Need advice on camcorder/still pics

[nickelsig229]

My parents are headed home to Italy for what may be the last time. I want to gift them a camcorder or camera so they can capture as much of it as possible.

Some things to note. They do not do well with electronic devices. So whatever I choose must have easy steps. I can do whatever programing, but It truly must be point and click/record and easy viewing of pictures after the fact.

My mother is intimidated by a camcorder, the last thing she saw was a VHS recorder at my sisters wedding. They were so big that the photographer had to have a shoulder harness to carry those things around all day. So again I stress Small, Light, Ease of use is the priority. They wont notice the difference between high and low megapixel or most of the other selling points on these types of items.

Also, they are from the 60's, and in their minds, pictures are easier to show and carry around then video. No longer true as they all go on a memory card, but that means they want to take pictures. So a key factor is a camcorder that will take still pics, and alot of them as I'm sure that will be the majority of use.

Can anyone with experience and knowledge on camcorders/camera's suggest to me a good camcorder that allows good, easy stills or is that not invented yet?

I'm looking around the 250-300 range and think that should be a good price point.

Thanks

[DougK]

I'd flip the question around and look at a basic point-and-shoot camera that you can shoot the occasional video with rather than a camcorder that can grab stills. Sure, there are easy camcorders like the Flip out there, but shooting video in general is a whole different ball game than taking still photos. I won't even get started on editing, because that's a totally separate discussion.

EDIT: I have both video and still cameras. For my own vacation use, I wouldn't even think about a camcorder. I haven't found a video camera yet that I would trust to grab still shots. Then again, I grew up on film SLRs and usually shoot with a 35mm rangefinder or a medium-format TLR, so take my advice for what it's worth.