The camera also includes Epson's revolutionary HyPict(TM) image enhancement technology, which provides customers with 2544 x 1904 pixel resolution or 4.8 megapixels. The PhotoPC sells for under $800.
By taking advantage of the Digital Print Order Format (DPOF), the photographer can actually "mark" the images on the memory card by scrolling through the images on the camera's LCD panel. As photos are viewed, they can be selected for printing by pressing the button either once for a single print or multiple times for more than one print of the same image. Once images are marked for printing, the card can be placed in a printer that has a built-in memory card reader and reads DPOF files, such as the EPSON Stylus(R) Photo 785EPX. The printer will automatically detect the marked photos, and the selected images will be printed.
With the PhotoPC 3100Z's USB compatibility, images can be downloaded quickly and easily to any Macintosh or Windows compatible systems. When the USB cable is connected to the computer, the camera shows up as a drive on the computer.
With this technology, the PhotoPC 3100Z has preset critical image-specific parameters for printing, such as gamma level, color space, contrast, sharpness, brightness, saturation, shadow point, highlight point, and color balance to ensure optimum results. The camera saves the ideal print commands in each image data file. PRINT Image Matching-compatible printers, such as the EPSON Stylus Photo 785EPX, use this information automatically when printing the image to most accurately reproduce the image captured by the camera. In addition to the automatic PRINT Image Matching feature, the PhotoPC 3100Z customers have the ability to manually apply print adjustments for sharpness and brightness after an image is captured.
The PhotoPC 3100Z is equipped with a 3.34 megapixel CCD sensor for resolution up to 2048 x 1536. With Epson's HyPict image enhancement technology, images are interpolated to 2544 x 1904 pixel resolution, or 4.8 megapixels, inside the camera before JPEG compression. This remarkable resolution allows photographers to print stunning images as large as 11" x 17."
The camera also features a 3x optical zoom, which is equivalent to a 34mm - 102mm lens on a 35mm camera, a 35-second web-ready video clip feature, and built-in microphone. Included with the PhotoPC 3100Z is a 16MB CompactFlash(TM) card that stores up to 199 standard resolution images. For photographers desiring more storage, the PhotoPC 3100Z will support cards up to 320MB for expanded storage capabilities.
For shooting photos with a flash, photographers can add an optional external flash unit using the built-in hot shoe. Additionally, the camera's standard built-in flash supports red eye reduction and slow synchronized flash. The camera also offers add-on lens capability for optional 49mm close-up, wide angle and telephoto converter lenses, as well as filters.
The PhotoPC 3100Z will be available later this month for an estimated street price of $799 through various camera retail outlets, mail order and on the Epson retail website (www.epsonstore.com). For more information on Epson and its products, visit the company's website at www.epson.com.
