Best "easy" camera

[glenn_kage_jr]

<p>I am looking for advice on an "easy" camera for my wife. I shoot Canon 1D Mark IV and a 7D and have plenty of lenses. My wife wants to start shooting but has found my equipment to be too heavy and hard to operate. I was looking for a high quality camera that is not too cumbersome and easy to learn and use. Any help would be appreciated, thank you</p>

[Robin Smith]

<p>Depends what you mean by best. A Canon Rebel with kit lens is excellent, or the Nikon equivalent, or how about a Sony 6300 which is smaller? Size has a lot to do with what is considered best. Do she want a larger or smaller camera? What about price? How about a Canon G series or Sony RX100? or Nikon Coolpix A? I think your question is too open ended without a definition of what she means by best.</p>

[phule]

<p>+1 to what Robin said. The question is too vague.</p>

<p>That said, in the higher-end (in terms of quality and cost) point and shoot market, the Sony RX100 series is fantastic. I'd recommend either the RX100 II or the RX100 III. The Canon GX7 Mark II is similar and does have an advantage when it comes to using a menu system that would be easy for you to dive into when needing to setup/help out. </p>

[yockenwaithe]

<p>If you're looking for a film camera a Yashica Electro GNS is probably best. For digital like Robin said- a Canon Rebel is easy to pick up and use and good enough quality</p>

[James G. Dainis]

I'd like to know what is meant by "...hard to operate." Let's see, you take the lens cap off, have the dial on Auto, aim at something and press the shutter button. Whew, that was a lot of work. If she is threatened by all the options available, then she can just ignore them and shoot in Auto mode all the time. It would be hard to find a camera that doesn't have various shooting options. Even point and shoots usually have auto, aperture priority, shutter priority and manual.

[photo_galleries]

<p>I would advise you to use dpreview's feature search to narrow down your options.<br>

https://www.dpreview.com/products/search/cameras#!</p>

 

[colin carron]

<p>How about one of the large sensor point and shoot cameras? I use a Sony RX100-2 as a smaller alternative to my 6D but there are others avaialble . They are usually pretty small and light : set any of them on P for Program and they are also quite easy to work. Results are not quite up to DSLR levels but pretty good.<br /> https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/2016-roundup-compact-enthusiast-zoom-cameras</p>

[bebu_lamar]

<p>Your 1D is heavy but I think it's among the easiest to operate. To me high end cameras are generally easier to operate than the low end ones.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>I would suggest a nice, digital Leica.<br>

Not only is it relatively easy to use, but it has truly superb "bling" value among her (and your) associates. <br>

Also much cheaper than a sporty Mercedes. :)</p>

[Sanford]

<p>How about the new Leica M-D. Virtually nothing to set and not even a rear screen to distract attention.</p>

[yockenwaithe]

<p>How about the new hasselblad h5d-200c? It takes great pictures! And on the plus side you'll have no more house to tie you down! It's a win-win no?</p>

[Robin Smith]

<p>It is true that with any "good" camera nowadays you can always put the camera on full auto or P and just shoot away: a deep knowledge of the choices the camera is making is not required.</p>

[Norman 202]

I agree with Robin. It might be easier to ask what camers shouldn't I buy.

[glenn_kage_jr]

<p>Good points all, I hadn't realized that it was such an open ended question. She is looking for something that will fit in her purse which eliminates my 7D, 1D and a Canon Rebel. By "easy" she want's something that with an AUTO setting she can capture great photos but still have the option of shooting with manual or variations of manual mode. <br /><br />I was reading up on the Olympus Pen F and it appears to be an excellent camera. Again thank you all for your ideas and advice.</p>

[leslie_cheung]

<p>>>>She is looking for something that will fit in her purse...<<<<br>

Big purse, small purse? They come in various sizes, as do cameras. I personally find Sony and Panasonic cameras are easier, with regards to flash/menus organization, to use than the rest. I use Olympus, Nikon, Sony, and Panasonic mostly these days. </p>

[Wouter Willemse]

<p>Either an entry-level mirrorless camera (the higher-end models can become tight in some bags) or a premium compact. Personally, I'd lean versus the latter - something like a Sony RX100, Panasonic LX-100. The Nikon 1 models are really small too, if exchangeable lenses are prefered. Olympus Pen, Fuji X-M, Sony A5x00 or A6x00 - all pretty great choices. I think it's best to go to a well-stocked camera store together and try some in your own hands, to get a better idea of size and handling.</p>

[gungajim]

<p>I strongly second the Sony RX-100 which I believe is now available as version IV. A used copy of version II or III might be a way to start. </p>

[Brad_]

<p>iPhone.</p>

[Uhooru]

<p>ditto Brad. doesn't get any simpler and easier than that.</p>

[johne37179]

<p>iPhone</p>

[shutterbud]

<p>I suggest you put an unthreatening prime on your 7D and set it to auto-everything so she can forget about everything except framing. At the same time, go out with her with a massive lens on your 1D so the relative smallness of her set-up is emphasised. If and when she asks questions while viewing the shots, this might be the time to mention a few basics."Why is that so ugly close-up?" "Well, the signal had to be pushed...see this? ISO? The higher it is the noisier it is."</p>

<p>Spending money on something less threatening is a mistake in my opinion as <br>

Either your wife will become interested in photography, at which point she will want a more capable camera anyway<br>

or<br>

she won't, so you'll have bought a camera neither of you might want to use. <br>

I found out last night that one of my friends considers my camera "scary." It is a Sony A6000!</p>