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Best PS that uses std AA bats

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Orcatek

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Need a P&S for in-laws that uses standard AA batteries. Needs to be simple to use. A decent optical zoom is needed.

Will be used indoors and out - typical home user shooting vacations and family gatherings.

Any recommendations??
 
but why is AA batteries the defining characteristic of your search? Do they live in a place where Lithium-Ion batteries aren't available?

There are a lot of good P&S cameras that meet your specs and I doubt anyone can say with any accuracy which is best.

A few other criteria you might want to consider is optical viewfinder or LCD-only. A friend of mine just got a Sony P&S as a gift from his daughter. His hands shake badly and compose a picture with the LCD is almost impossible. He frequently points so something, hands me the camera, and asks me to take a picture.

--
Patrick T. Kelly
Oaxaca, Mexico
 
AA is due to the fact they sometimes forget to recharge, and you can get some AA anywhere. LI AA are fine, it just the battery size.
 
Always a good bet, with several choices to accommodate your budget. The A570 IS is the bottom line model that has image stabilization and can be bought very inexpensively on-line. It uses (2) AA batteries and offers a lot of "bang for the buck". The new top A-model, the A650 IS, is excellent and uses (4) AA batteries.

Rick
 
Fully agree with Rick. A570 IS and A650 IS are excellent cameras that use AAs I'd say A650 IS is the best for what you're looking at with 6x optical an excellent swivelling screen and easy usability.
--
-Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.
 
I bought my wife a digital camera (Canon A540) so she can take snaps of our cats.

I purposely chaose a camera that uses 'AA' batteries for her as she hardly ever uses the camera, which would be a waste for a lithium ion battery as it would go bad sooner if not used very often!

One other Canon is the SX100 . . . has 10X optical zoom, image stabilizer, uses four 'AA' batteries and 8MP, but no viewfinder.





Not a bad camera . . . selling in US for $300

--
J. Daniels
Colorful Colorado
Panasonic FZ10, FZ50
Olympus E-510
Fuji S602Z, A825



Remember . . . always keep the box and everything that came in it!
 
I was hooked onto AA batteries, till someone explained me.

well I have bought Panasonic FZ18. I was told. The batterise will let you click 300 pics minimum. Which are like 10 rolls of film!! you usually aren't going to finish 300 in 1 day. And then just buy another extra battery, which will let you click another 300, while you charge this one....

the point is that AA are quite heavy batteries !!

I agreed.

--
Mr. Harry Potter
 
'AA' batteries really aren't that heavy . . . let's get real here.

Kinda' like what's heavier . . . a 16oz plastic bottle of Coke . . . or a 12oz can?

Not really much difference.

I have two digital cameras that use 'AA' batteries and three that use lithium ion batteries!

I use rechargables most of the time in the two 'AA' cameras . . .

There are times when charging batteries can't be done . . . like mountain climbing, outback camping . . . that kind of stuff!

'AA' batteries are invaluable in these circumstances.

And . . . it is really very easy to shoot 300 pics in one day!

--
J. Daniels
Colorful Colorado
Panasonic FZ10, FZ50
Olympus E-510
Fuji S602Z, A825



Remember . . . always keep the box and everything that came in it!
 
go to dell.com as they are selling canon p&s. they are one of the cheapest so far.

peter
 
No only that, but would you rather buy a $40 lithium spare, or $7 for spare rechargable AAs? There are many more people with AA chargers too in case you forget yours.

I also can take up to 500 shots in a day depending on what I'm doing. They're not all keepers of course. In challenging shooting conditions, you do what you can, and that often means more safety shots.
--
'Be right, fearless, faithfull, and true to others...'--T.S. Elliott
 
MusicDoctorDJ said:
One other Canon is the SX100 . . . has 10X optical zoom, image
stabilizer, uses four 'AA' batteries and 8MP, but no viewfinder.
Click to expand...
It takes 2 AAs like the rest of the A7X0 and A5X0 series.

--
Regards,
Hank

 
Orcatek said:
Need a P&S for in-laws that uses standard AA batteries. Needs to be
simple to use. A decent optical zoom is needed.

Will be used indoors and out - typical home user shooting vacations
and family gatherings.

