Can you recommend a super simple digital camera - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
My DFIL has decided that they need a digital camera to replace their 35mm point and shoot.
He's 87 years old and, quite frankly, easily confused.
We've had issues with him and his computer -- let's just say that any message he isn't expectig will totally throw him off. He's no the kind to say "oh -- not an issue" and go on with his life. I'm afraid that too many bells and whistles will throw him for a loop. If he hits a button and a message pops up on his screen, he'll think the camera is broken or something is desperately wrong.
So he needs a really basic point and shoot that's easy to operate but takes decent pictures.
Any suggestions?
We're hoping they'll hold off until they visit here to shop so that a salesperson in Cleveland doesn't sense an easy mark and talk them into a super deluxe model they don't need, don't understand, and won't use.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Perhaps oddly, I'll ask, how's his dexterity? There's a pile of really easy-to-use point and shoots out there, but the trend is towards really small. I know my dad (a bit younger than your DFIL) has been having troubles with his small P&S. If you can get him out to a store, you may want him to try some on for size.
He'll probably be most comfy looking through a viewfinder, rather than holding the camera at arm's length to look at the LCD screen. Arms-length is not as stable a shooting position as holding a viewfinder camera against your face, but there aren't many optical viewfinders out there in P&S cameras these days (and they tend to be on the expensive side).
How much zoom? It can be an added complication, or a benefit. Within a particular manufacturer's line, you'll probably find several that are nearly identical in size and controls, except for the amount of zoom.
Image stabilization. Not that easy to come by, but could be beneficial (and adds no complication to the controls).
Brand. It's hard to go wrong with Canon or Nikon, but Canon tends to have a better range of cameras with simplified controls. Casio and Panasonic are also good brands to check out - their compact cameras have pretty "clean" controls, and deliver good performance.
Whatever camera he gets, he'll need to transfer the images to a computer and, presumably, print them out. If he's having troubles using his computer, make sure he'll be able to deal with this end of electronic photography (he may be happier sticking with his 35mm in the end).
__________________
Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
Perhaps oddly, I'll ask, how's his dexterity? ....
Whatever camera he gets, he'll need to transfer the images to a computer and, presumably, print them out. If he's having troubles using his computer, make sure he'll be able to deal with this end of electronic photography (he may be happier sticking with his 35mm in the end).
The desterity issue isn't odd at all. But I hadn't thought of that angle.
And thanks for pointing out the printing issue. I'd forgotten about that -- even though my DBIL and I had a conversation about not imagining his parents standing at the photo kiosk in Target to view their pics.
Maybe instead of looking for a camera, we should make an attempt to portray this digital camera world as very complicated, so he sticks with his 35mm.
Us young 'uns may be happy to view most of our photos on screen, with just an occasional print, but my dad is one of those people who has to print everything - every e-mail, web page, photo... but at least he's adept at doing it. Other than the waste of paper, the thing that really bothers me is that he uses plain, 20 lb. copier paper for everything. If he's dead-set on printing-out all those photos, you'd think he'd care enough to have them on proper glossy photo paper! What a waste of expensive ink.
__________________
Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
I can't imagine my 85 year old dad figuring out a digital camera. He can barely use a cell phone and no clue on how to use his Blu Ray Player. Do you (or someone in the family) have a (old) digital camera you can loan him? That way, you can see if he could handle using it without spending money.
__________________
Michele
I'm living the dream 20 minutes from Disney! Next trip...tomorrow. Follow me on instagram at ShirtsByShell
Most are fairly simple as long as you read the instruction manual. I would recommend you stick with either a Nikon Or Canon and you will get a good camera that should last you a while.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Linear Mode
