Olympus D-425 (2005)

The Olympus D-425 was also sold as the C-170, and carried the CAMEDIA name in some markets. It was a modest entry-level digital point-and-shoot announced in January 2005. Olympus positioned it as an inexpensive way into its D series. In the UK it was available exclusively through Argos, with an estimated US street price of $149.99. The announcement was built around minimalism: a straightforward, pocketable four-megapixel camera without many frills.

The record on the D-425 is thin but not empty. The lens is documented as an Olympus 6.1mm optic (36.7mm equivalent in 35mm terms), built from five lenses in four groups including three aspherical elements. The camera used a 4 MP CCD, though review measurements showed it actually drew on 2.94 effective megapixels to form images - about 75% of the sensor. The box included two AA alkaline batteries, an Auto-Connect USB cable, a wrist strap, Olympus Master software, a Quick Start Guide, a Basic Manual, and a warranty. No optical zoom figure is recorded anywhere in the sources we have, only 4× digital zoom, which suggests a fixed-focal-length or minimal-zoom budget model.

What little reception exists is scattered. One period description claimed that for its price class, the D-425 produced colors "far stronger than some cameras costing twice as much." A much later TikTok post called it "another compact vintage vibe digicam," and a YouTube comparison asked whether it was worth spending more on a Sony a6300 for everyday memories. dpreview covered the announcement, and the camera appeared in various retail listings of the era.

What isn't documented: no sensor size, ISO range, shutter speeds, aperture range, LCD size, storage media, or video capabilities. No dimensions or weight. No production end date. No collector pricing beyond that original $149.99 estimate. It's the kind of camera that was everywhere in 2005 and nowhere in the historical record — a genuinely forgotten budget compact.