Canon Expands Range of Image 'capture-to-print' Solutions With New Line of Consumer Products.

Business Editors

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 16, 2002

New Digital Cameras, Bubble Jet/Photo Printers, and Flatbed

Scanners Highlight Company Strength in Digital

Imaging and Its Commitment to Photo Printing Market

Canon U.S.A., Inc., a subsidiary of Canon Inc. (NYSE: CAJ) today announced several new consumer products, including two digital cameras, three Bubble Jet printers, and three flatbed scanners, signaling its ongoing commitment to the growth of digital imaging and photo printing in the home or office.

The new products introduced today include the Canon PowerShot S230 and G3 digital cameras, the i320 and i550 Bubble Jet printers, the i850 photo printer, and the CanonScan LiDE 50, 5000F and 8000F flatbed scanners.

"Looking at our history of innovation in cameras, printers, and scanners, Canon has been able to draw on its expertise in digital imaging to continue, relentlessly, in the development of the most new and exciting consumer products," said Kinya Uchida, President and CEO of Canon U.S.A., Inc. "The new products announced today are in part the sum of what few companies are able to deliver - one stop, end-to-end digital solutions, from capture-to-print."

Canon's new PowerShot S230 and G3 continue the sleek, stylish, and highly functional design the Company's digital cameras have become known for. The PowerShot S230 is the first Canon Digital ELPH model with 3 megapixel resolution and 2X optical, 3X digital, and 6.4X combined zoom lens. Along with direct print support of Canon's CP-10, CP-100, and Bubble Jet Direct Photo Printers, the PowerShot S230 also offers an improved Movie Mode that allows the user to record up to 3 minutes of video at 15 frames-per-second, with excellent sound and quality made possible by a new "DIGIC" imaging processor developed by Canon.

As a high-quality, full-featured, 4.0 megapixel digital camera for the "prosumer" market, Canon's new PowerShot G3 features new Image Processor Digic for improved image quality, provides a precision-engineered 35-140mm f/2.0-3.0 lens with 4X optical, 3.6X digital, and 14X combined zoom capability. New wide-area Flexi-Zone Auto Focus/Auto Exposure and 12 EOS-based shooting modes help assist users in capturing their intended shot. Other key features include Spot Metering, Zoom Playback up to 10X, direct print capability to select Canon printers, and an increase in shutter speed to 1/2000th second (from 1/1,000). A 24mm wide angle / 240mm telephoto accessory lens is also available.

The new printers offer sleek new industrial designs, and excellent photo printing performance and value. All of the new models feature Canon's exclusive advanced Microfine Droplet Technology for very high reproduction of details in photos and faster print speeds, and the Canon Think Tank System, for efficient and economical printing costs.

The new printers also support Exif Print, the new worldwide standard for higher quality digital photo printing. Using Canon's exclusive Easy-PhotoPrint software, the printers are able to use recorded data from Exif 2.2-equipped digital cameras, including the new PowerShot models announced today, for truer reproduction of digital images. Photo Noise Reduction is also designed into the printer drivers for helping eliminate "noise" in digital camera images, for example, from areas of light solid colors such as blue skies, and dark areas such as shadows, for more realistic image reproduction.

The flagship i850 Photo Printer features a new printhead with 1600 nozzles that combines the use of 5 picoliter (pl) droplets for fast coverage and ultra-fine 2 pl drops for exceptional quality and detail when printing photos. With up to 4800 x 1200 color dpi resolution, the i850 offers speeds of up to 22 pages-per-minute (ppm) in black and 14 ppm for color, and 4"x 6" borderless photo prints in approximately 47 seconds.(a)

The i550 Color Bubble Jet Printer has a 1,088-nozzle printhead for accuracy and fast printing at up 18 ppm in black and 11 ppm in color, and 4" x 6" borderless photos in less than 47 seconds at up to 4800 x 1200 dpi color resolution.(a) From text to web page graphics to photos, this printer meets the needs of the home office professional

The i320 Color Bubble Jet Printer delivers an awesome combination of quality, stylish new design and value at an ultra-low price point. Color resolution is up to 2400 x 1200 dpi with printing speeds of 10 ppm for black and 7 ppm in color.(a)

Covering both film and platen applications, Canon's new CanoScan models deliver professional level scan quality with high performance and style. The LiDE 50 sits just over an inch high, yet can accommodate book and magazine scanning with Canon's exclusive Z-lid expansion top. With up to 1200 x 2400 dpi optical resolution, 48-bit input and output color for over 281 trillion possible colors, and an easy-to-use four button design (copy, scan, e-mail, and file to PDF), the LiDE 50 now makes scanning multi-page documents and photos to a single PDF file possible. A USB 2.0 High-Speed bus provides a super fast connection as well as power.

Film and photo scanning needs are covered with the new CanoScan 5000F and CanoScan 8000F. Both scanners are USB 2.0 High-Speed compatible with up to 2400 x 4800 dpi optical resolution for maintaining picture and film detail and quality, even when enlarging. Both include a film adapter that allows batch scanning of three and twelve 35 mm negative frames at a time, respectively. The 8000F has a lightning fast 5-second preview when scanning photos and the CanoScan 5000F has a 6.5 second photo preview.

The 5000F and 8000F feature automatic removal of dust and scratches with FARE technology (Film Automatic Retouching and Enhancement). FARE technology uses infrared light source to detect dust and scratches on the film plane. Automatic dust and scratch reduction is also available for platen scanning on both units.

Pricing and Availability

The PowerShot S230 and G3 digital cameras have suggested retail prices of $499 and $899, respectively, and will be available in October.

The i850 Photo Printer and the i550 Bubble Jet Printer have suggested retail prices of $199.00 and $149.00(b), respectively, and will be available in September 2002.

The i320 Bubble Jet Printer has a suggested retail price of $79.00(b) and will be available in November 2002.

The LiDE 50 scanner has a suggested retail price of $149.00(b) and will be available in November 2002.

The CanoScan 5000F and CanoScan 8000F scanners have suggested retail prices of $199.00 and $299.00(b), respectively, and will be available in November 2002.

Canon U.S.A., Inc. delivers consumer, business-to-business, and industrial imaging solutions. In 2001, the Company was listed as one of Fortune's Most Admired Companies in America, and was ranked #41 on the BusinessWeek list of "Top 100 Brands." Its parent company Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ) is a top patent-holder of technology, ranking third overall in the U.S. in 2001, with global revenues of $26 billion. Canon U.S.A. employs approximately 11,000 people at over 30 locations. For more information, visit www.usa.canon.com.

All referenced product names, and other marks, are trademarks of their respective owners.

(a) 4" x 6" photo print speed based on default mode driver setting using Canon Photo Paper Pro for Borderless Printing 4" x 6" paper. All other print speeds are based on high-speed draft mode. Print speed will vary depending on system configuration, software, document complexity, print mode, and print coverage.

(b) Prices subject to change at any time. Actual prices are determined by individual dealers and may vary.