Samsung's AA-powered 12.2MP budget compact — 27-108mm equiv 4x zoom, 2.5in LCD, SD/SDHC, digital stabilisation
The Samsung ES25 was a budget compact in Samsung's late-2000s ES line, which spanned simple AA-powered point-and-shoots such as the ES15, ES55 and ES65. Sold in black, silver and purple, it offered a wider-than-usual lens for its price bracket and was a common supermarket and catalogue camera in the UK.
It combined a 12.2-megapixel 1/2.33-inch CCD with a 4x zoom covering 27-108mm equivalent at f/3.5-5.0, plus 3x digital zoom and electronic (digital) image stabilisation. The 2.5-inch, 230k-dot LCD handled framing, shutter speeds ran 8s to 1/2000s with ISO 80-1600, and face detection and TTL contrast-detect AF covered focusing down to 5cm in macro. Video recorded 640x480 MJPEG AVI at up to 30fps with mono sound. Storage paired 9.8MB internal memory with SD/SDHC/MMCplus cards, and two AA cells provided power in a 114g body.
The 27mm-equivalent wide end is genuinely useful for interiors and group shots and rare at this price point, though the electronic-only stabilisation means telephoto and low-light shots need steady hands or flash. It suits beginners and buyers wanting a cheap CCD-era pocket camera with no proprietary-charger headaches.
AA power is the big used-market advantage — no obsolete charger to chase, though NiMH cells are needed for sensible battery life. SD/SDHC cards remain plentiful. Check the battery-door hinge and contacts, look for LCD bleed, confirm the lens shield opens fully, and test flash recycle; the 12MP small-sensor CCD is noisy above ISO 400, which is normal rather than a fault.