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KYOCERA's Breakthrough RTUNE(TM) Image Processing Technology Fulfills the Promise of Digital Photography

Kyocera's RTUNE Provides Unparalled High Speed Capture, Faster Start-Up/Shutter Response/Shot-to-Shot Times and Improved Picture Quality

Somerset, NJ – Kyocera Optics Inc., a leader in advanced digital imaging products,unveiled its breakthrough RTUNE Image Processing Technology with the release of its 5-Megapixel Finecam S5R and 3.2-Megapixel Finecam SL300R digital cameras. Now they have expanded their family with the introduction of the Contax SL300R T*, Finecam SL400R and M410R models. Each offers the world's fastest Continuous Capture Mode in their respective Megapixel configurations, up to an amazing 3.5 frames per second with the Finecam SL300R and Contax SL300R T* models. They are only limited by the capacity of the High Speed SD memory card being used and all models boast a virtually non-existent lag time of 0.07 seconds.

This new technology addresses the top consumer irritants that users have experienced with their digital cameras. 

RTUNE Technology provides the following benefits:

• Faster Start-Up: Powers up in less than a second
• Faster Shutter Response: Virtually non-existent shutter lag time of 0.07 second
• Faster Shot to Shot Times: Ready to shoot the next image in under a second
• Continuous Capture Mode:Up to 3.5 frames per second until your high speed SD memory card is full - fastest image processing on the planet
• Beautiful Pictures: Balanced, accurate colors. Better contrast and detail. Virtually no picture noise

With Kyocera’s RTUNE Technology, users are able to:

• Take images that were missed before due to digital shutter lag
• Experience faster shot-to-shot performance, similar to what they are used to with a traditional point and zoom film camera
• Instantly power on their camera, take a picture or a continuous stream of photos

“With Kyocera’s exclusive RTUNE Technology, digital photography has finally realized its potential and is closer than ever to the traditional film shooting experience,” explained Ben La Marca, President of Kyocera Optics, Inc. “Digital Photographers no longer have to worry about missing important moments of spontaneity. Armed with RTUNE Technology, users can instantly switch on their camera, instantly take a picture or a continuous stream of photos, and expect the camera to instantly write the image and be ready again.”

With RTUNE, the image is captured from the CCD and is already being processed through the parallel processing operations that eliminate typical buffer constraints. As you are taking the pictures, you can simultaneously view the captured images in real time with no capture performance degradation.

The paralleled processor, with dedicated hardware blocks, simultaneously captures, processes and writes the resulting images to the High Speed SD card. This enables non-stop capture, eliminating bottlenecks and functioning at an amazing 10 - 12 times faster than the competition.

High performance, high resolution Movie Mode is twice as good as its 4MP/5MP competitors with 640 x 480 at 30 fps and 720 x 1280 HD at 15 fps.

About Kyocera:

Kyocera Optics Inc., the company that brings you the Kyocera Finecam, Contax, Carl Zeiss and Yashica brands, serves the consumer/prosumer/serious amateur/professional photographer customer segments with a full line of digital and film based photographic products.  It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kyocera International, Inc. of San Diego, Calif.

Kyocera International, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kyoto, Japan-based Kyocera Corporation, is Kyocera’s North American headquarters and holding company.

Kyocera Corporation, parent and global headquarters of the Kyocera Group, was founded in 1959 as a producer of advanced ceramics. By combining these engineered materials with metals and plastics, and integrating them with other technologies, Kyocera has become a leading supplier of telecommunications equipment, cameras, laser printers, copiers, solar energy systems, semiconductor packages and electronic components. During the year ended March 31, 2003, the company’s net sales totaled 1.069 trillion yen ($9.06 billion) with net income of 41.1 billion yen ($348 million)

Visit us at http://www.kyoceraimaging.com

For additional information, contact Michael Steavenson (Michaels@hwhpr.com) or Russ Rowland (russr@hwhpr.com) at (212) 355-5049.