Kodak DC280 (1999)

The Kodak DC280 Zoom was announced on June 22, 1999, and originally sold for around $600-700. It's a 2.0-megapixel compact digital camera with a CCD sensor, a 2x optical zoom Kodak Ektanar lens (30-60mm equivalent, F 3.0-43.8), and a macro mode. It shipped with an 8 MB CompactFlash card. That's tiny by today's standards, though owners report that much larger cards work fine in it. The body was dark silver. A Japan-only variant, the DC280J, came in champagne gold.

The camera runs on four AA rechargeable batteries, and an AC adapter was available as an accessory. It connects to a computer via USB, which was still a relatively new convenience on consumer cameras in 1999.

Users liked the DC280. One owner on an AnandTech forum called it "great" for its USB connection and reported that it takes beautiful pictures with lots of nice features. Later, a DPReview forum user noted that they bought one at Fry's in California in August 2001 for $500, well under the original list price. It has also been sold in recent years through vintage retail channels like Urban Outfitters, which praised its "excellent metering and dynamic range". It holds a 4.07/5 rating from MouthShut users.

A few known specs:

- 2.0-megapixel CCD sensor

- 2x optical zoom, Kodak Ektanar lens, 30-60mm equiv.

- 4 x AA rechargeable batteries

- 8 MB CompactFlash card included

- USB connectivity

- Dark silver body (champagne gold on the Japan-only DC280J)

The record is thin on some details — sensor size in millimeters, ISO range, shutter speeds, and weight are all undocumented in the sources we have. But for a camera that's now over 25 years old, the DC280 remains a solidly built, usable example of late-90s digital photography.