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Epson Offers Megapixel Zoom Digital Camera

PhotoPC 750Z ups the ante with high resolution and high price.

By James A. Martin, PCWorld   

The Epson PhotoPC 750Z promises a top resolution of 1600 by 1200 pixels and 6X zoom lens for an $800 street price. The camera works with PCs and Macs and is expected to ship in February.

The PhotoPC 750Z has the same optical resolution of 1280 by 960 pixels as Epson's older PhotoPC 700; both cameras use a 1.25-megapixel CCD sensor. But the newer camera is Epson's first to use its HyPict image interpolation technology. HyPict lets you print 8-by-10-inch color images with 1600- by-1200 pixel per inch resolution, or 1.92 million pixels, without sacrificing image quality, Epson claims.

Typically, interpolation--a method of adding visual information to an image via software--can degrade image quality whenever an interpolated photo is enlarged. HyPict is superior to other image enhancement methods, according to Epson, because the interpolation occurs inside the camera, before JPEG compression.

Other interpolation schemes often require the original image to be compressed as a JPEG first, then transferred to the PC and enhanced. Some of the original information is discarded during JPEG compression; the partial image data is then used to create the interpolated image. HyPict produces better enhanced images because all the original information is used, according to Epson.

Consumers should note, however, that some digital cameras in the PhotoPC 750Z's price range can capture similar high-end images without interpolation. Eastman Kodak's DC260, for instance, has a maximum optical resolution of 1536 by 1024 pixels, or nearly 1.6 million pixels and is available for as low as $718 (from BuyComp.com).

The PhotoPC 750Z is the first Epson digital camera with an optical zoom and Quick Shot, a feature that promises the ability to snap pictures within three seconds of each other, even at 1280-by-960 ppi resolution. The camera comes with 4MB of internal memory, upgradable to 12MB with an 8MB CompactFlash card. Other features include the ability to print directly to Epson Stylus printers, video out, a software bundle including Sierra Imaging's Image Expert, and panorama stitching.

Epson recently slashed prices on its other PhotoPC cameras. The PhotoPC 700 is now $600, while the PhotoPC 550, with a 640 by 480 ppi resolution, retails for $199.