u/Legitimate_Ride_9476

• ⁠Budget: no priority
• ⁠Country: The Netherlands
• ⁠Condition: Preferably new, but open to used gear
• ⁠Type of Camera: Compact/Bridge/DSLR/Mirrorless
• ⁠Intended use: wildlife/birds, snapshots, no pro use.
• ⁠If photography what style: documentary/wildlife
• ⁠If video what style: none
• ⁠What features do you absolutely need: WiFi/bluetooth transfer that works easily
• ⁠Portability: big priority here, I’ll elaborate down here
• ⁠Cameras you're considering: None, because the situation of the end user is quite specific.
• ⁠Cameras you already have: 5D classic, D700, D3S, Sony A7
• ⁠Notes:

Dear readers,

I’m in a bit of a pickle with my mom’s birthday coming up.

My dad and I already figured that we’re getting a camera, since she’s been interested in having her own for a while now(constantly asking me or others for their camera/phone to snap something she came across)

I’m pretty technically inclined, also in the photography realm, but this case has me really frustrated, let me elaborate;

My mother has been diagnosed with MS, a neurological condition.
I can write a whole story about it, but the result is that she’s not able to hold a “heavy” camera up for very long and that she can’t hold the camera still enough for a sharp exposure.

When she holds my D700 with the 50mm F/1.8D(let alone with the Sigma 24-70 F/2.8) she’s very vocal about how heavy it is.
She can manage it for a while, but the longer she walks around with it the longer it takes her to recover from holding up a brick like that.

So, my question is; what are the better options for someone who you could consider (partially) disabled?

I’ve considered bridge cameras like the P1100 and RX10 Mk V because of the fully integrated nature and the huge optical zoom range.
But they’re not really that compact/light compared to DSLR/mirrorless while compromising on sensor size and optics quality.
It would be an improvement in terms of portability and weight, but is it sufficient?

My dad suggested a RX100 Mk. VII, which is more of a vlogging-style camera.
While being really lightweight, pocketable and a really good camera in it’s class; I feel like the zoom range for the intended use case(wildlife, especially birds) is way too short with a max of 200mm equivalent.

On another subreddit I read a story about a disabled person that had a Nikon 1 J5 with the Nikon 100-300 telezoom(max zoom has a full frame equivalent of 800mm I believe) as a super portable setup, with stunning results if I’m honest.

My dad told me that budget isn’t really much of a concern. Finding the right fit for my mother is.

So I would love to hear some suggestions, at this point I’m really open to anything that suits her needs best.

Best regards, Max