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San Diego, CA — Photron USA, Inc., a global manufacturer of advanced high speed, high resolution imaging systems, has been awarded the contract from White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) to supply the advanced ultima APX-RS line of high speed digital camera systems to replace aging 16mm and 35mm high speed film cameras currently in use. The initial contract for twenty-six cameras, in excess of $2 million, will begin the process of replacing up to 75 high speed film cameras at White Sands MR.

The open procurement guidelines from WSMR invited all high speed video systems manufacturers to provide quotes for digital high speed cameras with baseline specifications of mega pixel (1000 x 1000) resolution at 1000 fps with a minimum record time of at least 8 seconds and Gigabit Ethernet compatibility. The lengthy list of potential vendors was reduced to three finalists. WSMR purchased one camera from each of the three competitors for evaluation and independent field testing. White Sands Missile Range engineers, NewTec, the contractor responsible for range operations at WSMR, and an independent testing house, Electro Optical Industries, Santa Barbara, CA combined their test results and found that Photron's ultima APX-RS exceeded specifications and performance requirements. Seventeen color ultima APX-RS cameras, equipped with Gigabit Ethernet and 16GB of memory for 12 seconds of record time at 1000 frames per second (fps), and nine monochrome (black & white) APX-RS cameras, similarly equipped, will fulfill the first order.

Mark Green, President of Digital West Imaging, Photron's strategic partner and distributor for New Mexico, notes, "We are delighted to win this major COTS contract from White Sands Missile Range to deliver the initial order for 26 cameras in April, 2005. The long range plan is to replace all 16 mm, 35 mm and 70 mm high speed film cameras at WSMR with new, digital high speed systems. We look forward to working closely with WSMR to meet this challenge."

Photron's ultima APX-RS slow motion video imager can capture 3000 fps at 1024 x 1024 pixel resolution, and up to 10,000 fps at 512 x 512 pixel resolution with an unparalleled 250,000 fps at reduced resolution. Easy-to-use, the high speed CMOS sensor features true 10-bit monochrome (30-bit color) fidelity and excellent anti-blooming properties with variable aspect ratios (square or rectangular). The rugged, single-piece housing is designed for harsh conditions to operate reliably in truly hostile environments up to 100 G-s.

Photron USA, Inc., founded in 1974, is a world supplier of photo-instrumentation, high speed image processing systems and photo optical technologies for the automotive, industrial manufacturing, film and television, medical and military markets. The company's charter, to develop and design digital imaging and high speed motion analysis solutions for advanced technological challenges, has driven Photron's rapid revenue growth. Products include standard and custom high resolution, high-speed cameras, software, and systems for R&D, commercial and defense-related motion image analysis applications.

Source: Photron, Inc.