A point-and-shoot camera, also known as a compact camera and sometimes abbreviated to P&S, is a
still camera
A camera is an optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), with a ...
designed primarily for simple operation. Most use
focus free lens
A photographic lens for which the focus is not adjustable is called a fixed-focus lens or sometimes focus-free. The focus is set at the time of lens design, and remains fixed. It is usually set to the hyperfocal distance, so that the depth of fi ...
es or
autofocus
An autofocus (or AF) optical system uses a sensor, a control system and a motor to focus on an automatically or manually selected point or area. An electronic rangefinder has a display instead of the motor; the adjustment of the optical syste ...
for
focusing
Focusing may refer to:
* Adjusting an optical system to minimize defocus aberration
* Focusing (psychotherapy), a psychotherapeutic technique
See also
*Focus (disambiguation)
Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to:
Arts
* Focus or Focus Fe ...
, automatic systems for setting the
exposure
Exposure or Exposures may refer to:
People
* The Exposures, a pseudonym for German electronic musician Jan Jeline
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Exposure'' (film), a 1932 American film
* ''Exposure'', another name for the 1991 movie ...
options, and have
flash
Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Fictional aliases
* Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed:
** Flash (Barry Allen)
** Flash (Jay Garrick)
** Wally West, the first Kid F ...
units built in. They are popular for
vernacular photography by people who do not consider themselves photographers but want easy-to-use cameras for
snapshots of vacations, parties, reunions and other events.
Most of these compact cameras use small 1/2.3"
image sensor
An image sensor or imager is a sensor that detects and conveys information used to make an image. It does so by converting the variable attenuation of light waves (as they pass through or reflect off objects) into signals, small bursts of c ...
s, but since 2008, a few non-interchangeable lens compact cameras use a
larger sensor such as 1" and even
APS-C
Advanced Photo System type-C (APS-C) is an image sensor format approximately equivalent in size to the Advanced Photo System film negative in its C ("Classic") format, of 25.1×16.7 mm, an aspect ratio of 3:2 and Ø 31.15 mm field ...
, such as the
Fujifilm X100 series, or
full frame format such as the
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 series. They prioritize intelligent Auto, but some high end point-and-shoot cameras have PASM (program, aperture priority, shutter priority, and manual modes) on the
mode dial
A mode dial or camera dial is a dial used on digital cameras to change the camera's mode. Most digital cameras, including dSLR and SLR-like cameras, support modes, selectable either by a rotary dial or from a menu. On point-and-shoot cameras ...
,
raw image format
A camera raw image file contains unprocessed or minimally processed data from the image sensor of either a digital camera, a motion picture film scanner, or other image scanner. Raw files are named so because they are not yet processed and the ...
, and
hot shoe
Canon EOS 350D Hot shoe
Proprietary hot shoe used by Minolta and older Sony cameras (Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D)">Sony">Minolta and older Sony cameras (Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D">Sony.html" ;"title="Minolta and older Sony">Minolta and older Sony ...
. None have
interchangeable lens
A lens mount is an interface – mechanical and often also electrical – between a photographic camera body and a lens. It is a feature of camera systems where the body allows interchangeable lenses, most usually the rangefinder camera, singl ...
es, but some have
secondary lens mounts. Most
superzoom compact cameras have between 30x and 60x
optical zoom
A zoom lens is a mechanical assembly of lens elements for which the focal length (and thus angle of view) can be varied, as opposed to a fixed-focal-length (FFL) lens (see prime lens).
A true zoom lens, also called a parfocal lens, is one ...
, although some have even further zoom and weigh less than 300 grams, much less than
bridge camera
Bridge cameras are cameras that fill the niche between relatively simple point-and-shoot cameras and interchangeable-lens cameras such as mirrorless cameras and single-lens reflex cameras (SLRs). They are often comparable in size and weigh ...
s and
DSLRs.
Point-and-shoots have been by far the best selling type of separate camera, as distinct from
camera phone
A camera phone is a mobile phone which is able to capture photographs and often record video using one or more built-in digital cameras. It can also send the resulting image wirelessly and conveniently. The first commercial phone with color cam ...
s. However, point-and-shoot camera sales declined after about 2010 as
smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
s overtook them in such uses. To overcome market shrinkage, compact camera manufacturers began making higher end versions and with a stylish metal body.
Comparison to SLR
Point-and-shoot cameras are distinguished from
single-lens reflex camera
A single-lens reflex camera (SLR) is a camera that typically uses a mirror and prism system (hence "reflex" from the mirror's reflection) that permits the photographer to view through the lens and see exactly what will be captured. With twin l ...
s (SLRs) in several respects: point-and-shoot film cameras, and many digital ones, use a
viewfinder. The image that the photographer sees is not the same image that passes through the primary lens of the camera. Rather, the image in the viewfinder passes through a separate lens. SLRs, on the other hand, have only one lens, and a mirror diverts the image from the lens into the viewfinder; that mirror then retracts when the picture is taken so that the image can be recorded on the film or sensor. With this mechanism, pictures cannot be previewed on the LCD screens of most digital SLRs (
DSLR
A digital single-lens reflex camera (digital SLR or DSLR) is a digital camera that combines the optics and the mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with a digital imaging sensor.
