Episode 61: Pointing and Shooting

It took us a couple of tries. but the Camerosity crew finally managed to put together an episode dedicated to the best selling, widely used, and most accessible type of camera ever, the point and shoot.

The great thing about the point and shoot segment, is that apart from being easy enough to literally "point and shoot", there was a lot of flexibility in design, features, ergonomics, and usability, with many camera makers free to do something different from established norms, adding things like solar panels, dedicated panoramic modes, and even speech capability to otherwise mundane cameras.

In Episode 61, Paul, Theo, and Mike chatted with Andrew Smith. Matt Murray, Tim Peters, Kyle Lu, AJ Gentile, and first time caller Rafael Espinosa to share with us their favorite point and shoot models, how they like to use them, and their own tips and tricks to getting the most from these cameras.

Addressing the biggest debate right at the top of the show, we discuss what exactly is a point a shoot.  Not everyone agrees where this era exactly begins and ends as something as simple as the 1888 Kodak could technically be considered a point and shoot as you literally press the button and Kodak does the rest, but we decide to cap it to simple auto exposure models from the 1960s and on.

We talk about replacing rotted light seals, battery compatibility, which models are more likely to fail than others, underwater point and shoots, disposable point and shoots, and some premium point and shoots.  Will this episode give you GAS like some of our others?  I guess that depends on what style of photography you prefer, but you'll never know for sure if you don't listen in!

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you!  Please don’t feel like you have to be an expert on a specific type of camera, or have the level of knowledge on par with other people on the show.  We LOVE people who are new to shooting and are interested in having an episode dedicated to people new to the hobby, so please don’t consider your knowledge level to be a prerequisite for joining!

The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com.  We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.

This will be our last episode of 2023 as the guys and I will take a short break before coming back in January.  We may have something special planned for the week after Christmas, but as always, we need to flesh out ideas and make sure that if we do record something it is worth listening to, but even if we don't manage to get something out, we will be sure to return in January with Episode 62.  As always, stay tuned and keep a look out for the show announcement!

In This Episode

• We define what a Point and Shoot is / Theo suggests it might be a box camera
• Kodak made simple cameras to sell more film / Point and Shoots are perfect for the zoo
• Andrew’s first was a Ricoh TF500 / Canon QL17 GIII
• Old P&S cameras often need foam replacement
• Yashica Electros are also a good option / Olympus XA
• The Mamiya 7 is the best camera in the world, even as a P&S
• The Fuji GA645 is a true medium format P&S
• Fuji has a DX type coding for medium format films
• Matt Loves Cameras loves the Contax T3, his has only one tooth!
• Canon SureShot/Autoshot P&S are a great range of cameras / Canon A1 / Aqua Snappy 6 / Prima / Nikon Action Touch
• Matt’s Fuji Natura has a fast lens but only with fast film
• The Canon SureShot Series Are All Great
• Fuji TW-3 / Solar Powered Canon del Sol / Nikon Lite Touch Zoom 140
• Autofocus technology was important for zoom lens advancement
• Mike Raves About the Olympus IS Range / Canon MC Inspired by the Olympus XA
• Paul loves the Samsung AF Slim / Samsung made the Rollei Prego
• Konica Hexar / Konica Genba Kantoku Rugged Cameras
• Everyone likes the Nikon L35AF / The Kodak Ektar 35 is surprisingly good / GOKO Macromax is Fantastic for Macro Photography
• Paul finds an Agfa Optima Flash / Tim’s first compact was a Konica MR70, But Enjoys the Olympus Pen S
• Tim also believes the Nikon EM SLR is a P&S / Backlight button on a camera is a great feature
• Theo has been using the Pentax PC35AF / Mike played the Minolta Talker/AFS-V / Minolta Vista/Ps is a Panoramic Compact
• Premium Nikon P&S are the 35Ti and 28Ti / Premium Compacts are Starting to Fail / Kyle has found repairers in China that can fix them
• Pentax Espio Range are Great Value / Olympus mju / Ricoh FF series / Chinon Auto 3001 / Kodak VR35 K12 and K14
• Disposables have always been popular / The Cat Camera is a weird camera / Mamiya U and U AF / Hand Sam
• mikeeckman.com is 9 years old!

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord!  Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on our very own Discord Server.  Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums.  If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show!  Check it out!  https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm.

If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group or Instagram page, or email us at camerosity.podcast@gmail.com.

The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast

Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/

Matt Murray - Matt Loves Cameras - https://mattlovescameras.com/

Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris and https://www.etsy.com/shop/Camerasandpictures

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/ and https://www.facebook.com/VoltaGNV/