. I don’t have to enter the pin or face lock stuff

Camera grip for the iPhone?

How about phone AND an instant camera like a Polaroid or Fuji with a few packs of film. Would make a good conversation starter on a cruise. You can even post phone photos of your instants for more social media points!

Any camera can be simple if in auto mode, compose and click. The more difficult bit IMO Is downloading the pics, and viewing them somewhere. So I like the instant camera idea. Plus the iPhone, as the pics appear in the gallery automatically. My mum buys those disposable film cameras for her hols.

A decent phone will almost always take more impressive shots than pretty much any camera in the hands of a complete novice. Much of the reason for that is all the clever software manipulating those images the second you press the shutter.

A decent camera will have better optical quality, but you’ll generally not get the best out of them without a bit of knowledge and post-processing.

Polaroid isn’t a bad idea though. It’s not always about the quality but capturing memories, and the ability to snap them and put them straight into a photo album might appeal.

Quite liking the idea of a phone grip and instant camera.

She’s travelling solo and the instamax idea is an excellent one to assist chatting with others.

Thanks all. Will go hunting.

A decent phone will almost always take more impressive shots than pretty much any camera in the hands of a complete novice. Much of the reason for that is all the clever software manipulating those images the second you press the shutter.

I’ve posted this tale before, I know.  A mate of mine is an amateur photographer, primary outdoorsy stuff.  He shoots a big Nikon dSLR thing.  On their chimney breast is a big canvas, easily A3 and possibly A2 in size.  I said “that’s great, what lens did you use?” and he replied “oh, iPhone.”

Modern smartphone ftw.
I haven’t actually used my dslr for about 3 years.
I CAN acheive better than a phone, but it takes effort.
A modern smartphone will manage just fine.
You can get mini tripods, selfie sticks etc for them too.
Crucially, if something happens that is worthy of a photo, she’ll have her phone with her.

I have a friend who is a pro staff photographer for a red top newspaper. He recommends an iPhone camera and some of his published pictures were taken with one. Obviously he’s not a sports photographer.

Instants are “on trend” and fun. More fun than showing someone a phone screen. Get people to sign them for added memories.

Consensus seems to be being achieved!

I’ll upgrade her phone in lieu of a camera then. I’m not an iPhone person. She’s got an 11. Upgrade to a 13? Or is the 14 much betterer?

Found this hand grip thing which seems well reviewed

https://amzn.eu/d/dGwaEbn

Fuji do a hybrid  instant/digital so you get to keep a copy of your pic

instax mini evo. I think , perhaps an ideal fun camera if you like the instant thing – we have a couple of the instax wide cameras – they are comedy big but the results are great , buying close to out dated film makes it tolerably cost effective and the b&w film is nice

Each model is a bit better than previous one.
Consider the plus size models too, easier for aging eyes (disclaimer: i mean me) to see.
But they have bigger batteries too.

Given that you can’t be bothered to spell Hutigruten (whatever) properly why should I bother writing an answer. .

Upgrade her iPhone.

A phone that’s not an iPhone will have a bigger sensor. And half the price. Win win.

A phone that’s not an iPhone will have a bigger sensor. And half the price. Win win.

The downside to that (even to me as a die hard Android user) is she’s an iPhone user already so it’s one less thing to learn and having a tech issue mid trip probably isn’t ideal.

I like my phone camera (Pixel) a lot and I also really liked our ageing finepix (I can’t recall what the format is called but it’s the one that looks like a miniaturised SLR with a non swappable lens).  It takes good pictures with a decent range of settings that a phone camera doesn’t have.  There’s a c. 5*3 ft canvas in our dining room made from a picture that camera took.

My son has a DSLR as he likes photography for photography sake.  He’s taken some lovely pics but the faff, bulk and weight is considerable.  The tripod alone weighs 1.4kg!  We’ve just come back from the Fjords.  I’m wondering who will have the better photos. The complexity vs. that looks nice grab a shot now.

Gratuitous Fjord picture taken this week on the phone. 

I am long sighted and now need reading glasses, which makes using a phone to take pictures outside tricky as I cannot focus on the screen without glasses. I have an old DSLR with a optical view finder that is easy to use outside without glasses.

As above, upgrade her phone. The “max” phones are really, really good and have better cameras than the standard version of the same phones.

More gratuitous northern Norway photos..

Thanks for everyone’s help (well, all apart from one).

iPhone pro max something or other on order, camera grip on its way. On the hunt for a Polaroid and film now. Will report back on (hopeful) success in due course.

Cool!

My daughter’s got a Fuji instax li-play that she fails to take anywhere. I really like it despite its rose gold appearance. If you hunt around you can pick packs of film up quite cheaply. It’s a hybrid so it takes a digital image and you can then choose to print it later.

That’s a cool little thing!

I think the output might be a bit dinky for mum, but it’s the sort of thing #1 daughter might enjoy so I’ll keep an eye on eBay.

If you’re thinking of instax, look for something that shoots “instax square” – you get decent size 6×6 (cm) out of it (think classic Polaroid size).  They’re decent prints too.

I can’t recommend a specific camera, just the film. I shoot it in a back for a Hasselblad so it’s about the opposite end of the “no faff” spectrum 🙂

Oh it’s easy film to load etc though, you don’t need to do it in the dark or anything, just cartridges you click in. Works out about 80p a print if you buy the film in at least the 2×10 packs.

And there is something special in being able to take someone’s picture, and hand them a print then and there. Really does capture a moment and a memory.

Any Fuji Instax camera will see you right. Just check which film type it takes (there are three). As above you really want Square or Wide.

Lomography do some cool Instax cameras too, but they’re generally less straightforward and possibly a bit niche.