The reflex design scheme is the primary difference between ...
). Some manufacturers have found a way around this limitation, often by splitting the image into two just before reaching the viewfinder eyepiece. One image goes into the viewfinder and the other goes into a low resolution image sensor to allow light metering or previewing on the LCD, or both.
Digital cameras share one advantage of the SLR design, as the camera's display image comes through the lens, not a separate viewfinder. Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Cameras (
MILC Cameras) lack a mirror but in many ways can be used the same as DSLRs. Many smaller digital point-and-shoots of the 2010s omit the viewfinder and use only the screen.
With SLR cameras, it is important that the image in the viewfinder be the same image recorded by the film or sensor, so that the effect of the add-on lenses and
filters
Filter, filtering or filters may refer to:
Science and technology
Computing
* Filter (higher-order function), in functional programming
* Filter (software), a computer program to process a data stream
* Filter (video), a software component th ...
can be seen by the photographer. Point-and-shoot cameras generally don't have such add-on devices, hence no need.
Small cameras, including digital ones, encourage the occurrence of
photographic orbs unexpected, typically circular artifacts that occur in
flash photography where the short distance between the lens and the built-in flash decreases the angle of light
reflection to the lens. The resulting
retroreflection makes dust particles bright and visible.
Camera types
The lowest-end point-and-shoot film cameras are similar to
disposable cameras, but can be reloaded. These cameras have focus-free lenses, with fixed
aperture
In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane.
An ...
s. They may or may not have a
light meter
A light meter is a device used to measure the amount of light. In photography, a light meter (more correctly an exposure meter) is used to determine the proper exposure for a photograph. The meter will include either a digital or analog calcula ...
. Most have a wheel or lever for advancing the film and cocking the
shutter, and a crank for returning the film to the canister for unloading. Because of the fixed apertures, models with flash have no way of controlling the exposure from the flash. Therefore, flash pictures have to be taken within a narrow range of distance from the subject.
Advanced models use automatic focus and have variable apertures. They all have light meters. They use electric motors to advance and rewind the film. They are much more versatile than the low-end models. They are also likely to have
zoom lenses, more advanced
auto-focus systems, exposure systems with manual controls, larger apertures and sharper lenses. They may have special lamps or pre-flash systems designed to reduce
red eye in flash pictures of people.
Compact
superzoom cameras or travel zoom cameras have zoom up to 30x, still shorter zoom than current
bridge camera
Bridge cameras are cameras that fill the niche between relatively simple point-and-shoot cameras and interchangeable-lens cameras such as mirrorless cameras and single-lens reflex cameras (SLRs). They are often comparable in size and weigh ...
s, but more compact than bulky DSLR-shape bridge cameras, and both usually use 1/2.3" sensor.
Sales decline
According to the NPD Group, up to end of November 2011 point-and-shoot cameras took 44 percent of photos, down from 52 percent in 2010, while camera-equipped
smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
s took 27 percent of photos in 2011, up from 17 percent. Unit total sales of all types of point-and-shoot cameras declined by 17 percent year on year, but increased by 16 percent for cameras having optical
zoom greater than 10x.
At the end of 2012, more than one brand offered point-and-shoot cameras with 24x optical superzoom as compensation of sales decline and in later years longer zooms became commonplace. Concurrently with rising sales of smartphones, the sales of more advanced cameras like SLRs have also increased, at the expense of point-and-shoot.
Point-and-shoot camera sales dropped by about 40 percent in 2013, particularly for inexpensive cameras. Fujifilm and Olympus stopped development of low-end point-and-shoot cameras and focused on mid and high-end cameras at higher prices.
Shipment dropped to 12 million units in 2016, only one-tenth of the peak reached in 2008.
Film types
Most
film-based point-and-shoots made after the late 1980s use
35mm film. The key innovations that made 35mm point-and-shoot cameras possible were automatic film loading and automatic advance and rewind.
Advanced Photo System film was mildly popular in the 1990s.
126 film was also popular during the 1970s.
Terminology
The terms "point and shoot" and "compact camera" are used differently in different parts of the world. In the UK point-and-shoot predominantly means a fully automatic camera, regardless of size or shape.
A "compact camera" on the other hand, has a small body, regardless of any fully automatic capabilities. Thus a DSLR can have point-and-shoot modes, and some compact cameras are not designed for point and shoot operation, with the equivalent controls to a DSLR.
The use of "point-and-shoot" to mean a small or compact camera regardless of automation capabilities has long been predominant in the US, and in the 21st century it began spreading elsewhere.
'Compact System Camera' has also been used to refer to
mirrorless cameras
A mirrorless camera is a photo camera featuring a single, removable lens and a digital display.
The camera does not have a reflex mirror or optical viewfinder like a digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera, but may have an electronic ...
.
See also
*
Digital photography
Digital photography uses cameras containing arrays of electronic photodetectors interfaced to an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) to produce images focused by a lens, as opposed to an exposure on photographic film. The digitized image i ...
*
Electronic viewfinder
An electronic viewfinder (EVF) is a camera viewfinder where the image captured by the lens is displayed on a small screen (usually LCD or OLED) which the photographer can look through when composing their shot. It differs from a live preview s ...
References
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