Smartphone for an older person?

tigerstyle · 2 Jun 2015 at 23:08

My dad finds his MotoG fine.
He calls, texts, whatsapps and that's it. 38Mb of 3G data last month!

I upgraded him from a Nokia 3310

IC3 · 2 Jun 2015 at 23:29

I was thinking about getting a seprate camera for her, she's going to Rome with her sister soon. Her camera is quite outdated so is her phone, I'll raise the budget up to £250-£300.

What do you people think about getting a MotoG/Nokia and a seprate camera? How much does a decent compact camera cost? It would be great to have a good camera in the phone, but she won't really use all the functions that a high end smartphone has to offer so maybe a sprate compact camera is a good idea in this situation?

Edit:

tigerstyle said:
My dad finds his MotoG fine.
He calls, texts, whatsapps and that's it. 38Mb of 3G data last month!

I upgraded him from a Nokia 3310

1st gen or 2nd gen?

konicky · 3 Jun 2015 at 06:40

IC3 said:
I was thinking about getting a seprate camera for her, she's going to Rome with her sister soon. Her camera is quite outdated so is her phone, I'll raise the budget up to £250-£300.

That sounds like a good plan. You can get a nice little compact camera for £150 ish which would run rings round even the best high end smartphone! Stick to one of the major brands, Canon, Sony, Panasonic etc and you won't go far wrong.

Could get her a Lumia and a Lumix !

kona786 · 3 Jun 2015 at 07:24

konicky said:
You can get a nice little compact camera for £150 ish which would run rings round even the best high end smartphone!

Really?

Got a model number?

thep02 · 3 Jun 2015 at 07:28

Ok it's pre owned but the below sounds ideal for her trip, the company is trusted and the phones are reputed to be in better condition than the grade suggests.

http://www.smartfonestore.com/buy_Handset_Samsung_O2_Galaxy S4 Zoom_White_A.aspx

konicky · 3 Jun 2015 at 08:25

kona786 said:
Really?

Got a model number?

Really ? Serious question ?!?

Smartphone cameras are essentially a compromise, tiny sensors, tiny optics, no optical zoom. Have you ever seen a dedicated camera with a sensor and lens the size of a smartphones? Answer = NO ! There's a reason for that !!

kona786 · 3 Jun 2015 at 09:01

konicky said:
Really ? Serious question ?!?

Smartphone cameras are essentially a compromise, tiny sensors, tiny optics, no optical zoom. Have you ever seen a dedicated camera with a sensor and lens the size of a smartphones? Answer = NO ! There's a reason for that !!

Show me a camera for £150 that will out perform an S6 for pics and video. Lets forget the fixed lens for a moment and concentrate on quality.

I think you have wildly underestimated the S6. Yes has a small 1/2.6 sensor but it also has an open F1.9 lens that produces great shots.

A good camera in the £150 range is the Fuji XF1 and no, I don't think it'll run rings round an S6.

http://www.dxomark.com/Mobiles/Samsung-Galaxy-S6-Edge-review-Top-ranking-Smartphone-has-the-Edge

Demo's here

4K

tigerstyle · 4 Jun 2015 at 10:01

IC3 said:
1st gen or 2nd gen?

Sorry don't know, it's 3g only, so 1st gen?

IC3 · 4 Jun 2015 at 19:13

tigerstyle said:
Sorry don't know, it's 3g only, so 1st gen?

yes, I'll buy the MotoG 2nd gen most likely, just doing some reading on the phones mentioned here.

konicky · 6 Jun 2015 at 09:25

kona786 said:
Show me a camera for £150 that will out perform an S6 for pics and video. Lets forget the fixed lens for a moment and concentrate on quality.

I think you have wildly underestimated the S6. Yes has a small 1/2.6 sensor but it also has an open F1.9 lens that produces great shots.

A good camera in the £150 range is the Fuji XF1 and no, I don't think it'll run rings round an S6.

http://www.dxomark.com/Mobiles/Samsung-Galaxy-S6-Edge-review-Top-ranking-Smartphone-has-the-Edge

Demo's here

4K

So if you ignore one of the main advantages of a compact camera, optical zoom, and focus on video, which the OP didn't mention as a requirement then the S6 does ok, fair enough!
If you care about composition though, not just benchmarks, then an optical zoom is incredibly useful and reason enough in itself to choose a dedicated camera over a smartphone.
Something like the Sony DSCWX350, on Amazon for £149 should fit the bill

kona786 · 6 Jun 2015 at 13:13

I didn't see the OP mention zoom either, just a good camera.

F3.5 to 6.5 on that Sony. That camera is nothing special at all.

So better pics on the S6 especially in low light. And a much better video camera.

And lets not forget a phone is on your person always, not like a compact camera.

IC3 · 6 Jun 2015 at 14:07

kona786 said:
I didn't see the OP mention zoom either, just a good camera.

F3.5 to 6.5 on that Sony. That camera is nothing special at all.

So better pics on the S6 especially in low light. And a much better video camera.

And lets not forget a phone is on your person always, not like a compact camera.

£300 is the budget, I can pickup a MotoG 2nd gen for around £100-£109. So that leaves me £200 for the camera...

kona786 · 6 Jun 2015 at 14:14

Fair do's.

I just disagreed with konicy's comment below.

konicky said:
You can get a nice little compact camera for £150 ish which would run rings round even the best high end smartphone!

do you need video recording? If not the Fuji XF1 is a good camera for ~£150

The Sony RX100 MK1 is a great camera if you can stretch your budget a little more.

Another option is a used Note 4 for £300.

thep02 · 6 Jun 2015 at 15:17

Or an ex demo s6 for £275.

GAM8LE · 6 Jun 2015 at 15:21

My mum has recently started using a windows phone and is loving it. She has never had a smartphone before and is a massive technophobe.

konicky · 6 Jun 2015 at 16:13

kona786 said:
I didn't see the OP mention zoom either, just a good camera.

LOL ! Nice try !

kona786 said:
F3.5 to 6.5 on that Sony. That camera is nothing special at all.

The F numbers are not bad for a 20 x zoom actually, and users seem to love it according to the reviews on Amazon unlike your recommendation of the Fuji XF1 which has a " Lens Control Error " issue rendering it useless, normally just after the warranty has expired !!

kona786 said:
So better pics on the S6 especially in low light.

You seem to be forgetting about sensor size !

kona786 said:
And lets not forget a phone is on your person always, not like a compact camera.

True but as long as his gran remembers to take the camera with her on the Rome trip she should be ok !!

kona786 · 6 Jun 2015 at 19:30

konicky said:
You seem to be forgetting about sensor size !

Have you even checked yourself?

1/2.3" for the Sony vs 1/2.6" S6. Not even worth mentioning as the difference is so small.

At the end of the day your blanket comment about how a cheapish compact would 'run rings' around a high end smartphone compact is just plain FAIL.

Smartphone cams have come a very long way since you've probably last looked.

Plenty of S6 samples here

http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s6/general/galaxy-s6-camera-thread-t3045206/page21

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