Point and Shoot Digital Camera

A quick discussion as to why this type of camera is the most widely used and affordable digital camera.

The point and shoot digital camera, has been branded as simplistic and is perceived to be a low quality photographic instrument.

In reality, nothing could be further from the truth.

Merely because the camera is truly a point and shoot device just goes to show how much automation has been enabled in this type of camera.

In the days of old, photographers had to take a light measurement with a light meter, enter the film speed into it and obtain a range of apertures and shutter speeds to which he could set his camera. He then had to measure the distance to the object he wanted to photograph, and apply all these settings to the camera. Advance the film to the next frame and release the shutter.

After doing this process for every single picture he took, he could rewind the film and then go into his darkroom to process it. Here he had to work in pitch darkness with toxic chemicals with precisely controlled temperature and timers, to develop the film. When this had been successfully completed, he could inspect the negatives, after a drying period lasting up to a few hours. He could then select the pictures that looked promising, place the negatives into another machine, which now exposed photographic paper. This was then again processed with a batch of toxic chemicals, dried and then inspected. After several trial and error attempts, he eventually got a picture that was hopefully what he wanted.

You on the other hand, point and click, and check the result on the screen within seconds.

Modern day point and click digital cameras, do all of the above steps, except they do them automatically and electronically.

When you push the camera button, a whole bunch of computer programs start to run in the camera.

The light coming in, gets measured, and from that the lens and shutter speed get automatically adjusted. Different points of the object get compared, and a fancy program works out the distance to the object. It then adjusts the distance setting on the lens and re measures. Should you or the object move nearer or further away, the process is repeated, and the correct settings are applied. This is all done in the background at a rate of thousands of times a second. Should the light be too dim, a built flash gets activated to provide sufficient light to enable a photo to be taken.

After all these measurements and adjustments have been made, the internal sensor is exposed to the now optimized image and electronically recorded and stored. This stored data id then immediately accessible, and you can see the result on the cameras screen immediately.

All of this is done in the background, with powerful but tiny computers and electronic circuitry.

Modern technology has enabled these units to be produced incredibly small and cost effective, making this electronic wizardry available to just about anyone.

So if you want to get your feet wet, so to speak, a point and shoot digital camera is an ideal introduction to the world of photography.