Because they substitute electronic circuitry for some of the mechanisms found in SLR cameras, point-and-shoot cameras are some of the smallest available on the market today. They're also lighter than their film SLR counterparts, but not necessarily too much lighter than digital SLRs. The less expensive point-and-shoots are usually made of plastic, which gets more durable as these cameras increase in price. Point-and-shoot cameras at the top end of the price range often have light but durable titanium bodies.

All but the cheapest point-and-shoot cameras have autofocus, which is activated by pressing down slightly on the shutter release. Most models use active infrared autofocus systems, which measure distances by shooting an infrared beam from the camera to the subject. A sensor then uses this information to move the lens into one of a number of focusing zones.

The simplest autofocus models generally have three zones that cover closeup (about five feet or so), medium-range (ten feet), and distance shots (twenty feet and farther). More sophisticated point-and-shoot cameras have additional ranges to provide more precise focusing. Most point-and-shoots also have focus lock, which allows for reframing the subject in the view-finder after the focus has been set.

Autofocus isn't an option on the cheapest point-and-shoots, which almost always have fixed-focus lenses. Subjects within a certain range (say, six feet to infinity) will be in focus to a certain extent, but closer objects will be blurry.

Autoexposure controls determine how the camera handles specific lighting situations to yield images that aren't under- or over-exposed. Most autoexposure systems on point-and-shoot cameras use a fairly simple setup, in which a front-mounted sensor measures existing light. When the shutter is pressed, the system reads the sensor and automatically sets the lens opening and shutter speed based on combinations already programmed in the camera's memory.

Some point-and-shoot cameras use through-the-lens, or TTL, metering, which is more precise and increases the accuracy of the exposure. Most TTL meters measure the overall light in a scene. Some more advanced TTL systems use center-weighted metering, which measures light at various points in the scene — such as the middle, top, and sides. The camera's electronics then analyze all the readings, usually putting more weight on the central portion of the scene.

The least expensive point-and-shoot cameras use a fixed exposure, meaning that the shutter speed and lens opening never change. With these cameras, choosing the right film (high speed for indoor, slow speed for outdoor) is what it takes to get decent pictures. Some let you have a little control over exposure by flipping a switch between outdoor and indoor settings.

Almost all point-and-shoot cameras have an automatic flash feature provided by a little electronic flash unit built into the front of the camera body. This guarantees that you'll get an image even in darkness. However, that's about all they guarantee. Camera-mounted flashes tend to do a poor job in most situations, as they wash out highlights and flatten detail. (However, the same flash can be useful to even out the light in very contrasting situations, like on a very sunny day.) The flash units on point-and-shoot cameras also tend to be fairly limited in their range, resulting in underexposed images in dim lighting. Knowing the camera's limitations and staying within them is the best way to avoid this problem.

This is a feature that minimizes the eerie effect that flash creates when people photographed in dim light or darkness glance directly into the lens. This is another standard feature on most point-and-shoot cameras.

These two features are standard on almost all point-and-shoot film cameras. As their names imply, they automatically load the film, advance it, and then rewind it when all frames are exposed. On some cameras, you may have to push a button to activate auto rewind. That same button will let you rewind film in the middle of a roll.