What is a 'point and shoot ?

[dee]

I ask because I have a Leica M8 with 35mm [plus several 50s ] and a brand new inexpensive Fuji X-Pro 1 with 27 [ nom 41m ].
I have some DSLRS with interchangeable lenses but have no intention of extending the M8 or the X-Pro .

In 35mm and digital most fixed lens cameras have a 35mm or 28mm but these do not suit me.

Effectively , the X-Pro is a semi-fixed lens point and shoot with a perspective which matches what I see , and is therefore predictable .

Of course , I am 'wasting' the flexibility of these cameras , but I simply prefer around 40-50 mm in 35mm terms , so they suit me perfectly .

It just made me question the categories we seem to slot cameras into .

dee

 

[skucera]

"Point and shoot" once was a very healthy segment of cameras that succeeded rangefinders once auto-focus cameras came on the market. Although the segment started with focus-free 110's and cheap 35mm cameras, in the Eighties and Nineties small pocketable 35mm auto-focus cameras became a rage for people who thought SLR's were just too much work. You can find scads of them at thrift shops these days for $5-10. Most of them still work fine with a new battery and a roll of film.

In an earlier age most 35mm cameras were considered "point and shoot" because they were considered miniature cameras, and 16mm was considered subminiature. We won't even get into Minox cameras....

Scott

 

[aizan]

so...you wish someone made a compact digital camera with a 40 or 50mm lens?

me too...me too...

 

[madNbad]

How about the old press photographers who would set the shutter speed at 125th, set the aperture at f-8, load up the flash with one of those big press bulbs then point their Speed Graphic in the general direction of the action? Point and shoot worked pretty well for them.

 

[Bill Clark]

Well, I thought it's a camera for folks who, all they want to do, is point it and shoot. To me, it means a lack of knowledge, desire of learning, at least, the basics of photography, posing, lighting and composition.

The smart phone is the 21st century point and shoot camera, but not exclusive.

 

[Dektol Dan]

I agree

I agree

A cell phone is today's Brownie.

 

[richard_l]

so...you wish someone made a compact digital camera with a 40 or 50mm lens?

me too...me too...

me too...me too...me too...

 

[wjlapier]

...it means a lack of knowledge, desire of learning, at least, the basics of photography, posing, lighting and composition...

I thought I was quite clever when I was out shooting my Leica M6 with a 35 or 28 lens scale focus and sunny 16. Or my Fuji GS645 same way. Set it up and point and shoot.

 

[zuiko85]

You can make a point and shot out of a lot of different cameras. Once, a friend asked me if I could let him use one of my OM-1 cameras for a couple of days at a family picnic but that he wasn't sure if he could learn to operate it in a short time. Since it was summer and he intended to take pictures outdoors I loaded it with ISO 400 placed a 35mm f2.8 on it and set the shutter at 1/125 and aperture at f16 and set the distance to hyperfocal and held it there with tape. I told him not to mess with anything, just aim, frame and how to release the shutter gently and wind on to the next shot. He came back with a stack of 36 prints that were more than acceptable. The overexposure let him reach into some back lighted pictures and except for a couple of misfires of dirt or sky he was quite happy with the results. I reduced the camera to the same type as a single use camera.

 

[shawn]

I've always taken P&S to be a camera where you had little or no control over it. For example a film camera that reads DX coding, auto focuses and auto exposure with little or no way to change anything. Ages ago in retails we called them "PHD" cameras. Push Here Dummy.

Something like the X Pro 1 can of course be set to be in a PHD mode. But they also allow you to control everything if you desire to. That is the crucial difference IMO.

Shawn

 

[CMur12]

Along the lines of what Zuiko85 did with his Olympus SLR, a lot of old 35mm cameras had red markings for point-and-shoot settings. My grandmother's Kodak Pony, now in my possession, has such markings at 1/50sec, f6.3, and 10 ft, which appear to be point-and-shoot settings for family events.

- Murray

 

[farlymac]

You can reduce the mighty Nikon D5 to a P&S by setting it on Program, and the AF-C on. But the name mostly refers to the consumer type cameras that flooded the market in the days when AF became all the rage, although Kodak started it with their "You push the button, we do the rest" marketing of the original Brownie.

PF

 

[Ko.Fe.]

What is a 'point and shoot ?

This is film P&S.

This is digital P&S.

M8 is not P&S. DSLR, X somewhat Pro 1 to N does have P&S mode with AF lens attached, but they are not P&S.

 

[DanskDynamit]

its a style of shooting.

 

[dee]

Thanks , I was not sure what it mean't in camera terms OR in shooting mode .
I guess that I am guilty of using my cameras in Aperture priority , auto focus and letting it do it's own thing !
I guess that Aperture priority gives some control as I can predict shutter speeds dependant on conditions .
No choice with most on ISO as 100 is the limit for most LOL .
Dee

 

[MikeMGB]

To me a point and shoot is a camera that does just that, you have no control over exposure to focus. However you do still have full control over composition etc. I have a point and shoot in my pocket at all times, it's a tool I have learned to get the best out of.

 

[richard_l]

Some people call any non-interchangeable lens camera a point-and-shoot. This is often intended to belittle pricey fixed-lens cameras such as the Leica Q.

 

[dee]

I guess that smart 'phones are the modern 'point and shoot .
But it's also easy to turn most cameras into fully auto - focus,ISO,Programme,
with a prime non zoom lens -
Other than setting ISO 100 , I set up my Sony A290 / 35mm f1.8 this way as a dee fault.Of course this is choice , but somehow said that point and shoot is also a method for some .
I recognise that this is not what real photographers do , but if I am in a really out of phase situation , I don't have to remember settings .
A fixed lens digi-box would suit me fine , but it would have to be the unpopular 40-50mm range .
Therefore , whether set up as a point and shoot , or with more considered snap shots , the X-Pro 1 / 27mm is just right .
dee

 

[Dogman]

Back when I was a kid (and dinosaurs roamed Earth), almost no one owned a camera other than a fixed lens, fixed focus, non-adjustable Kodak Brownie-type camera. To my mind, that is the ultimate "point and shoot".

Back when I shot film Leicas (shortly after the Extinction), I often turned them into point and shoot cameras by using film with high ISO (ASA at the time) and a wide angle lens stopped down to around f/11 and pre-focused to the hyperfocal distance. It was quick and easy when light was consistent and good and subjects were dynamic. I don't use this method as much these days because of dependable autofocus systems. It's still a viable method and a method often recommended by so-called "street photographers".

 

[Eric T]

P&S used to mean a compact film camera with very few controls.
Now it can include any digital camera with AF and "P" mode.
P mode works great under normal situations - don't feel guilty in using it.