Epson Announces a New, Easy-to-Use, Pocket-Sized Digital Camera You Can Talk To.

TORRANCE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 20, 1997--

The Affordable, Portable PhotoPC 550 Captures High-Quality, True

VGA Images and Offers Robust Feature Set Including Built-In

Microphone

Epson, the creator of high-quality, award-winning color imaging products, Monday announced the newest and most portable addition to its digital camera product line, the PhotoPC 550 with voice annotation, for Windows.

An excellent value for business and novice users alike, the PhotoPC 550 is available for an estimated street price of only $299. Epson's newest digital camera captures high-resolution images at true optical 640 x 480 pixel resolution (also known as VGA resolution). The Epson PhotoPC 550, slightly bigger than a deck of playing cards, delivers excellent picture quality, ease of use and a versatile feature set perfect for work or play.

"Image quality, versatility and ease of use are the foundations of Epson's award-winning line of digital cameras, and we have continued to build on this legacy with our newest digital camera," said Frank Romero, product manager, new products. "With the PhotoPC 550, Epson provides a great product at a great price while creating a conveniently sized camera with plenty of options for both experienced and beginning users."

Built-In Microphone

Unique to digital cameras under $300, the PhotoPC 550 includes a built-in microphone that enables users to record a 6-second message with every picture. This versatile feature is great for real estate agents who want to capture first impressions while touring a property or for parents who would like to record a child's message when sending electronic photos to relatives over the Internet or posting them to family Web sites.

Ease of Use

Adhering to Epson's traditional "point-and-shoot" design, the PhotoPC 550 looks and feels like a standard pocket-sized 35mm camera. Simply slide the lens cover to the side and the camera turns on. The super-light-sensitive CCD sensor, advanced ColorTrue in-camera processing system and ClearOptics glass lens ensure great pictures every time. The built-in macro feature allows users to take pictures as close as four inches.

Camera controls are very intuitive, and an LCD display on the top of the camera indicates the status of features such as picture mode (normal or macro), battery level, type of storage used (internal or card) and number of pictures remaining. With dimensions of 4.2 x 2.6 x 1.5 inches (W x H x D), the PhotoPC 550 fits easily into any shirt pocket and can be operated with one hand.

On-Board Storage and More

No need to worry about losing or misplacing removable storage cards. With 1MB of internal memory, the PhotoPC 550 is always ready to capture up to 24 Standard, 12 High VGA or 6 SuperHigh VGA resolution images. In addition, for maximum storage flexibility, the PhotoPC 550 supports optional removable and reusable 3.3V SSFDC or SmartMedia storage cards.

Currently, SSFDC storage cards from 2MB up to 4MB are available through removable storage card companies, and 8MB cards are expected to be available by the end of 1997. A single 4MB card allows users to store up to as many as 147 Standard pictures -- great for people on the go! When inserted into a PCMCIA adapter, SSFDC cards are quickly and easily read by any notebook or desktop computer with a PCMCIA drive.

Also in development is a 3.5-inch diskette drive adapter for users to retrieve images directly from their diskette drives to their computers' hard disk drives.

Out of the Box

The PhotoPC 550 comes with everything users need to get pictures and sound into their Windows computers: digital camera, serial communications cable, TWAIN driver and easy-to-use Image Expert image editing and management software from Sierra Imaging. Among its many features, the Image Expert software allows users to preview, retrieve, delete, organize, edit and enhance pictures taken. Image Expert will also support audio recording and playback on properly configured PCs.

For Windows 95 and NT users, pictures can be easily dragged and dropped directly from the camera into OLE 2.0 compatible applications via Image Expert's Camio Viewer. Users who prefer other TWAIN compliant applications such as Adobe Photoshop acquire images from the camera directly into the application via the PhotoPC 550 TWAIN driver.

With the PhotoPC 550 users can immediately capture incredible pictures and sound to create multimedia greeting cards, letters, reports, postcards, slide shows and Web pages.

Power Options

The PhotoPC 550 comes bundled with three AA-sized alkaline batteries. For added flexibility, the camera also accepts standard AA-sized Lithium, NiMH or NiCD batteries. Users can also purchase the Epson NiMH Power Pak option, which includes four rechargeable, high-capacity AA-sized NiMH batteries and a charger that charges batteries in less than three hours. This option is available for $99 MSRP. The PhotoPC 550 also has an AC adapter option available for $49 MSRP.

Support

The PhotoPC 550 VGA color digital camera carries a one-year warranty and is supported by the EPSON Connection, a toll-free customer support and technical assistance line. For more information on Epson and its products, call 800/GO-EPSON (800/463-7766) or visit the company's Web site at http://www.epson.com .

About Epson

Epson offers an extensive array of image-capture and image-output products for the consumer, business and graphic arts markets. The company is also a leading supplier of a diverse line of component, system and electronic device products.

Founded in 1975, Epson America Inc. is the U.S. affiliate of Japan-based 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 Inc. has headquarters in Torrance. -0- Note: Brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. -0-

         EPSON PHOTOPC 550 COLOR DIGITAL CAMERA FOR WINDOWS

                         Fact Sheet(a)

Image Quality:

          24-bit color images in 16.7 million colors

Image Modes:

          SuperHigh resolution:  640 x 480 pixels (low compression)
          High resolution:  640 x 480 pixels (standard compression)
          Standard resolution:  320 x 240 pixels

Sensor:   1/3-inch progressive scan CCD sensor
          Total elements:  H692 x V504
          Effective elements:  H659 x V494

Image Storage:

Storage Capacity
(base camera):

          6 SuperHigh resolution images
          12 High resolution images
          24 Standard resolution images

Expandable Storage:

          Supports removable 3.3V SSFDC or SmartMedia memory cards

Storage Time:

          Up to one year without power


File Format:

          JPEG

Optics:

          Fixed Focus from approximately 4 to 22 inches or
          .1m to .55m (macro mode)

          Fixed Focus from approximately 24 inches to infinity or
          .6m to infinity (normal mode)

          Equivalent to a 43mm lens on a 35mm camera

          5 element glass lens

Exposure:

          Equivalent to ISO 100

Shutter:

          Automatic electronic shutter 1/4 to 1/1000 sec.

Aperture:

          f2.8, f8.0

Optical Viewfinder:

          Optical real image viewfinder

Control Panel:

          EasyTouch Control Panel

Controls & Display:

          Image quality setting, self-timer, macro mode, number
          of images remaining

Software:

          Sierra Imaging Image Expert for previewing, retrieving,
          deleting and enhancing images; includes audio support for
          downloading, recording and playing back voice messages

          PhotoPC 550 TWAIN driver

Power:

          Includes three AA-sized alkaline batteries
          Also accepts three AA-sized Lithium, NiMH and NiCd
            batteries
          Optional PhotoPC 550 AC adapter
          Optional Epson NiMH Power Pak:
            -- Four rechargeable NIMH batteries
            -- Fast charging NiMH battery charger

Data Communications Interface:

Camera:

          2.5mm diameter mini 3 terminal type

Computer:

          8-pin RS-232C (Windows)

Dimensions:

          4.2 x 2.6 x 1.5 inches (W x H x D)

Weight:

          .50 lb. with batteries
          .34 lb. without batteries

Warranty:

          One year limited
          Lifetime toll-free support


Note:  Brand or product names are trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective holders.

(a) Specifications are subject to change without notice.

CONTACT: Epson

Nancy Napurski, 310/782-4380

[e-mail]

or

Walt & Co.

Jill Zabkar, 408/496-0900

[e-mail]