Are Point And Shoot Cameras Dead?

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The simple answer is yes.  Next time you're in Best Buy or B&H or Jessops in London or Yodobashi in Tokyo take a look at the selection of P&S (point and shoot) cameras on hand.  If you have  (or haven't) been in a large store, carrying a serious number of camera choices, in the past year you'll be shocked at how few P&S cameras are available.  Last year a young fellow who had worked for me at Intel sent me an email saying his fiancé was interested in a P&S.  He asked for some choices as to what to buy.  To see what my advice was at that time, hit the "Read More".



The camera he was looking at was one of those two inch by three inch, half inch deep models.  He figured it would be easy for his fiancé to keep it in her pocketbook.  Right off hand I suggested he forget about that type because of their limitations.  (I know, Doris and I both carried similar models several years ago.) 

I gave him three "recommendations".  The first was the latest Canon Powershot G series (I think they were at 13 or 14 then).  Today there's the G15.  It's a fairly big choice of professional photogs as a pocketable camera.

Next was a one piece superzoom.  Looks like a DSLR but without the interchangeable lenses.  Last was one of the mirrorless models from either Nikon of Sony.

After all that (with prices) I suggested that if she really wanted something to have with her at all times he should buy her a new, better cell phone.  I'll stand by that recommendation.  Doris has a Samsung G5S that she picked up this past spring.  That thing takes amazing shots.  It's steady, she zooms the heck out of it, it gives truly outstanding tonal range.  She has shocked people by showing them wonderfully beautiful images and then told them they were from a cell phone. 

I'll go out on a very short limb (because I'm willing to bet I'm right) and say by the holiday season of 2015 the small P&S cameras will be a thing of the past.

Just as a point of reference to support my prognostications.  At Intel, about twelve years ago, I wrote an article about the internet of things.  At the time, at home, we had just bought a new clothes washer and dryer.  I also gave a talk about how it was the last major household appliance I'd buy that wouldn't be connected to the web.  We just redid the kitchen in our new condo.  I'm still waiting for those connected appliances, but they are coming.