Epson's award-winning digital camera just got better — it now has a lower price; PhotoPC for PC or Macintosh available for under $400

Business Wire, Oct 1, 1996

TORRANCE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 1, 1996--Epson, the creator of high-quality color imaging products, Tuesday announced a new estimated street price of $399 on its PhotoPC for Windows or Mac platforms.

Designed for ease of use, versatility and superior image quality, the PhotoPC is the perfect tool for getting images quickly and easily into a Windows or Mac computer. With this price reduction, Epson continues to provide outstanding product performance for an outstanding price point.

For Work or Play

PhotoPC, which is currently shipping for both platforms, is targeted at business and home computer users who desire a quick and easy way to bring pictures into their computers. PhotoPC images can be used to communicate more effectively in correspondence, proposals, newsletters and presentations and to add a creative touch to personal letters, greeting cards, flyers and school projects. The PhotoPC also saves time when developing comps for graphic design projects such as brochures, storyboarding or packaging.

Internet Applications

Unlike other digital cameras that use proprietary compression technology, Epson's PhotoPC images are automatically stored as JPEG files. This industry standard allows one to put images into documents or Web pages instantly, instead of wasting time and compromising image integrity on file format conversion.

PhotoPC Features

The point-and-shoot Epson PhotoPC has the look and feel of a standard film camera, weighing less than one pound and measuring 6.6 x 3.5 x 1.9 inches (WxHxD). PhotoPC captures images with resolutions of 640 x 480 pixels (high) or 320 x 240 pixels (standard) in more than 16 million colors.

Epson's ColorTrue in-camera processing system provides pictures with accurate and brilliant colors. It is this technology that sets the Epson PhotoPC image quality above all others in the category. ColorTrue ensures that each picture has excellent color accuracy, saturation, balance and contrast, making Epson's image quality visibly superior to other, more expensive digital cameras.

The PhotoPC base unit has one megabyte of flash memory that stores a minimum of 16 high resolution images or 32 standard resolution images. Optional Epson PhotoSpan memory modules allow users to expand total storage capacity to five megabytes of RAM for up to 160 images in standard mode.

For added flexibility, the Epson PhotoPC accepts any 37mm video camcorder lens or filters, allowing the option of close-up and wide-angle lenses, among others. To ensure high quality images even in low light conditions, the PhotoPC offers two flash modes, auto and forced, which provide flash ranges from 3 to 10 feet as well.

Ease of Use

The Epson PhotoPC comes with everything users need to get pictures into their computers -- digital camera, serial communications cable and EasyPhoto software by Storm Software Inc. Among its many features, EasyPhoto retrieves images from the camera and provides intuitive image management and enhancement capabilities.

To allow users to acquire images from the camera directly into Adobe Photoshop or PhotoDeluxe, the PhotoPC for Mac also includes a Photoshop Plug-In driver and for the PhotoPC for Windows, a TWAIN driver.

For convenience, an LCD display indicates the number of images taken, number remaining, image quality resolution, flash setting and battery level. To avoid wasted shots, such as a person with his/her eyes closed, the EasyTouch control panel provides "erase last image" and also has a "self-timer" capability.

The Epson PhotoPC for Windows or Mac carries a one-year limited warranty and has an expected street price of $399. The PhotoPC Mac Connectivity Kit includes Storm's EasyPhoto software for the Mac and with the PhotoPC Plug-In driver and a serial cable. Priced under $50, the kit is currently available through all distribution channels.

For more information on Epson and its products, call 800/GO-EPSON, ext. 3000 or stop by the company's corporate Web site on the Internet at http://www.epson.com, and download a few PhotoPC images from the company's Digital Photo Gallery.

About Epson

Epson offers an extensive array of image capture, image output and portable storage products. For the OEM market, a variety of component and electronic devices is available. Founded in 1975, Epson America Inc. is an affiliate of Seiko Epson Corp., a global manufacturer and supplier of high-quality technology products that meet customer demands for increased functionality, compactness, systems integration and energy efficiency. Epson America has headquarters in Torrance. -0- NOTE: Brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

CONTACT: Epson, Torrance

Nancy Napurski, 310/782-4380

Nancy_Napurski@ea.epson.com

or

Walt & Co.

Kellie DiNaro, 408/496-2989

kdinaro@walt.com