Kodak launches EASYSHARE digital cameras

Company release, May 10, 2005

New Delhi

Building on the global success of its EASYSHARE DX7590 and DX6490 zoom digital cameras, Eastman Kodak Company has introduced a new category of EASYSHARE digital cameras. The KODAK EASYSHARE Z-Series helps everyday picture takers get closer, better, more creative shots through extended zoom lenses.

The KODAK EASYSHARE Z740 (10X optical zoom) and Z700 (5X optical zoom) digital cameras combine point-and-shoot flexibility and affordability with the photographic control granted by higher optical zoom ranges. Both models are packaged with the new EASYSHARE Printer Dock Series 3, which makes real, borderless KODAK 4 x 6-inch pictures in as little as 90 seconds with just one touch.

The Z740 digital camera and printer dock bundled pack is available in India now at an MRP of Rs 24,900 and the Z 700/Printer Dock bundle at an MRP of Rs 18,900.

“People are realizing that the secret to a great digital picture isn’t just about the number of megapixels in the camera,” said Mr Ravi Karamcheti, Country Business Manager, of Kodak’s Digital & Film Imaging Systems Division, India. “The EASYSHARE Z-Series will bring extended zoom capabilities such as more flattering portraits and capturing detail from afar — until now the domain of higher-end digital cameras — to more people. When combined with the best-selling EASYSHARE Printer Dock, these cameras give everyday photographers almost everything they need to take, print and share high quality, close-up pictures at the touch of a button.”

KODAK EASYSHARE Z740 zoom digital camera

The KODAK EASYSHARE Z740 camera is ideal for people who want to get close to their subject, but enjoy the simplicity of a point-and-shoot digital camera. Its powerful 10X (38 – 380 mm equivalent) KODAK RETINAR aspheric, all-glass optical zoom lens can quickly zero in on a small object or distant scene, picking up the detail, color, and textures that a less powerful lens would overlook. The 1.8-inch, high-resolution, indoor/outdoor LCD screen and electronic viewfinder are designed for previewing a scene, or reviewing and sharing shots just taken.

In addition, the 5-megapixel EASYSHARE Z740 camera includes more advanced, yet simple to use, features like 18 scene settings (e.g., party, sport, portrait) for various environments, continuous autofocus for crisp pictures, first and last burst modes for action photography, color options (e.g., black-and-white, sepia), and even PASM (program, aperture priority, shutter priority, and manual) modes for greater control and creativity. The exclusive KODAK Color Science image-processing chip helps deliver vibrant, accurate colors time and time again.

As with all EASYSHARE cameras, the Z740 includes the favorites feature, which lets people store dozens of pictures in internal memory for anytime, anywhere sharing; the Share button for designating pictures to be e-mailed or printed; popular EASYSHARE software for computer-based picture viewing, organizing, and sharing; and even high-quality video (640 x 480 pixels) for recording and sharing life in action.

Z740 camera owners can also take advantage of a range of accessories for additional creativity, including a 0.7x wide-angle lens and 55 mm circular polarizer and neutral density filters.

KODAK EASYSHARE Z700 digital camera

Designed for value-conscious, entry-level “zoom seeking” picture takers, the KODAK EASYSHARE Z700 digital camera offers 5X (35 – 175 mm equivalent) optical zoom, letting people get much closer to a subject than the 3X zoom lenses most commonly found in cameras in this price range.

The 4-megapixel Z700 camera also includes many of the features that have made the KODAK EASYSHARE system so successful, including multiple scene modes, automatic picture rotation for an image that is always right side up, KODAK Color Science technology, EASYSHARE software, high-quality video/audio, and the exclusive Share button.

EASYSHARE Printer Dock Series 3

Z-Series camera owners can quickly print real KODAK 4 x 6-inch pictures with just one touch in as little as 90 seconds, with or without a computer, using the new KODAK EASYSHARE Printer Dock Series 3 (included with Z740 and Z700 camera purchase). This version is the first to support the new IMAGELINK print system, working with EASYSHARE cameras and other manufacturers’ compatible cameras.

The Printer Dock Series 3 also transfers pictures to a connected computer, and recharges and reconditions the cameras’ batteries. Pictures made from EASYSHARE printer docks are vibrant, borderless, waterproof, and will last lifetime.

Only the EASYSHARE line of printer docks makes printing truly one-touch simple, and do not require people to connect a cable between camera and printer. Their convenience, print speed, ease of use and phenomenal picture quality has resulted in overwhelming demand from picture takers worldwide, with the line having achieved the number one market share in the United States and the United Kingdom, according to The NPD Group and GfK. Since mid-2003, Kodak has sold more than one million EASYSHARE printer docks worldwide.

In the J.D. Power and Associates 2004 Digital Camera Satisfaction StudySM evaluating performance, connectivity, cost and appearance, KODAK EASYSHARE cameras in the US$200-399 and US$400-599 price ranges ranked Highest in Customer Satisfaction. Digital cameras in these segments comprise more than 60 percent of the U.S. market, according to data from The NPD Group.

The award-winning KODAK EASYSHARE digital photography system — consisting of cameras, printer docks and camera docks, software, inkjet and thermal photo papers, and accessories — makes taking, organizing, sharing, and printing high quality digital pictures effortless. Further information on KODAK EASYSHARE products is available at www.kodak.com/go/EasyShare.

About Eastman Kodak Company and infoimaging Kodak is the leader in helping people take, share, print and view images – for memories, for information, for entertainment. The company is a major participant in infoimaging, a $385 billion industry composed of devices (digital cameras and flat-panel displays), infrastructure (online networks and delivery systems for images) and services & media (software, film and paper enabling people to access, analyze and print images). With sales of $13.3 billion in 2003, the company comprises several businesses: Health, supplying the healthcare industry with traditional and digital image capture and output products and services; Graphic Communications Group, offering on-demand color printing and networking publishing systems consisting of three wholly owned subsidiaries: Encad, Inc., NexPress Solutions, and Kodak Versamark; Commercial Imaging, offering image capture, output and storage products and services to businesses and government; Display & Components, which designs and manufactures state-of-the-art organic light-emitting diode displays as well as other specialty materials, and delivers imaging sensors to original equipment manufacturers; and Digital & Film Imaging Systems, providing consumers, professionals and cinematographers with digital and traditional products and services.

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