Point and Shoot, or Program Mode

Every photographer at some point in their career has people around them asking for help using their camera. This has been happening more regularly since I started publishing this blog, and I’ve decided to start a series to help the average camera owner weed through the mountains of information available. Ultimately the best place to start with any camera is to read it’s user manual. If you don’t have one, they should be available on the manufacturer website for newer models and I have used Butkus.org for older film cameras.

Point and Shoot cameras are the absolute easiest to use, whether it be film or digital. New photographers can get overwhelmed with terminology and technology. These cameras allow you to not worry about aperture, shutter speed or even ISO. In most cases, cameras will focus for them if they need to focus at all. They vary from the medium format Kodak Brownie Hawkeye built in the late 1940’s all the way up to a digital Nikon p1000 still being built. These are a great way to get a feel for using a camera, and sometimes it’s nice to toss one into a pocket for when you want to use something more than a smartphone. I have yet to play with any of these cameras and not make a good photo, simply being aware of the gear limitations. In this blog I will show a few examples of cameras regularly available that are either absolutely Point and Shoot, or can be used as one.

The first and oldest I have tried is a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye. It’s a “box camera” from the 1940-50’s that can be found in almost every antique store. There are no settings to change, no focusing to do and once film is loaded all that can be done is point it where you want to shoot, push the button, and then wind to the next frame. A small red window on the back shows the frame (printed directly on the film backing). It’s really the most basic of cameras, a light tight box to hold film with a lens to receive light. I received a nice copy of this camera for Christmas one year and I rebuilt it at my kitchen table to make it good as new. When I shoot it in bright light it takes a very clean, contrasty picture. Most of these cameras can be had for under $20 and are very serviceable with a set of jeweler’s screwdrivers. The only real difference is the style of the body. I do like the Art Deco cameras from Agfa and other companies, but the Kodak I have will never be replaced.

Most of us know the next type, a 35mm (usually autofocus) plastic fantastic. Unless our parents were photographers with a Nikon, Minolta or Canon SLR, they usually had a point and shoot along with a few undeveloped rolls of film in the kitchen junk drawer. These are amazing little pieces of technology as long as they’re working. Not built to be durable, there is a tendency for them to fail at the worst time, especially if they are one of the super trendy models influencers are flaunting now like the Contax t2 or even the Olympus Stylus/MJU. For film the only thing to be mindful of is the ISO number of the camera, but most of these cameras check it automatically and adjust the exposure accordingly. For digital point and shoot (or Digi-cams) it’s really a matter of preference for brand and size. The more mega pixels it has, the sharper the image will be, but they all work fine and over the past few years the trend is to have a lower resolution model to make it look more “film like”. If you want to try either a film or digital P&S, the first place to look is in your families’ basement attic and garage. Most of them can be had for the mythical “$5 at a thrift store” price, and if you really insist an expensive one, just keep an eye open. I have found multiple nice cameras at Goodwill and other thrift stores that work perfectly including an Olympus Stylus for $20. I would never pay more than $20-25 for an untested plastic camera, even if they do have a razor sharp prime Zeiss lens. Once they stop working, there are very few people that can fix them, and none of them are inexpensive.

The final type I’ve had is the advanced SLR, DSLR or mirrorless camera in Program or Auto mode. These cameras are by far the ones I get the most questions about. Someone will receive an amazingly advanced camera and lens kit for a birthday or holiday and get overwhelmed with all the options. Some like the Minolta 7000 (1985), Pentax sf10 (1988), Nikon n2000 (1986) and others made “program” photography incredibly easy. You lose the creativity of changing the settings when using this mode but autofocus makes sure the image is clear and the electronics make sure the exposure is correct. This mode is excellent for when you want the freedom of using different lenses but don’t yet want to get deep into the menus. I really like using this style of camera for vacation and have captured some nice shots with both my Nikon f100 (35mm film) and d500 (digital). The “newest” camera I’ve been handling lately is a Fujifilm s2 pro digital camera from 2002 to pair up with my vintage Nikon lenses. Nikon and Fuji collaborated in the early days of digital photography to create what I’ve quickly adopted as my favorite vintage digital camera. The Fuji sensor records a nicer image than the corresponding Nikon sensor in my opinion, but the Nikon f80 body shell and lens mount which was used makes it a very easy transition for me between film and digital. Six megapixels is roughly equivalent to what can be made with 35mm film, and I’m definitely starting to enjoy it more when I don’t want to wait for film. They stopped making them in 2005 to concentrate on their own line, but I would really like to try the pinnacle of the series (s5 Pro) at some point to see how far they got before abandoning the project.

Of note, there are a lot of later model film cameras with a program mode such as the Minolta x700 and Canon AE1 program. These are a great option if you want to shoot film without the need to manage exposure settings but feel comfortable with manual focusing. Oftentimes once they are in program mode, focus can just be turned to infinity and then be used as a very effective point and shoot style camera.

If you want to shoot your camera but get overwhelmed just thinking of it, turn that mode switch to “P” and go take some pictures! I have heard some photography snobs say it’s not “real” photography, but those aren’t the people we are taking pictures for. Grab your gear and take it someplace interesting.

Aperture Priority