Digital cameras by and large are marketed in three flavors, that being point-and-shoot, prosumer and professional.

Point-and-shoot: Basic. Most functions are automatic and cannot be adjusted manually. Entry level, least expensive.

Prosumer: Similar to point-and-shoot but with extra added features such as manual focus. Mid-grade, middle-of-the-road expensive.

Professional: Full-bodied cameras with a detachable lens. High-grade, most expensive.

I’m finding that the more I look at low-end digital cameras, the point-and-shoots really are coming a long way with features and options. It makes one wonder whether there actually is a prosumer category any longer.

Example: The Canon PowerShot A470.

This is a point-and-shoot and under $100 new. It has features that were never available for its price point as little as two years ago, such as fixed focus point, 3.4x optical zoom (doesn’t sound like much but for a small body this is darn good), 7.1 megapixel, and even has continuous shooting at 1.9fps. Not bad at all.

For all intents and purposes, this is a prosumer camera. I honestly could not classify this as a point-and-shoot, even though it is.

What do you think?

Does the prosumer category even exist anymore with digital cameras, or have they all advanced so much that point-and-shoots are all prosumer-grade across the board?