Any recommendations??
Click to expand...
I noticed everyone recommended Canon's. They are very nice, but I would also say to maybe take a peek at Nikon's new Coolpix L15. There's an 8 MP with a decent 3x optical zoom that has Nikon's VR technology. It also has a 2.8" LCD. Very compact compared to the A570IS and A560, if pocket-able would be nice. It DOES use 2 AA batteries. I agree that the AA type of power will be better for people not doing 300 shots in a day. Using a high capacity disposable would work well at maintaining easy. This camera is probably as easy as this class of camera gets. Canon does give you more creative photographic control though too ( I dunno if in-laws need that). I'd say its worth taking a look at.

Hope my 2 cents can help.

~ The Real dj Tru ~

'Image quality is not the product of the machine, but of the person who directs the machine.' - Ansel A.
 
The A6X0 series have the best IQ in the Canon compact lineup and use AAs. Currently the A650 was just released but you can still pick up the last generation A630 and A640.

The review of the A650 should be out shortly and the A570 is out now which is it's smaller sibling but without the swivel LCD and has 4X and requires 2 AAs.

I've used a Maha C204W charger with Powerex 2700 mAh batteries that will give over 500 shots but unattended will lose their charge in just over a month and have considered the new Eneloops which have a year long shelf life between charges when left unattended. On the other hand, Lithium AAs are non-rechargeable but will provide over 1500 shots and will last for years. So there are many options with AA batteries as well as cameras that use them.
Good luck in your choices........
--
Regards,
Hank

 
I too, would recommend the Canon "A" series.

Specifically, the A570 IS. Exspecially nice as it can be set in auto and it does everything, or Program with a little more control, or in aperture or shutter priority, or manual, if he decides to do more.

It is a nice P&S since it can be the most simple camera, or if he develops an interest, does not have to immediately up grade.

The A550 lacks IS, and has very little control settings, but is VERY cheap and does quite nice images.

Most of the Coolpix series lack control settings beyond Program, but my old L4 (4mp) took decent snaps.
 
pete said:
go to dell.com as they are selling canon p&s. they are one of the
cheapest so far.
Click to expand...
I'd stay away from Dell . . .

They are known for selling refurbs and not telling you they are refurbs!

And you don't find out until you try to get manufacturers warranty service . . .

--
J. Daniels
Colorful Colorado
Panasonic FZ10, FZ50
Olympus E-510
Fuji S602Z, A825



Remember . . . always keep the box and everything that came in it!
 
Hank3152 said:
MusicDoctorDJ said:
One other Canon is the SX100 . . . has 10X optical zoom, image
stabilizer, uses four 'AA' batteries and 8MP, but no viewfinder.
Click to expand...
It takes 2 AAs like the rest of the A7X0 and A5X0 series.

--
Click to expand...
Sorry . . . typo!

--
J. Daniels
Colorful Colorado
Panasonic FZ10, FZ50
Olympus E-510
Fuji S602Z, A825

Remember . . . always keep the box and everything that came in it!
 
The Nikon Coolpix cameras are also notoriously slow when it comes to lag time . . .

Nikon puts all of their efforts in their DSLR's . . .

The only ones worse on the market are the Kodak EasyShare 'C' series!

--
J. Daniels
Colorful Colorado
Panasonic FZ10, FZ50
Olympus E-510
Fuji S602Z, A825



Remember . . . always keep the box and everything that came in it!
 
Okay, so this must be why nikon has so many coolpix models to choose from. As for the Canon's, I'd agree that they will give the In-Laws a ton a creative control with all the things a photographer WOULD appreciate, but from what i got out of all this was that they were going to take snapshots of family gatherings and vacations. If this is the point of them using a camera, maybe all of that creative control will just be senseless clutter and features to obscure the EASE OF USE... I mean fully automatic mode is fully automatic, but why have all the features if they make the in-laws wanna not use the complicated camera.
MusicDoctorDJ said:
The Nikon Coolpix cameras are also notoriously slow when it comes to
lag time . . .
Click to expand...
Lag times arent very bad in Nikon's newest Coolpix lineup. Certainly not a huge gap in how much lag a Powershot has compared to the Coolpix.
MusicDoctorDJ said:
The only ones worse on the market are the Kodak EasyShare 'C' series!
Click to expand...
Wow! I give Nikon lots more credit than that!!
MusicDoctorDJ said:
J. Daniels
Click to expand...
--
~ The Real dj Tru ~

'Image quality is not the product of the machine, but of the person who directs the machine.' - Ansel A.
 
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