Samsung's AA-powered budget compact — 12.2MP CCD with a 27-135mm equivalent 5x zoom and 2.5in LCD
The Samsung ES28 sat at the bottom of Samsung's ES-series of budget point-and-shoot compacts around 2010, a line built to a price for supermarket and high-street sale. It offered a wider lens and more zoom than most rivals at its price point, and its AA power made it a simple grab-and-go camera.
The camera pairs a 12.2-megapixel 1/2.33in CCD with a 4.9-24.5mm lens giving a 27-135mm equivalent 5x zoom range, unusually wide for a budget model. Framing is via a 2.5in 230,000-dot LCD, sensitivity runs ISO 80-1600, stabilisation is digital only, and images are stored on SD/SDHC cards. Power comes from two AA batteries, alkaline or NiMH.
As a first camera or a cheap entry into the CCD digicam trend the ES28 makes sense: the 27mm wide end is genuinely useful for interiors and landscapes, and AA power means it can always be revived. The digital-only stabilisation and slow lens mean telephoto and indoor shots need steady hands or flash.
Used examples are plentiful and cheap, so condition should decide the purchase. Fit fresh AA cells before judging a 'faulty' camera, as weak alkalines cause lens-error symptoms; check the zoom extends smoothly, the LCD is unmarked, and the battery-door catch is intact, a common weak point on AA compacts of this class.