point-and-shoot

[point-n-shoot]

adjective

1. of or denoting a camera that does not require manual adjustment of shutter speed, focus, aperture, etc.

noun

1. a camera with such automatic features.

point-and-shoot

adjective

1. of or relating to a camera in which the lens aperture and shutter speed are automatically adjusted

Word History and Origins

Origin of point-and-shoot¹

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

The point-and-shoot digital camera is one of the most prized rediscovered technologies.

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I took an old point-and-shoot digital camera to New York Fashion Week because, haven’t you heard?

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Using cheap point-and-shoot cameras — they were unobtrusive and produced grainy shots that, to her, represented the messiness of life — Ms. van Manen captured intimate images of daily life in China, post-Soviet Russia and coal miners in Kentucky.

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Bertien van Manen, a Dutch photographer who used point-and-shoot cameras to capture intimate images of daily life in China’s big cities and remote villages, the dismal apartments and alleyways of post-Soviet Russia and coal miners in Kentucky, died on May 26 in Amsterdam.

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Like the allure of vinyl records, classic video games and even the early internet, the fascination with older photography standards like point-and-shoot cameras or 35-millimeter film persists — even in people too young to remember when that gear was cutting edge.

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