Following a discussion in Point and Shoot contests #33 and #46, some people, myself included, have called into question what a point and shoot camera is.
In order not to distract any more from the actual contest, and additionally so that I can maybe discuss this at further length than usual, I'd like to ask the community: What defines a point and shoot to you?
There's a number of criteria people point to. Physical size, sensor or film frame size, presence of automation, lack of manual overrides, and whether or not the user is viewing through the taking lens.
The easiest thing to do is to point to something that is unequivocally a point and shoot, and go from there. Take a Vivitar VS28B for example:
With a 2.1mp sensor the size of a grain of sand (or nearly so), it is focus-free, has an external finder, a tiny, low-resolution sensor, and pretty much one control: The shutter button. Okay, it probably has a flash on/off too. Retailing for under $20, it's definitely a point and shoot.
I, personally, think that a point and shoot is a camera with non-TTL viewing that lacks interchangeable lenses. It may or may not have manual controls, it may or may not have automated features.
So let me hear it, and let me have it. What makes a point and shoot? What is one? What isn't one? Is the Pentax Q a point and shoot? What about a Leica M9? What about a Pentax Optio A40?