Which digital cameras are the easiest to use, but also provide a really good image? I looked at the Olympus 3000 today and it seemed to be difficult to use. I also looked at the Nikon Coolpix. My brother bought a Sony FD73. Would you please make some suggestions for me?

-- Karen Storm (kstorm@frii.com), August 06, 2000

Answers

There's going to be a relatively short learning curve with any digital camera. How much time were you able to give it and did you really get a good look at the manual? Most current digital cameras require at least an hour or two just for you to familiarize yourself with what features it has, let alone learn how to use them... :-)

They all have an automatic mode, which is pretty easy to get started with. Some, like Toshiba(I have several), come with VERY good manuals aimed at the beginner. The Toshiba manuals have very good step by step instructions mixed with background info you'll need in order to understand how to use your camera. Things about batteries, smartmedia, etc. A good manual introduces the basic concepts and then takes you by the hand through the basic steps and expands on them by showing you how the more advanced modes work.

If you're interested, Toshiba places their manuals online so you can download them and have a look through them while shopping around. I know most people can't stand to read instructions, but it's a very good way to get an idea just what something is supposed to be capable of doing and just how much baloney you must go through to get it to do it... :-)

I'd also very much recommend the reviews at www.imaging-resource.com . If you're just getting started, you'll learn a surprising amount just from reading the reviews. You might also try www.steves-digicams.com and www.dcforum.com , the latter offers user's reviews.

Good Luck!

-- Gerald M. Payne (gmp@surferz.net), August 07, 2000.

My husband purchased a Sony MVC-FD85 (digital camera with 4X zoom)for my Mother's Day gift. This was after years of using 35 mm cameras. When I was shopping around, I was told that the Nikon was a wonderful camera but fairly difficult to learn to use. The photo shop added that it was a camera used by either a professional photographer or someone who used it in their job (i.e. daily use).

Because I did not like the high cost of the memory cards (which are small enough to lose), I went with the Sony. Floppy disks are readily available and cheap. When we travel, we will take a lot of them (at high resolution, you can only store 6 shots. However, these will print out at approximately 11 x 17 inches, if desired. This makes each shot suitable for make 8 x 10 prints or larger).

Another consideration was the weight of the camera. Because of a medical condition, I find it difficult to hold a camera (such as a video camera) for anything but a few seconds. The weight of the Sony suits me quite well and the shape is easy to hold.

Good luck in making your decision!

-- Laurie Lowndes (xlowndes@TheEdge.ca), August 24, 2000.