a really really good point and shoot for my wife

[joe weed]

as the title states, i need a really good p&s that's EASY to use. my wife has NO interest in learning how to shoot, she just wants something that does it and does it well. she's tired of all the blurry, missed shots she's been getting with cameras she "thought" was decent ($150-$300 range). last one was a sony, the one taylor swift was endorsing with the panoramic feature. budget is around $500-$600 or so (maybe more if it will do what she wants). everthing i looked has has limited zoom (5x and lower-g12, s100). would like at least 10x zoom if possible and nothing too large. she would be taking pics of our kids; everything from birthdays, soccer, wrestling, judo, football, class functions, graduations, etc., so everything from bright light to low light, indoor, outdoor, etc. so yeah, not asking much. does such a camera even exist? i can't always be there and/or bring my stuff and she won't touch it anyway. a camera should be something that creates good memories. not tear a family apart. please help. mahalo.

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[John B.]

Even the cheapest P&S camera does an admirable job, these days, Joe. Blurry shots usually result from not holding the camera steady. And the best P&S will produce blurry shots if there is any camera shake. Another thing that can cause a blurry shot is zooming way out. The further you zoom, the more steady the camera has to be. With the variety of scenes that you mention, cameras have appropriate settings for each scene. Auto everything doesn't suit every scene. For instance, if she took shots on a beach, it's likely they will be overexposed, so the camera has a beach scene setting. All the settings are easy to change and are designed to help the shooter to take better photos. Camera makers want to sell cameras, and they don't want their customers losing heart because of badly exposed photos.

If your wife is getting so many blurry shots, then it points to a handling problem, not a camera problem. With your gentle guidance and a little practice, I think she'll do well with the camera she has.

[joe weed]

thanks for the feedback. i totally agree. pics are fine when i take them with her camera. i even tried to show her, "look, they even have pictures to help set the camera to the correct scene." doesn't want to hear it. oh well, with technology being as great as it is today, was just hoping.

[Fred Berg]

The Nikon P100 is a great camera and within your budget. The size might be a problem as it's not tiny, but compared to a DSLR it's quite compact and light. We find it an ideal family camera, which is really easy to use and very reliable.

[Michael79]

I like the Canon SX 40 HS you can find them under $400 32x zoom? Built like a dslr with most of the features and with the canon hack, it becomes an inexpensive Dslr