Types of Cameras

Point-and-Shoot

Description
Point-and-shoot cameras literally mean that point the camera at something and push the shutter. The camera does all the adjustments for you. These cameras started out as a fixed lens that focused about 4 feet in front of the camera with a fixed aperture and shutter speed.  Today's P&S cameras are much more sophisticated. At present, most P&S are digital though some still manufacture disposable or film cameras.

Features
Point-and-Shoot (P&S) cameras has limited controls such as automatic focus, variable shutter speed, variable aperture. It has a built-in flash for lighting purposes. P&S cameras use metering systems, which calculate the amount of light entering the camera and preset controls for situations such as landscapes, nighttime, people, macro, and many more depending on the manufacturer.

The biggest drawback to P&S cameras is that it does not give you the What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) type of picture. This means that what you see through your viewfinder may not be what you capture on film or digital media. P&S cameras are usually small and fit into a pocket or purse and are best used for casual picture taking where capturing the memory is more important than capturing a profitable image.

SLR and DSLR

Description
SLR stands for Single Lens Reflex and DSLR stands for Digital Single Lens Reflex and refers to how the light enters the camera. SLR is a camera that uses a semi-automatic moving mirror system which permits the photographer to get a photo of what he sees in the viewfinder. These cameras have a larger body than most P&S cameras and interchangeable lenses. While SLRs started out a fully manual, where the photographer had to control all features including focus, most of these cameras are capable of acting in a fully automatic mode just like a P&S.

Features
SLRs and DSLRs lets you control shutter speed, aperture, film speed or ISO, focus point, optical zoom, add-on flash, remote releases, and rechargeable battery packs.