Agfa ePhoto CL50 Digital Camera Now Shipping; Top-of-the-Line, Mega-Pixel Digital Camera Shipping to National Distribution and National Retail Sales Locations.

WILMINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 29, 1999--Agfa Desktop Products Group (DTP-USA), a leading provider of award-winning digital cameras and desktop scanners, announced today that the ePhoto CL50 digital camera is now shipping, nationally. The ePhoto CL50, originally introduced at the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) show in February, will be available at sales locations currently carrying Agfa desktop products, including CompUSA, Micro Center and Fry's Electronics.

The ePhoto CL50 is a high-performing digital camera designed for business professionals and technology enthusiasts who require advanced features, ease-of-use and a photo-quality image.

"Offering a superior image quality and advanced features at an affordable price, the ePhoto CL50 is an ideal solution for all levels of digital camera users," said John Phillips, product manager, digital cameras and desktop scanners, USA-DTP.

About the ePhoto CL50

The newest addition to Agfa's ePhoto family offers an optical resolution of 1.3 million pixels (1280 X 960) and through Agfa's PhotoGenie(TM) image enhancement technology, the ability to produce images of 1.9 million pixels (1600 X 1200). The ePhoto CL50 features four resolution settings (1600 X 1200 - Super, 1280 X 960 High, 1280 X 960 - B/W text, 640 X 480 - VGA) and four flash modes. In addition, the ePhoto CL50 features a 3X optical zoom lens and a 2X digital zoom - in both capture and playback mode.

Advanced Features

Many advanced features make the ePhoto CL50 unique to the marketplace, including: -0-

--   LCD with SunCatcher(TM) -- To address the issue of battery
     consumption and an LCD that "washes out" in bright sunlight, the
     ePhoto CL50 includes a built-in prism which directs sunlight
     behind the LCD screen, conserves battery power and enhances its
     overall brightness. The SunCatcher is accessed by opening the
     door above the LCD screen, on the top face of the camera.

--   Sound -- The CL50 is the first camera in the ePhoto family with a
     built-in microphone for adding voice or sound to each image.
     Particularly useful in business applications such as real estate,
     insurance, education and law enforcement, this feature allows
     users to add a description or comment to each picture.

--   Burst Mode -- Another first for the ePhoto family, the CL50
     features a burst mode, allowing users to hold the shutter for
     continuous shots at half second intervals. The burst mode, allows
     up to 10 continuous pictures in VGA mode (640 X 480) resolution.

--   QuickReview -- The ePhoto CL50's QuickReview allows users to
     control whether to keep or erase a photo immediately after
     capturing it. After taking a picture, the image is displayed on
     the LCD with the option to save or delete the photo. The picture
     can be deleted immediately -- even before the image has been
     saved to the SmartMedia card.

--   Panorama -- A panorama mode is available with the ePhoto CL50,
     allowing users to tag shots for creating panoramas. Photos marked
     for panoramas are "stitched" together to create panoramas using
     PhotoWise (Version 1.8) (included).

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In addition to these advanced functions, the ePhoto CL50 features both automatic and manual control over exposure, focus and white balance. Just like previous ePhoto family cameras, the CL50 allows advanced users the opportunity to manually control the photographic settings so he or she can get the best results.

PhotoGenie

Agfa's ePhoto CL50 delivers best-in-class quality pictures from a 1.3 million pixel CCD sensor using the company's breakthrough PhotoGenie technology. Agfa's PhotoGenie removes image artifacts, such as those from JPEG compression, pixelation, jagged edges, and posterization - which are common in digitally captured images. PhotoGenie also increases the resolution of pictures taken using the ePhoto CL50's highest capture mode, to produce photo quality images with 1600 X 1200 pixels -- or 1.9 megapixels.

Pictures taken with the ePhoto CL50 in the "Super" setting (1600 X 1200 pixels) can be used to output prints of at least 8" x 10" on any photo-quality inkjet printer. For smaller prints, Web publishing, proofs or other applications, users can choose from three other modes: High (1280 X 960 pixels), B/W text (1280 X 960 pixels) , Low-VGA (640 X 480 pixels

Agfa's PhotoWise Software

The ePhoto CL50 ships with Agfa's award-winning PhotoWise(R) software (V 1.8), a full-featured application for accessing, managing and enhancing digital photos. PhotoWise provides complete OLE 2.0 support for drag-and-drop, as well as in-place editing for any OLE compliant application. With PhotoWise, users can organize images on their computer, print contact sheets or 8" by 10" prints, and create slide shows that can even be viewed by those who don't have the PhotoWise application.

On the PC Platform, PhotoWise runs under Windows(R) 98, Windows(R) 95 and Windows(R) NT(TM). On the Macintosh platform, PhotoWise runs on a System 7.5.3 or higher, or on a Power PC(TM) processor or higher.

Pricing and Availability

The ePhoto CL50 is a complete, out-of-the-box solution for most applications. Included are: the camera, cables (PC, Video), powerful software, an 8MB SmartMedia(TM) removable memory card, four AA-sized alkaline batteries and a soft protective case. In the U.S., the ePhoto CL50 is currently available for the suggested price of $799.

About Agfa

Agfa Corporation is part of the Agfa-Gevaert Group, a leading worldwide manufacturer of imaging products and systems, with annual sales of over $5 billion. Agfa-Gevaert manufactures and markets products and systems for the photographic and digital graphic communications markets, medical and technical diagnostic markets, and amateur and professional photographic markets. Agfa-Gevaert is headquartered in Europe.

In the United States, Agfa Corporation maintains its headquarters in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey. It employs 3,500 people in locations throughout the nation.