Buying Camera As Gift For Mother

[positivePXL]

Title gives the subject, but the intro is different. I went to Best Buy to look at monitors for my new rig (huge mistake btw, I'm not even a monitor guy and I outclassed the salesmen there), and while I was looking, my father went and bought a Metallica CD, and my mother was looking through cameras. It was then that I remembered that 3 years ago my aunt had dropped my mothers old camera, and broke it. Now that I have money for myself, I want to surprise my mother and get her a new camera. Now, I may not be much of a monitor guy, but I am an even worse camera guy, so, that is why I have come to this subforum. 

 

What camera should I get with a budget of $350. The minimum specs should be better than her last camera, so I need at least an 18MP, and 18x zoom.

 

Now, it's Memorial Day weekend, which means there are going to be deals out of the wazoo for this weekend, and I would like to buy it before those deals end. 

 

Thank you in advance,

positivePXL [+PXL]

[DarkRuskov]

Megapixels don't mean much, especially nowadays.

What type of camera? Photo point and shoot? hybrid? DRLS/reflex (will be hard for 350)? Camcorder (video camera)?

[positivePXL]

I am pretty sure we are looking for point-and-shoot. 

 

 

[positivePXL]

(forgot to mention you in my first reply, this is a post just to make sure you saw me) 

@DarkRuskov

[DarkRuskov]

19 minutes ago, positivePXL said:

I am pretty sure we are looking for point-and-shoot. 

 

 

I don't know point and shoots all that well, but i know canon and sony have some really good ones (although the ones i'm thinking of are quite expensive).

[vanished]

Honestly unless you've got the money and know-how to use a good DSLR, smart phones do a pretty good job for what most people want (easy and good enough for facebook)

[ShadowCaptain]

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1188053-REG/canon_0511c001_powershot_g9x_digital_camera.html

 

G9X or a R100x MK1

Any compact with a 1" sensor

[luxio]

The zoom usually isn't limited by the camera, it's limited by the lens. Can you be more specific as to what type of camera you want to get her? Is she a photography enthusiast or does she just want to take pictures here and there?

[positivePXL]

25 minutes ago, luxio said:

The zoom usually isn't limited by the camera, it's limited by the lens. Can you be more specific as to what type of camera you want to get her? Is she a photography enthusiast or does she just want to take pictures here and there?

She really just needs a camera, she's clearly not an enthusiast because she's gone years without a proper one, but, she just needs one.