DxO Labs Press Release

DXO LABS ANNOUNCES DXO OPTICS PRO STARTER EDITION FOR HIGH-END DIGITAL CAMERAS

DxO Labs brings award-winning DxO Optics Pro technology to advanced digicam users at an irresistible price

New York, NY, USA, October 4, 2005 – DxO Labs announced today DxO Optics Pro Starter Edition, a new version of its flagship application specifically designed for advanced digicams – cameras also sometimes referred to as “ZLR”, “SuperZoom” or “Bridge” cameras.

Based on the award-winning image enhancement technology acclaimed by Digital SLR users, this new addition to the DxO Optics Pro family will support advanced digital cameras such as: Sony DSC-H1, Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1, Canon PowerShot Pro S2 IS, Kodak P880, Olympus SP-500, Fuji Fine Pix S9500, Nikon Coolpix 8800, Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z6, Panasonic DMC-FZ30, Samsung Digimax Pro815, Konica Minolta DiMAGE A2, Sony F-828, and others.

“In response to the explosive growth in household penetration of digital cameras, DxO Labs is pleased to make its award-winning DxO Optics Pro software available to an even broader group of consumers,” said Luc Marin, vice president of the Photography Business Unit at DxO Labs. “Now users of this very popular type of digital camera will also benefit from the automatic image enhancement of DxO Optics Pro software.”

Powerful Automatic Image Enhancement
DxO Optics Pro Starter Edition automatically improves the images from supported cameras in the following areas:
· Optimization of exposure and dynamic range thanks to DxO Lighting Engine which automatically reveals shadow details, improves backlit images, and gives images more “pop”!
· Removal of Image Noise achieving a 2-stop gain thanks to DxO Noise Engine – making it possible to shoot in low-light situations without the inconvenience of digital noise.
· Removal of optical defaults such as lens distortion, vignetting, chromatic aberrations, purple fringing thanks to DxO Optics Engine.

These DxO Optics Pro image enhancement technologies have been designed with three key goals: perceptible and genuine image enhancement, ability to work entirely automatically, and complete robustness so as to never degrade image quality.
For more information, refer to DxO Lighting, DxO Noise, and DxO Optics Engine press fact sheets.

DxO Optics Pro Starter Edition: The camera performance upgrade
DxO Optics Pro Starter Edition’s state-of-the art image improvements are based on DxO Labs’ patented technology for modeling true camera performance. Each supported camera and its lens are studied in great detail, and thousands of highly controlled test images are shot. A mathematical model of the camera’s performance is then produced which can be used to “reverse” or eliminate image imperfections. Because it eliminates these image imperfections, DxO Optics Pro Starter Edition can be thought of as a “camera upgrade”.

A fully automated workflow
Another unique benefit of DxO Optics Pro Starter Edition is its automated workflow. The user simply drops images into the program and presses “Start” to improve the images, leaving DxO Optics Pro to do all the complex image enhancement tasks automatically. This has several important benefits:
· Virtually no learning curve; optimal results are achieved from the first use of the program.
· Much less time is spent in front of the computer tweaking images, leaving more time to do other things such as shooting more pictures!

Availability and pricing
The first release of DxO Optics Pro Starter Edition is planned to be available for Windows and Macintosh in November 2005. The first version of DxO Optics Pro Starter Edition will process JPEG images. DxO Optics Pro Starter Edition will be priced at €64/US$79 (excluding VAT and sales taxes).

About DxO Labs and its DxO Technology
DxO Labs is a software company developing image generation and enhancement technologies. We provide reliable off-the-shelf solutions for serious amateurs and professional photographers, photography journalists and experts as well as companies in the imaging business such as digital camera or cameraphone vendors, mobile operators, and printing or photofinishing professionals.
The company’s patented DxO technologies, the DxO Technology Foundations, are the result of state-of-the-art academic mathematical research. The DxO Technology Foundations comprise a set of software components to generate images or correct major imaging defects, such as color, contrast, blur, various optics faults, JPEG artifacts, etc.

For more information, visit DxO Labs online at www.dxo.com