An excellent AA battery P&S with full manual controls

I don't think that film cameras ever really reached a broad audience until the Canon AE-1 Program came along that had all automatic controls, except for focus.  I have one, and I used it until the little fully automatic point and shoot film cameras came along, and if I ever took the dial off Program, I can't remember it.

Nobody can argue that the sub $200 point and shoot digital cameras are being hammered by smartphones.  That only leaves the high end point and shoots, if this trend continues.

The beauty of a cheap super zoom compact digital camera like the Powershot SX 100 series was that the consumer got into a real, devoted camera that had fuill PASM dial, deep menus, and art filters for not a lot of money.  The buyer could use store brand AA batteries if they wanted.  They probably used the thing on full auto or default program settings as long as they own it.

Newer smart phones have faster lenses, and they are capable cameras.  But the owner of a capable, cheap, PASM dial equipped smart camera like the SX100 series was more likely to attempt to learn what the controls were for, than a smartphone owner that might, maybe, download some art filters.  Using RAW is miles above the beginner's head.  He's already struggling to understand his camera's functions, and RAW is for another level of amateur photographer.

Who's going to buy DSLR's and other expensive enthusiast cameras, if the world looses an entire generation of photography students who think they need a real camera to learn photography?  Isn't it better to have a cheap, capable, starter camera for the raw beginner, that might later on buy a DSLR or other enthusiast camera, than hope smartphone owners quit taking selfies and sending emails of their dogs and cats to friends and learn photography?

Is there a kit lens on a consumer level DSLR today that comes with a faster aperture on the kit lens than about f3.5 on the bottom side?  Maybe, but there aren't many.

Where I think  these Powershot 100 series cameras were valuable was to snag a smartphone owner out of a hundred bucks or so, and for his money he got a super zoom camera, and the potential was there for him to learn the ins and outs of photography by taking a course, either online or in person.  I can't imagine smartphone owners getting all fired up to learn photography, if only a small number of capable point and shoot owners go on to learn something more than to use their camera on Auto or Program.

Canon and Nikon probably still make some kind of full control cameras, but they cost over $200 and take lithium batteries.  The beginner isn't likely to buy them. I think more likely to spend $350  for a new low end consumer DSLR that's going to sit in a drawer because the inexperienced owner is intimidated by all the knobs and geegaws on the camera.

If some camera maker were to make a new AA battery powered superzoom compact, they would have to add WiFi to sell it, today.  A faster lens would be nice, but not necessary.   My argument is the photography worlds needs a simple, cheap, capable camera with a full control set that sells for $100 to get a new generation of photography enthusiasts started on a camera addiction.