Fujifilm's 1998 VGA digicam — 0.3MP 1/4-inch CCD, 38mm f/3.8 lens, SmartMedia, sold as CLIP-IT 50 in Japan
The DX-8 was an early consumer digital camera announced by Fujifilm on 21 May 1998, sold in Japan as the CLIP-IT 50. It was a sibling to the DX-10 in Fujifilm's first wave of affordable digicams, with a simple, almost square body and a jog dial giving quick access to all functions.
It captured 640x480 (VGA, about 0.3 megapixel) images on a 1/4-inch CCD through a fixed 38mm-equivalent f/3.8 lens, at ISO 100 with shutter speeds from 1/4 to 1/5000 second. Images were stored on SmartMedia cards, with both 3.3V and 5V cards supported, and the camera offered an optical viewfinder, a rear LCD that could be switched off, a self-timer and a video-out terminal.
In period it was a snapshot machine for the web and email era; today its VGA output is strictly a lo-fi aesthetic, and it interests collectors of first-generation digicams more than photographers. The jog-dial interface and boxy styling are very much of their 1998 moment.
SmartMedia is long obsolete: working cards and readers are scarce, so confirm a card is included and that the camera reads and writes to it. Check the LCD still displays, the lens cover operates, and the battery compartment is clean, as most survivors have spent years in drawers.