Argus Unveils Four New Digital Cameras Under $50, Including the Market's Lowest-Priced Models With Color LCD Screens; New 1700 Series Set for April Release.

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- PMA Show, Suites X20-22 -- Argus Camera today announced a new Argus 1700 Series of entry-level digital cameras that will include the market's least expensive models with full-color LCD screens and external memory card slots, plus one of the lowest-priced digital cameras with a 1.3-megapixel resolution. Cameras in the series will be available at major mass market retailers in April.

  The series will include:
   --   The Argus DC 1710 (MSRP $39.99), a VGA model with a color LCD
        display and an 8MB internal memory capable of storing up to 117
        photos.

   --   The Argus DC 1730 (MSRP $44.99), identical to the DC 1710 with the
        addition of an automatic flash.

   --   The Argus DC 1750 (MSRP $49.99), featuring an external slot that is
        compatible with SecureDigital/MultiMedia (SD) Cards for unlimited
        image capacity and easy printing at photo finishing kiosks, plus VGA
        resolution, an 8MB internal memory, an automatic flash, and a color
        LCD display.

   --   The Argus DC 1770 (MSRP $44.99), a 1.3-megapixel model with a 4x
        digital zoom, a text-based status LCD, an SD Card-compatible
        external memory card slot, an 8MB internal memory, and an automatic
        flash.

All cameras in the series are small, lightweight, fixed-focus models with a high-fashion metallic look and three-in-one digital still, Web and video capabilities. Each model will be bundled with PhoTags software for easy photo editing and management, ranging from the addition of text captions, frames and borders to the creation of photo albums, slide shows and photo calendars.

"Argus established its reputation by making photography affordable to the mass market, and the DC 1700 series cameras continue that legacy," said Argus Product Manager Michael Blaustein. "With the feature set provided in these cameras, from the VGA or 1.3-megapixel resolution to the bundled software, consumers have everything they need for the activities that have made digital photography essential for the home user: emailing photos to friends and family, creating greeting cards and calendars, and making digital photo albums."

About Argus Camera

Argus introduced the first low-cost 35mm camera in 1936 and was heralded by Fortune Magazine as having "overnight changed candid camera photography in the U.S. from a class hobby to a mass pastime." Argus was named The Great American Camera Company by the Smithsonian Institute and remained the best-selling camera across three decades and two generations. Argus Camera is now a division of Hartford Computer Group Inc., an organization specializing in digital products for consumers, technology services, IT asset management, IT equipment services, and reverse logistics. Hartford Computer Group acquired the Argus Camera brands in July 2003.

Argus, Argus Camera, Cintar, VisionTek, XTASY, Surplus Village, Hartford Distribution, Hartford Technology Services, and Enable Systems are registered trademarks and/or servicemarks of Hartford Computer Group, Inc. All other company and/or product names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

CONTACT: Roxanne Pascente for Argus Camera, A Division Of Hartford Computer Group, Inc., [phone], or [e-mail]

Web site: http://pma2004.pmai.org/