Finding the Right Buttons

Just when I am beginning to get the hang of it, the digicam my second son, JB, passed on to me acts up. Due to poor handling, my mind says. The tiny buttons have often been pressed and pushed in the wrong directions and they could only take so much.

Being a word person, I have problems with symbols, tiny ones at that!

Lately I’ve aimed the camera at beautiful moments and all it has been giving me back are dimly lit photos with fine pink streaks.

Finding a replacement is a task more difficult than finding the old camera’s little buttons. The handy ones which I require to carry in my bag wherever I go are way too complicated and too expensive.

Until one afternoon . . . I take my friend Ggie (as art director, she is into serious photography) to the camera shop to help me make a decision which has been taking too long in coming. She points to the prettiest of the lot—an all-black sleek beauty. Wide angle lens, 7.1 mega pixels, dual lens, at a price higher than my budget.The saleslady lets me handle it. The first and only thing that strikes me is: it has no teeny-weeny, confusing icons. Instead, all knobs are labeled—yes, in words! Delete. Review. Menu. Share. Battery. Etc. In a flash, I decide to take it home. To demonstrate how good it performs, the saleslady takes a shot of me and Ggie.

I look at the photo and it captures my thoughts: Wow, at last, this here is a camera that’s really user friendly.

Go ahead, say it: Idiot proof.