Can anyone recommend an idiot proof digital camera? What am I doing wrong with Sony?

Nenen

I'm in desperate need of an idiot proof (point and shoot) camera without hundreds of options to confuse me!

I'm absolutely devastated as my dh just downloaded the photos we took of our daughter's graduation on my Sony digital camera (cybershot 7.2), only to find we must have pressed some weird button somewhere and so most of the pictures have uploaded as contact sheets containing 16 tiny photos and I can't work out how to undo this. If I try selecting one tiny picture and copying that it gets terribly pixilated when I enlarge it. To add insult to injury my dh (thinking he was being helpful) wiped my memory card after he'd uploaded them but before checking they had all come out OK (he assumed as the first few were fine they all were).

I HATE the b*****y camera anyway... it is SO confusing to use with SO many different options and I can never work out which settings and buttons I need to press. Can anyone recommend a camera for a technophobe like me who wants reasonable quality photos (holiday snaps, family snaps etc) but something incredibly user friendly and easy to use?

M4RKM

any digital camera has many different modes on it. there isn't going to be a "good" quality camera, that just points and shoots, (though i do remember about 6 years ago there used to be a PC Line 0.8mega pixel camera, that only had one button on!!!).. seriously though, they don't make them like that, they make them to do many things if you want, and if you don't, you leave it in auto mode..

now, there isn't a way to get your 16 mini pics into proper photos unfortunately, and you have a good enough camera to take some great photos, so i'm going to recommend that the best things for you to do, is to sit down one afternoon/evening when you haven't planned to do anything, and read the manual, and experiment, learn the cameras modes, and then you'll see how easy they actually are.

once you learn the auto mode, and how to turn that on, then you only need to learn the shutter button, and the on off button...
now if you really want to get advanced, you'll also learn to preview your photos, and then get back into the auto mode..

why delve into the menu's which you say are confusing, when you have no clue what you are doing.. after reading the manual, you'll know what they do, and know to stay away, AND correct a mistake if you've set something wrong. there are icons on the screen that will tell you what mode you're in too.. again, all in the manual!

Yes, i realise that many people grab a camera, put the batteries in and want to just take photos, but the manual is there for a reason...

Nenen

I know... you're right... I'm an impatient nitwit who needs to learn how to read instructions! :o:o:o:o

The truth is that since I've had this camera I've tried to keep it in auto and only use the (very few) settings I understand but, on the day of the graduation, my dh insisted the lighting was wrong and fiddled with the settings... resulting in the aforementioned contact pages!
I think this sort of technology is great if you are using it everyday (or even every couple of weeks) and it becomes second nature but when, like me, you only get the camera out every couple of months (or less) I forget what I've done from one use to the next.... I guess it's back to the instructions every time I use it! *sigh*

Thanks for taking the time to reply anyway... although I still wonder if there is a camera out there I'd find a bit more intuitive to use.

Marty_J

I'd recommend you go to a camera shop and play around with them all. Some people find some brands of camera easier to use than others. If Sony isn't your thing, perhaps Canon or Nikon or Fujifilm is.

A book about basic digital photography might be a good idea too.

Rev

I think most Kodak cameras that have a wheel at the top to select what mode you wanted, when selected the mode was displayed on the screen so you're sure you're getting the right mode. Very simple to use, you want sport, select sport, want portrait, select portrait, ect. Might be worth having a look at one of those. I had one a few years back and it took great photo's, I can't comment on the quality of the newer models though.

missile

Why did you buy an expensive camera? Do you really need 7.2 megapixels? Cheaper cameras have less functions and are often easier to use.

M4RKM

Nenen wrote: »

I know... you're right... I'm an impatient nitwit who needs to learn how to read instructions! :o:o:o:o

The truth is that since I've had this camera I've tried to keep it in auto and only use the (very few) settings I understand but, on the day of the graduation, my dh insisted the lighting was wrong and fiddled with the settings... resulting in the aforementioned contact pages!
I think this sort of technology is great if you are using it everyday (or even every couple of weeks) and it becomes second nature but when, like me, you only get the camera out every couple of months (or less) I forget what I've done from one use to the next.... I guess it's back to the instructions every time I use it! *sigh*

Thanks for taking the time to reply anyway... although I still wonder if there is a camera out there I'd find a bit more intuitive to use.

technology is great, regardless how often you use it, as long as you know how to use it.. you've got the right attitude, stick to what you know... maybe it is DH that needs to sit down with the manual and read what buttons to press!!!!

as for some of the other answers... this is just my opinion, but, yes Kodak are probably some of the simplest cameras around, but sometimes the quality of the lenses they use is absolutely atrocious, resulting in a camera that will be 10MegaPixels, but not as good quality as a CarlZeiss lens that the 7.2MegaPixels Sony uses, and gives you average photos...

I got a nice nikon, point and shoot camera for when i'm out and about (along with a hunking great DSLR for when i'm doing real photos!!), and i find it one of the simplest to use, nice clean menu with big icons, and the word AUTO on the screen when it is in auto mode...

And I totally agree with playing around with cameras before you buy them.. hell, i think when i was getting my small nikon, i spent about 40 mins in the store, (which was in NYC, so not the easiest to get to) comparing different models, and features, and looking at what it could do.. then i went back to my hotel, checked out reviews online, and went back to the shop, and spent another 20 mins making a final decision... but.. customer service at that store is second to none, and they want you to mess about with the cameras, and they do know what they are on about....

M4RKM

missile wrote: »

Why did you buy an expensive camera? Do you really need 7.2 megapixels? Cheaper cameras have less functions and are often easier to use.

hmm... how do you know it was expensive... a 7.2MP Sony Camera might not be that expensive!!

and cheaper cameras will have poorer quality lenses that can't take as good photos as a reasonable camera (like OP's Sony!)

I'm one of these people that say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it... so, why spend more money, on something that you already own...

Nenen

missile wrote: »

Why did you buy an expensive camera? Do you really need 7.2 megapixels? Cheaper cameras have less functions and are often easier to use.

I bought it (for about £140 about a year ago if I remember rightly) because I wanted a camera that would take decent photos that could be enlarged to A4 without pixilating. Also I paid for it with John Lewis gift vouchers I was lucky enough to be given so the choice of camera from that shop was rather limited. I was also swayed by: 1) reviews I had read which said it was good for the money; 2) the fact it had Zeiss lens which I know are good and 3) guided by the assistant at the time who assured me it was simple to use! He obviously didn't realise how simple I am! In retrospect I should have taken longer to 'play' with it and not been afraid of looking a middle-aged ludite idiot in front of a very superior teenager!

The only difficulty with not using it very often is not the fault of the camera but rather my own memory! If only I could upgrade my own memory as easily as I can upgrade my computer memory! I find that I can get to grips with new technology I use frequently (e.g. my recent Blackberry) but when I don't use things very often, every time I use it it's like the first time all over again.... I'm so slow I become frustrated with myself... and usually blame the equipment.... and yes I know a bad workman always blames his tools but I'm taking out my frustration at my own inability to remember things so quickly nowdays!

Marty_J

Only one thing for it then....practice practice practice!

M4RKM

You do realise you can take photos for no actual reason...
Challenge yourself to use the camera once or twice a week. You'll end up with lots of photos of cups of tea, the tv, the garden etc etc, as you don't have to go anywhere to take a photo, you just have to keep using the camera..

And if you keep doing it.. you'll start learning and remember how..

cameras are simple, but if you press a button that you don't know what it does.. is that the cameras fault?