Samsung's 3.2MP fixed-lens compact from 2004 — no optical zoom, 1.6in LCD, runs on AA batteries.
The Samsung Digimax 301 was a 3.2-megapixel entry-level digital compact announced in February 2004, one of the cheapest models in Samsung's Digimax line. It was built for absolute simplicity in the early consumer-digital era, when 3-megapixel fixed-lens cameras were the default first digital camera for many households.
It carried a 3.2-megapixel 1/2.7-inch CCD delivering a maximum 2048x1536 image, with lower 1600x1200, 1024x768 and 640x480 settings. The lens was a fixed-focal-length design with no optical zoom, supplemented by 3x digital zoom, with an aperture range of f/3.9-8.0. A small 1.6-inch colour LCD handled review duties, the built-in flash offered auto, red-eye reduction and slow-sync modes with roughly 3m range, and a two-step self-timer fired a second frame two seconds after the first. Power came from two AA batteries.
With no optical zoom and a tiny screen, the Digimax 301 is as basic as early-2000s digital photography gets. That is now its appeal: it produces the soft, low-resolution CCD look sought by Y2K-aesthetic shooters, and AA power plus fully automatic operation make it an easy no-stakes camera for students and beginners experimenting with retro digicams.
As a used purchase it is a low-cost, low-risk digicam, but check the basics: AA battery contacts free of corrosion, flash charging and firing, and LCD legibility. Confirm the seller demonstrates it powering on and writing files, and check which memory card format is included and working, as bundled cards from this era are often tiny or missing. Value lies in working-tested examples.