Kodak Raises the Bar with its New EASYSHARE DX7590 Digital Camera; Flagship Model Offers Sophisticated Control, Superb Quality; Most Advanced EASYSHARE Camera to Date has 10X Optical Zoom, 5-Megapixel Resolution

Business Wire, August 3, 2004

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- With the introduction of its new EASYSHARE DX7590 zoom digital camera, Kodak expands upon features that made the KODAK EASYSHARE DX6490 model one of the most popular cameras in its class during the past year. A unique combination of sophisticated features, exceptional performance, and trademark ease of use gives amateur photographers the opportunity to shoot like a professional.

The camera will be available worldwide beginning this month for US$499 (MSRP), setting a new price-to-performance benchmark for high zoom consumer digital cameras.

"As seen in the success of the DX6490 camera, thousands of amateur photographers trust Kodak to deliver superior results without sacrificing ease of use," said Yusuke Kojima, general manager of worldwide digital camera and system development, and vice president, Eastman Kodak Company. "Whether used in a manual or automatic mode, the DX7590 delivers fantastic shots with a press of the shutter button."

Like its predecessor, the EASYSHARE DX7590 camera unites a professional quality SCHNEIDER-KREUZNACH VARIOGON 10X optical zoom lens (38-380 mm equivalent; f/2.8 - f/3.7 maximum aperture); the KODAK Color Science image processing chip for rich, accurate colors; dual-sensor, low-light precision auto focusing; and multiple shooting modes for optimal creative control. The new model then goes a step further, adding new features such as five megapixel resolution for prints up to 20 x 30 inches, an extra high-resolution (311,000 pixels) electronic viewfinder, JPEG fine and standard compression options, flash compensation, and rapid click-to-capture (just 0.2 seconds).

Integrated Components

The DX7590 camera has been designed with some of the world's highest quality components working in concert to provide outstanding quality, even in challenging photographic situations. With Kodak's integration of the SCHNEIDER-KREUZNACH VARIOGON 10X optical zoom lens, the KODAK Color Science image processing chip, and intelligent matrix metering, photographers can achieve portraits with edge-to-edge sharpness and brightness, rich color, and highly accurate exposure. Because of the tight incorporation of these and other sophisticated features, DX7590 camera owners are consistently presented with remarkable dynamic range, fine detail and delicate highlights -- results that advanced amateurs have typically associated with high-end digital SLRs.

Professional Quality Lens

The 10X focal length (38-380 mm equivalent) of the professional quality SCHNEIDER-KREUZNACH VARIOGON zoom lens gives photographers superb framing flexibility. It enables users to get close to the action and fill the frame, or achieve more natural poses from subjects by shooting them from a distance. The long lens also provides the "flattened" perspective and narrow depth of field, all in a compact, SLR-like body. With a f/2.8 maximum aperture at wide angle and a f/3.7 at 10X -- and the ability to step down to f/8 -- the camera is well-suited to perform in both low and bright light.

Using the dual-speed zoom control, DX7590 camera owners can drive the lens from 1X to 10X in just two seconds, and then extend the total magnification up to 30X using Kodak's exclusive Advanced Digital Zoom technology, which creates sharp, high quality images across the entire digital zoom range. For ease of handling, the lens barrel only extends one inch after powering up the camera, with all lens movements occurring within the protective housing.

Kodak offers a range of high-quality digital camera lens accessories that work to enhance or embellish the photos taken with the DX7530 digital camera. The four-element SCHNEIDER-KREUZNACH XENAR 0.7x (26.6 mm equivalent) wide-angle lens, and German-designed B&W circular polarizer and neutral density 55mm filters are all designed to work with the latest digital camera from Kodak.

Enhanced Creative Controls

The EASYSHARE DX7590 camera offers fully manual controls, permitting independent aperture, shutter speed, flash and exposure compensation, ISO equivalent and other settings that can transform an ordinary picture into a work of art. The camera also features aperture and shutter priority modes, as well as sixteen programmed scene modes. Saturated, neutral, black-and-white and sepia color modes lend additional in-camera creative options. Its dual sensor, low-light precision auto-focus system combines rapid phase detection with highly accurate through the lens (TTL) contrast detection to precisely fine tune and sharply define a subject, even in almost complete darkness. In addition, the camera is equipped with an external flash synch -- capable of synching at any shutter speed -- for illumination of subjects beyond the 16-foot pop-up flash range.

Exclusive KODAK Color Science Technology

The KODAK Color Science image processing chip combines the power of a high-performance digital signal processor with professionally-derived image process engineering (including Kodak's legendary white balance algorithms, with a new "open shade" setting), based on more than 75 years of Kodak research into the science and emotion of color. With each press of the shutter button, the camera quickly and precisely analyzes lighting conditions and color balance to consistently deliver exacting sharpness, high color accuracy, and proper exposure.