Hitachi's basic budget digicam — 5MP CMOS, fixed 39mm-equiv lens, digital zoom only, AAA power
The HDC-571E was a budget digital compact sold under the Hitachi name in the late 2000s, part of the HDC series of low-cost cameras aimed at supermarket and catalogue retail rather than enthusiast channels. It was a slim, simple snapshot camera positioned well below mainstream compacts from Canon, Sony or Kodak.
It uses a 5-megapixel 1/2.5-inch CMOS sensor with a fixed 6.47mm lens (39mm equivalent) — there is no optical zoom, only 4x digital zoom. Focus is set with a slider switch between normal and macro positions rather than autofocus. Shutter speeds run 1 to 1/1000 sec, framing uses a 2.48-inch LTPS LCD, images go to SD/SDHC cards up to 4GB, and power comes from two AAA batteries. The 8M and 10M settings are interpolated from the 5MP sensor.
This is about as basic as digital cameras got: fixed lens, switch-set focus and digital-only zoom mean it suits collectors of low-fi digicams and the current appetite for rough-edged 2000s compact aesthetics more than practical photography. In good light at native resolution it produces usable snapshots.
Sellers frequently list these untested. It runs on ordinary AAA cells, so testing is easy — check the LCD, shutter and flash all work and the card slot reads an SD/SDHC card of 4GB or under. Treat 10-megapixel claims in listings with caution, as that figure is interpolated. Boxed examples with the pouch and USB cable are the ones worth having.