ROCHESTER, N.Y., June 19 - The newest player in the Kodak Professional digital camera line-up, the DCS 720x digital camera, will carry a recommended U.S. list price of $6,995 when it becomes available in late July.

The successor to the versatile Kodak Professional DCS 620x digital camera, the new model combines the highest ISO settings available - 400 to 6400 (calibrated to 4000), with two-stop push for exposures at up to 25600 - with a wide range of functional enhancements that simplify in-the-field assignments and capture critical images that other digital cameras can't.

Based on the rugged Nikon F5 camera body, the DCS 720x camera features a faster burst rate - 4.3 fps - and a greater burst depth - 25 images. Plus, shutter response speed has been improved so it now rivals that of conventional film cameras. Kodak's newest "pro" camera features 2-megapixel resolution and comes with many other advances - based on Kodak's fifth-generation digital camera architecture - that make it more responsive in the field.

"By pricing the DCS 720x at $6,995, we're continuing our aggressive marketing stance that puts the highest-performance digital capture products within the financial reach of more of the professional photographers who need and want them," said Madhav Mehra, Worldwide Director, Digital Capture Product Development, Kodak Professional. "Affordability is one of the goals we set for this camera, along with excellent image quality, fast response and expandability."

The DCS 720x camera is yet another world-class demonstration of how Kodak both influences and participates in infoimaging - the $225 billion industry created by the convergence of image science and information technology to create new opportunities. Infoimaging describes images enabled by technology, improving communication and commerce, and creating significant new revenue and market opportunities for businesses. The DCS 720x camera helps to extend infoimaging by expanding the opportunities to take, make and share photographic images.

Key to the DCS 720x camera are Kodak's improved, proprietary indium tin oxide (ITO) full-frame CCD sensor, color filter array (CFA) pattern and low-noise electronics, including a new software noise-reduction filter. The CFA delivers unsurpassed spectral response for exceptional picture quality at extremely high ISO ranges.

Photographers will especially appreciate Kodak's "Picture Protection" - a unique package of complementary features including post-shot exposure compensation, white balance corrections and file recovery to ensure the viability of the image file. And they can customize the DCS 720x camera with an anti-aliasing filter, removable IR blocking filter, IPTC captioning, white balance uploading, and a wide choice of storage options. Direct e-mail image transmission over web-enabled cellular phones will become available as an upgrade later this year.

The Kodak Professional DCS 720x digital camera will be available from authorized dealers of Kodak Professional DCS digital cameras. More information on the camera is available online at www.kodak.com/go/dcs720x.

#