Fixed Lens camera?

The cheapest cameras I have seen are one from brands like Praktica and
have fixed lenses. Does a fixed lens camera require you to press &
hold the shutter button halfway down or is it a straight 'one-click
takes photo' operation?

wrote:
The cheapest cameras I have seen are one from brands like Praktica and
have fixed lenses. Does a fixed lens camera require you to press &
hold the shutter button halfway down or is it a straight 'one-click
takes photo' operation?

Well, there is no straight yes-or-no answer to that question.

First of all, where did you get the idea that you would need to _hold_ the
shutter button halfway down? Modern cameras give you the *option* to
pre-focus and pre-meter by pushing the button down halfway, which is useful
in certain situations. But nobody is _forcing_ you to do that. You can
always just push down all the way immediately.

Second way back when there used to be cameras with fixed focal length and
fixed exposure. I guess you can still get them as cheap use-ones and
throw-away cameras at the checkout aisle in grocery stores. Those are true
point-and-shoot. Nothing to set, nothing to change. And they don't have a
half-way shutter release position.
Now, having said that, I do not know if there are any compact _digital_
cameras, that fall into that category. Maybe those cell-phone contraptions
and similar lowest-end bottom-quality cameras.

jue

On 3 Jan, 13:27, Jürgen Exner wrote:
wrote:
The cheapest cameras I have seen are one from brands like Praktica and
have fixed lenses. Does a fixed lens camera require you to press &
hold the shutter button halfway down or is it a straight 'one-click
takes photo' operation?

Well, there is no straight yes-or-no answer to that question.

First of all, where did you get the idea that you would need to _hold_ the
shutter button halfway down? Modern cameras give you the *option* to
pre-focus and pre-meter by pushing the button down halfway, which is useful
in certain situations. But nobody is _forcing_ you to do that. You can
always just push down all the way immediately.

Second way back when there used to be cameras with fixed focal length and
fixed exposure. I guess you can still get them as cheap use-ones and
throw-away cameras at the checkout aisle in grocery stores. Those are true
point-and-shoot. Nothing to set, nothing to change. And they don't have a
half-way shutter release position.
Now, having said that, I do not know if there are any compact _digital_
cameras, that fall into that category. Maybe those cell-phone contraptions
and similar lowest-end bottom-quality cameras.

jue


The camera is for my 75yo mum. She has used those disposable film
cameras from the grocery store and, believe it or not, has always been
happy with the results. They do look terrible to me though. She
likes the idea of a digital camera but it needs to be as simple as
possible - even to the extent of not having to hold the shutter button
halfway down to focus. As you said though I guess she could just hit
the shutter button anyway and hope for the best. I guess that turns
an auto-focus camera into a fixed-focus one anyhow?

On Jan 3, 4:01 am, wrote:
The cheapest cameras I have seen are one from brands like Praktica and
have fixed lenses. Does a fixed lens camera require you to press &
hold the shutter button halfway down or is it a straight 'one-click
takes photo' operation?

I am not sure whether, by fixed lens, you mean fixed focus or single
focal length. The cheapest cameras do have both- a fixed focus single
focal length lens. However, there are single focal length lenses (non-
zoom) that also focus. They are a bit more expensive than the fixed
focus lens cameras.

On 3 Jan, 14:00, Don Stauffer in Minnesota
wrote:
On Jan 3, 4:01 am, wrote:

The cheapest cameras I have seen are one from brands like Praktica and
have fixed lenses. Does a fixed lens camera require you to press &
hold the shutter button halfway down or is it a straight 'one-click
takes photo' operation?

I am not sure whether, by fixed lens, you mean fixed focus or single
focal length. The cheapest cameras do have both- a fixed focus single
focal length lens. However, there are single focal length lenses (non-
zoom) that also focus. They are a bit more expensive than the fixed
focus lens cameras.

Hi. Sorry for confusion. I think I mean fixed-focus. The cameras I've
looked at for her do _not_ include an optical zoom of any kind. Having
an optical zoom would just be another complication

Snip,

The camera is for my 75yo mum. She has used those disposable film
cameras from the grocery store and, believe it or not, has always been
happy with the results. They do look terrible to me though. She
likes the idea of a digital camera but it needs to be as simple as
possible - even to the extent of not having to hold the shutter button
halfway down to focus. As you said though I guess she could just hit
the shutter button anyway and hope for the best. I guess that turns
an auto-focus camera into a fixed-focus one anyhow?

My wife is 79 and very intelligent, until she gets a camera in her hands and
her IQ drops to around 10! We were in Africa "on safari" and we had to go
our separate ways at one point. I asked her when we got back together if
she took any photos. "Sure I did" was the reply. There was nothing there!
Turns out she focused the camera about 20 times but never went the rest of
the way. SHE should have a grocery store camera. She'd be happy and so
would I!

On Jan 3, 3:57*am, wrote:
On 3 Jan, 13:27, Jürgen Exner wrote:





wrote:
The cheapest cameras I have seen are one from brands like Praktica and
have fixed lenses. * Does a fixed lens camera require you to press &
hold the shutter button halfway down or is it a straight 'one-click
takes photo' operation?

Well, there is no straight yes-or-no answer to that question.

First of all, where did you get the idea that you would need to _hold_ the
shutter button halfway down? Modern cameras give you the **option* to
pre-focus and pre-meter by pushing the button down halfway, which is useful
in certain situations. But nobody is _forcing_ you to do that. You can
always just push down all the way immediately.

