Samsung's 12MP budget compact — 35-105mm-equiv zoom, AA power, 2009; sold as the SL40 in the US.
The Samsung ES17 was a budget 12-megapixel compact launched in 2009, one step up from the ES15 in Samsung's entry-level ES line. The same camera appeared as the SL40 in the United States, the ES19 in some markets and under VLUU branding in parts of Asia, so listings appear under several names.
It used a 12.2-megapixel 1/2.33in CCD (4000x3000 maximum) behind a 3x optical zoom of 6.3-18.9mm, equivalent to 35-105mm on 35mm film. A 2.5in LCD, face detection, Beauty Shot skin smoothing and digital image stabilisation covered the feature list, with ISO up to 1600. Around 11MB of internal memory was supplemented by SD cards to 2GB, SDHC to 8GB or MMC Plus, and power came from two AA batteries.
As with most late-2000s AA compacts, its appeal now is cheap, easy CCD-era shooting: bright daylight colour, simple controls and batteries available anywhere. Digital-only stabilisation and a slow lens at the tele end mean indoor shots lean on the flash, and video is basic.
Plentiful and inexpensive used, so be picky: check for battery-bay corrosion from leaked alkalines, verify the lens extends without error messages, and test the SD slot with a modest-capacity card since support tops out at 8GB SDHC. Screen wear is common; NiMH rechargeables are worth budgeting for given AA alkaline run-times.