“Miniature Powerhouse” Significantly Increases Storage Capacity of Digital Data for Greater Ease of Use

Melville, New York, September 27, 2004 – Olympus America Inc. today announced the development of a One Gigabyte xD-Picture Card. As one of the world's smallest storage media for digital cameras and digital voice recorders, the xD-Picture Card is now capable of holding an entire gigabyte of digital images, data, audio and video. As a result, this ultra-compact card allows photographers to capture a greater number of photographic scenes and subjects, and at higher resolution settings, before the card is full and images must be downloaded or the card changed.

“Olympus not only concentrates on building digital cameras that deliver the highest level of image quality combined with the sleekest designs on the market today, but we also constantly look to integrate the most cutting edge technologies,” said Chip Pryor, Memory Products Business Manager, Olympus America Inc. “The One Gigabyte xD-Picture Card is a prime example of our ongoing commitment to raise the bar and contribute to the advancement of the digital camera industry by creating a better digital experience for all consumers.”

Designed to Do More
By offering a range of storage capabilities, the One Gigabyte xD-Picture Card guarantees that digital camera users' storage requirements will be fulfilled. Whether on a challenging photo-shoot assignment or on that once-in-a-lifetime backpacking adventure far from civilization when having the most storage is a must, professionals and other active photographers will appreciate the convenience and freedom the new one gigabyte card provides.

For example, used with the 8.0-megapixel Olympus C-8080 Wide Zoom, the one gigabyte removable media can save up to 43 TIFF files or about 660 HQ images – an incredible amount of image files. The new high-capacity card also supports Olympus exclusive features such as Panorama photography. Olympus xD-Picture Cards are the only media cards on the market that enable the Panorama function on Olympus digital cameras, whereby up to 10 images can be stitched together to create incredible vistas.

Designed for Maximum Speed, Portability and Compatibility
In addition to the giant leap in storage capacity, the one-gigabyte card offers all the features for which the xD-Picture Card is renowned. They include a diminutive size of 20mm x 25mm x 1.7mm, a weight of only 2 grams, fast read/write speeds, low power consumption, and a durable multi-level cell (MLC) design.

Designed for Greater Movie Length
Approximately 50 minutes of footage in amazing DVD quality (MPEG4 format) may be recorded when using the Olympus C-770 Ultra Zoom with the new card. In upcoming digital cameras from Olympus where the length of QuickTime Movie recording is only limited by the capacity of the card itself, the One Gigabyte xD-Picture Card will enable incredibly long video to be recorded – making the digital camera a powerful tool for creating digital movies.

Designed to Adapt
The One Gigabyte xD-Picture Card can also be used with an assortment of USB card reader/writers, such as the MAUSB-10, MAUSB-100 and the new MAUSB-300 – allowing the card to be read by any computer's USB port without the use of a camera. When an xD-Picture Card is inserted into any of these reader/writers, any document can be downloaded to the card, transforming it into a portable hard drive for easy transfer of images, data, and voice files from one computer to the next.

To enhance flexibility and convenience even further, the card can work with adapters such as the MAPC-10 PCMCIA Adapter for PC-Card interfaces, and MACF-10 Compact Flash Adapter for use with all CF devices.

Availability
The 1GB Olympus xD-Picture Card is planned for release in the first quarter of 2005. The full range of Olympus xD-Picture Cards includes 16MB, 32MB, 64MB, 128MB, 256MB and 512MB capacity versions.

U.S. Pricing
US and Canadian pricing to be determined.

ABOUT OLYMPUS
Olympus is a precision technology leader, designing and delivering innovative solutions in healthcare and consumer electronics worldwide.

Olympus works collaboratively with its customers and its parent company, Tokyo-based Olympus Corporation, to leverage R&D investment in precision technology and manufacturing processes across diverse business lines. These include:

• Digital and film cameras, and digital voice recorders.
• Gastrointestinal endoscopes, accessories, and minimally invasive surgical products;
• Advanced clinical and research microscopes; and
• Lab automation systems, chemistry-immuno and blood bank analyzers and reagents.

In the U. S. and Canada, Olympus serves healthcare, scientific and commercial laboratory markets with integrated product solutions and financial, educational and consulting services that help customers efficiently, reliably, safely, and easily achieve superior results. Olympus is the leader in gastrointestinal endoscopy and clinical and educational microscopes. The company's market-leading consumer electronics business spans North and South America. For more information, visit www.olympusamerica.com.

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