Olympus's entry-level 1.3MP Camedia compact of 2001 — fixed-focus lens, SmartMedia storage, AA power
The Olympus Camedia C-100 was an entry-level digital compact launched in 2001, sitting at the very bottom of the Camedia range alongside the similar C-1. In North America it was sold as the Camedia D-370, while the C-100 name was used in the UK, Europe and other markets. It was pitched at first-time digital camera buyers on a tight budget.
It pairs a 1.3-megapixel CCD with a fixed-focus lens; there is no optical zoom, only digital enlargement. Focusing covers 0.6m to infinity in standard mode and from 0.25m in macro mode. Images are stored on SmartMedia cards backed by 1MB of internal memory, power comes from four AA cells (alkaline, NiMH or NiCd), and transfer is over USB. A sliding lens cover doubles as the power switch.
As a fully automatic snapshot camera it offers almost no control over focus or exposure, which today makes it more of a Y2K-era digicam curio than a practical everyday tool. Its low-resolution CCD output has the soft, slightly noisy character that fans of early-2000s digital images look for, and AA power keeps running costs minimal.
On the used market, check that the sliding lens cover still powers the camera on and that the status LCD is intact. SmartMedia is long discontinued, so an included working card (128MB maximum supported) and reader add real value to a listing; AA power at least removes any proprietary charger concerns.