Digital Unit is Size of Film Magazine, Features Kodak's Acclaimed 16mp CCD Sensor

ORLANDO, Fla., February 23 -- Photographers who enjoy the increasingly popular 645 medium-format cameras but not the restrictive tethered operations of current 645-format digital backs now can achieve true digital portability and unsurpassed image resolution with the Kodak Professional DCS Pro Back 645C and 645M digital camera backs.

Kodak Professional is introducing its newest medium-format digital camera backs at the Photo Marketing Association trade show, Feb. 24-27, in Orlando, Fla. (booth #2772). These 645 medium-format digital backs featuring the acclaimed 16mp CCD sensor, LCD display and image management capabilities available in the ground-breaking Kodak Professional DCS Pro Back Plus Digital Camera Back are compatible with the Contax 645AF and Mamiya 645AF camera systems. Virtually the same size as a 120/220 film magazine, they deliver genuine hand-held portability for wedding, portrait, on-location commercial and outdoor photography, as well as efficient performance in the studio.

"Our DCS 645C and 645M digital camera backs go anywhere the photographer wants to go, and bring the power of Kodak Professional's 16-megapixel resolution and proprietary image science with them," said Madhav Mehra, Worldwide Director, Digital Capture Solutions, Kodak Professional. "Pro photographers now have the perfect digital solution to blend the functionality and portability of an SLR camera with the quality look and feel of medium-format photography."

Kodak Professional's new digital camera backs let photographers generate versatile, high-resolution digital image files for use in professional color-managed workflows. They introduce a superior, truly portable digital option to popular 645-format photography, where the emphasis is on the optimum combination of mobility, robustness and high image quality.

The 645C and 645M camera backs are fully compatible with the latest iterations of Kodak Professional Camera Manager, Photo Desk, Capture Studio and DCS Custom Looks profiles software, and the new Kodak Professional Extended Range Imaging Technology file format. They also function seamlessly with Kodak Professional's ProShots Digital System software in a complete digital workflow connecting photographer, lab and customer.

With an equivalent ISO of 100-400, the 645C and 645M digital camera backs help photographers shoot in a variety of challenging lighting situations. They are compatible with all host camera functions, including auto-focus, and provide overall creative flexibility for zooming, cropping and re-purposing. An optional anti-aliasing filter assures the highest image quality.

The lightweight ergonomic design of the 645C and 645M digital camera backs includes a power source in the form of a snap-on battery, good for 100 images in normal use. They have a burst rate of one frame every 1.63 seconds and a burst depth of eight images, and feature a video port for image review and an AC power adapter. Kodak Professional's highly functional LCD screen with 1:1 focus check among its advanced photographer-friendly features and high-speed interface enable fast image review and processing. These backs accommodate a variety of flash-exposure tools, and work with virtually all major radio slave flash systems.

Product availability begins April 1 through authorized dealers of Kodak Professional digital photography equipment. The suggested U.S. list price of the Kodak Professional DCS Pro Back 645C and 645M digital camera backs will be announced at PMA.

Eastman Kodak Company and infoimaging

Kodak is the leader in helping people take, share, enhance, preserve, print and enjoy pictures -- for memories, for information, for entertainment. The company is a major participant in "infoimaging" -- a $225 billion industry composed of devices (digital cameras and PDAs), infrastructure (online networks and delivery systems for images) and services & media (software, film and paper enabling people to access, analyze and print images). Kodak harnesses its technology, market reach and a host of industry partnerships to provide innovative products and services for customers who need the information-rich content that images contain.

The company, with sales last year of $13.2 billion, is organized into four major businesses: Photography, providing consumers, professionals and cinematographers with digital and traditional products and services; Commercial Imaging, offering image capture, output and storage products and services to businesses and government; Components, delivering flat-panel displays, optics and sensors to original equipment manufacturers; and Health, supplying the healthcare industry with traditional and digital image capture and output products and services.