Second way back when there used to be cameras with fixed focal length and
fixed exposure. I guess you can still get them as cheap use-ones and
throw-away cameras at the checkout aisle in grocery stores. Those are true
point-and-shoot. Nothing to set, nothing to change. And they don't have a
half-way shutter release position.
Now, having said that, I do not know if there are any compact _digital_
cameras, that fall into that category. Maybe those cell-phone contraptions
and similar lowest-end bottom-quality cameras.

jue

The camera is for my 75yo mum. *She has used those disposable film
cameras from the grocery store and, believe it or not, has always been
happy with the results. *They do look terrible to me though. *She
likes the idea of a digital camera but it needs to be as simple as
possible - even to the extent of not having to hold the shutter button
halfway down to focus. *As you said though I guess she could just hit
the shutter button anyway and hope for the best. *I guess that turns
an auto-focus camera into a fixed-focus one anyhow?

Auto focus does not work they way you believe it does, you don' have
to push half way and then the rest of the way to use auto focus, you
just push the shutter, there will be a small delay while the camera
focuses and then takes the photo. You have the option of pushing half
way to get the focus then when you push the rest of the way the photo
is taken in much less time, but just pushing all the way at once does
not mean the camera does not focus.

75 is not that old, my mother is 80 and handles a digital camera
fairly well.

Scott

Joseph Meehan wrote:
Now a new issue. Most, but not all, older adults and young children
do best with simple large controls cameras.

This question was asked in one of these groups recently & the answer was
a children's camera. There was one model which didn't look too goofy :-)
My mom is 75 & plenty sharp but not with cameras or computers. She
recently got a 'geriatric' cell phone with large text & minimal
functions which she is very happy with.

That is the controls they
need to use when taking a photo need to be on the large size, not the
small tinny size that many compact cameras have. The older folk also
tend to have problems with eye sight and you should pay special
attention to the view finder size and ease of use. She may have a
difficult time with a LCD display and would likely do better with an
optical finder. Each person is different. Those are general rules and
they work.

Just as above, I suggested you get the camera in your hands. Now I
suggest even stronger that she get the camera in her hands before you
commit to a specific camera.

I have been out of the business for a long time so I have little
knowledge of the current crop of digital cameras so you may have some
hunting to do, but I do strongly suggest that you keep my suggestions in
mind.



"Ed Mullikin" wrote in message
...
Snip,

The camera is for my 75yo mum. She has used those disposable film
cameras from the grocery store and, believe it or not, has always been
happy with the results. They do look terrible to me though. She
likes the idea of a digital camera but it needs to be as simple as
possible - even to the extent of not having to hold the shutter button
halfway down to focus. As you said though I guess she could just hit
the shutter button anyway and hope for the best. I guess that turns
an auto-focus camera into a fixed-focus one anyhow?

My wife is 79 and very intelligent, until she gets a camera in her
hands and her IQ drops to around 10! We were in Africa "on safari"
and we had to go our separate ways at one point. I asked her when we
got back together if she took any photos. "Sure I did" was the
reply. There was nothing there! Turns out she focused the camera
about 20 times but never went the rest of the way. SHE should have a
grocery store camera. She'd be happy and so would I!

On Thu, 3 Jan 2008 06:09:48 -0800 (PST)
wrote:

On 3 Jan, 14:00, Don Stauffer in Minnesota
wrote:
On Jan 3, 4:01 am, wrote:

The cheapest cameras I have seen are one from brands like
Praktica and have fixed lenses. Does a fixed lens camera
require you to press & hold the shutter button halfway down or is
it a straight 'one-click takes photo' operation?

I am not sure whether, by fixed lens, you mean fixed focus or
single focal length. The cheapest cameras do have both- a fixed
focus single focal length lens. However, there are single focal
length lenses (non- zoom) that also focus. They are a bit more
expensive than the fixed focus lens cameras.

Hi. Sorry for confusion. I think I mean fixed-focus. The cameras I've
looked at for her do _not_ include an optical zoom of any kind. Having
an optical zoom would just be another complication

You're still confusing fixed focus with fixed focal length. A camera
without a zoom has a fixed focal length and thus a fixed field of view.

A fixed-focus camera has no adjustable focus mechanism. It's like an
old box camera, or an Instamatic. Everything from about two meters
to infinity is in focus, for some sloppy definition of focus.

I imagine a fixed-focus digital would be a rare bird, but fixed-focal-
length digitals would be more plentiful. The lack of zoom makes it
easier to include an optical viewfinder rather than an EVF, which might
suit old eyes better.

And, do think about what happens after the shutter is pushed. My parents
have a new computer and I bought them a nice compact Canon point-n-shoot.
They take the camera to Walgreen's and have the entire contents of the card
printed because they can't imagine what they would use the computer
for. As a result, they don't use the camera much because they perceive
viewing the results as expensive and cumbersome. The joy that I've found
at being freed from prints is lost on them.

Paul Allen

On Jan 4, 12:45 am, Paul Allen
wrote:
A fixed-focus camera has no adjustable focus mechanism. It's like an
old box camera, or an Instamatic. Everything from about two meters
to infinity is in focus, for some sloppy definition of focus.

I imagine a fixed-focus digital would be a rare bird, but fixed-focal-
length digitals would be more plentiful. The lack of zoom makes it
easier to include an optical viewfinder rather than an EVF, which might
suit old eyes better.

Some of the cheapest digitals are indeed fixed focus. Combination of
a somewhat wide FOV and a small aperture (high f/#) does allow fixed
focus.