crushr13 Loc: Sacramento, CA

With so many photography courses out there saying that to be a good photographer, it is all about what you know and how you use it, and not so much about what gear you have (though good lenses, among other things, help remarkably, too). And they say that anyone can make great photographs with most any camera.

I noticed when I recently went out to purchase a new point-and-shoot camera, to get into the learning part of photography, I noticed that almost nobody (if any manufacturer at all) sells a point-and-shoot capable of shooting RAW with JPEG. They all do JPEG only. Yet all cameras shoot RAW (of course), and then (if necessary to make a JPEG) condense it down to form the JPEG. Does this not seem so strange?

I finally went out and bought a DSLR to have the capability to shoot RAW, if I choose (no discussion here on RAW vs JPEG here, please), so I can enjoy those benefits, as well. I am trying finally to learn photography more fully, rather than just snapshots, as I used to always do.

Am I being ridiculous, or might it be beneficial to have a point-and-shoot that can shoot RAW that can be readily available?

(FYI - I have a Canon PowerShot SX720 HS (with 40x zoom) for my point-and-shoot, and a Canon EOS Rebel T7i for my DSLR. The first digital camera I ever had was a Canon, and liked it enough to stay with it.)

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

Not all compact cameras shoot .Jpeg only, my Fuji X100F shoots in both .Raw and .Jpeg mode.

Bill_de Loc: US

I think you jumped the gun with this post. Quickly checking the specs on a few point and shoots at B&H I found a number of point and shoots that provide raw files. It isn't as uncommon as it used to be, so it might not be mentioned in the "headline". But if you are serious and take the time to dig a little deeper you will find you didn't need a dslr to shoot raw.

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crushr13 Loc: Sacramento, CA

Okay, thank you. I did not realize. I will, however look at Canon, Sony, and Nikon and do not remember finding any. I will also look more closely in the future.

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

Although the X100F is certainly compact, I don't think it really qualifies as a "point & shoot" camera.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

At $1,000+ I hope not

BebuLamar

I have an old Nikon Coolpix 5000 and it shoots RAW. It's a compact camera.

RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

The Canon G16 shoots raw (I have a Canon G11 which also shoots raw)

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

It's a light weight bridge camera, not a point and shoot but the Coolpix B700 shoots raw+jpeg and has 4K video as well.

cr1218

Leica compacts shoot RAW.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

The OP's second paragraph contains the sentence, "noticed that almost nobody (if any manufacturer at all) sells a point-and-shoot capable of shooting RAW with JPEG. They all do JPEG only." I wonder if he's talking about the RAW + Jpeg feature some cameras have, which saves an image in both formats. I'd say that basically, that would require two card slots, and I don't know of any point and shoot camera that has two slots. Or maybe I just misunderstood. But there are lots of point and shoots that offer both JPEG and RAW modes, but you have to pick one or the other.

blackest Loc: Ireland

There is no need for 2 card slots to record both raw and jpeg files. What will tend to happen is you fill the ram buffer faster which will cause shorter bursts before the camera gets choked and has to wait before taking the next shot. Not all camera Cpu's/processors are the same some are slower than others.

There is a tendency for cameras to cost more depending on the features built in, there is little technical reason not to provide raw files in cheaper cameras but it is an incentive to buy a more expensive camera with similar hardware but more capable firmware.

https://cameradecision.com/features/Cheapest-Compact-cameras-with-RAW-support

Cheapest compact camera with raw support is the kodak z5120 at $199,

https://cameradecision.com/features/Cheapest-cameras-with-RAW-support
There are quite a few cameras that shoot raw which are cheaper than that.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

crushr13 said "Am I being ridiculous, or might it be beneficial to have a point-and-shoot that can shoot RAW that can be readily available?"

Gee, my Sony A65, is a point-and-shoot when I put it on iA... just point and shoot. To me, P&S is a vulgar epithet and should be reserved for $30 cameras. My compact Panasonic TZ100 and it newer TZ200 as well as the Sony RX100 are small but certainly not point-and-shoot , it is simply that they have excellent lenses built in rather than using clunky old archaic attachable lenses!! All three of those point-and-shoot do both Raw & JPEG.

Rook2c4 reinforced by Linda both say point-and-shoot should not apply to RJWallace's $1000 Fuji X100F, obviously, I agree.

johneccles Loc: Leyland UK

I have one, it's a Panasonic TZ70.

lbjed Loc: New York

My Panasonic Lumix LX100 shoots raw.