Stylish compact 3.2 megapixel camera makes digital photography simple and fun

New York, NY (August 7, 2003) - Minolta Corporation introduces the new DiMAGE E323 - an easy-to-use, compact 3.2 megapixel digital camera. This stylish camera combines high-quality digital images and value-added features, such as the ability to make 6-megapixel images for high quality printing and digital video, all in one attractive package.

"The new DiMAGE E323 provides fabulous digital images with point-and-shoot simplicity," said Jon Sienkiewicz, vice president of marketing, Minolta Corporation's Consumer Products Group. "This camera adds diversity to Minolta's digital camera lineup ensuring more choices for users of today's digital cameras."

The DiMAGE E323's precision electro-optical system is built around a 3.3 megapixel 1/2.7-type interline primary-color CCD with 3.2 million effective pixels for high-resolution images. This resolution can produce 10 x 14-inch 150dpi prints or 4 x 6-inch size photo-quality prints. For those special occasions where users want to make big prints, the camera can automatically interpolate the data when it is captured to create a large 6-megapixel image. This will allow users to make up to 11x17-inch 150dpi prints or letter-size 300dpi prints.

The DiMAGE E323 is equipped with a 3x optical zoom lens. With a focal range of 5.6mm to 16.8mm, the lens is equivalent to a 36 - 108mm zoom on a 35mm camera. It can range from wide angle for landscapes to telephoto for portraits. The resolution of the seven-element, six-group lens design ensures the best quality results from the camera's 3.3 megapixel CCD image sensor. The maximum aperture of ƒ/2.8 - 4.9 allows the camera to be used in less than ideal lighting conditions without the need of the built-in flash.

The new Minolta DiMAGE E323's digital zoom can extend the optical zoom lens performance by four times giving the E323 an equivalent of a 432mm lens on a 35mm camera. The combined optical and digital zooms give this compact digital camera an amazing 12x zoom range. The camera's macro mode also allows small objects and details to be captured. The lens can focus down to 4.3 inches for close-up photographs.

The DiMAGE E323 could not be easier to operate. Exposure, focus, white balance, and flash are all controlled automatically for clear, sharp color pictures. By simply pointing and shooting, the camera will do the rest. And to transfer the data from the camera, a user simply connects the USB cable, and drags and drops the images into their computer.

The DiMAGE E323 is not limited to recording still images - movie sequences can be captured too. The length of the movie clip is only limited by resolution and the capacity of the camera's memory card. Clips can be shot at two resolutions: 320 x 240 pixels for large (QVGA) images or 160 x 120 pixels for frugal use of the SD memory card.

Captured still and video images can be played back in the camera or on a TV. Still images can be played back automatically like a slide show. Images can be rotated to orient them correctly so viewers don't need to twist their heads to the left or right to view vertically composed shots.

Minolta Corporation
Minolta Corporation, headquartered in Ramsey, New Jersey, is the largest subsidiary of Minolta Co. Ltd. of Osaka, Japan, a leading manufacturer of cameras, business equipment, radiometric instruments and planetariums. Minolta Corporation's Consumer Products Group (CPG) markets 35mm film and Advanced Photo System cameras, digital cameras, binoculars, accessory lenses, photographic light meters, 35mm and Advanced Photo System film scanners and other consumer products.

The corporation's Business Products Group (BPG) markets digital and analog office equipment. Products include black-and-white copiers, digital black and white printer/copiers, plain-paper laser facsimile machines, digital color printer/copiers, micrographic systems, document management software, and related office equipment.

For more information, visit Minolta's Web site located at www.minoltausa.com or access Minolta's PHOTOFAX at 800-528-4767.

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