Identix® Incorporated, a global multi-biometric technology company, has announced that its industry-leading FaceIt® technology has been integrated into Nikon Corporation’s latest line of COOLPIX digital cameras. Nikon and Identix worked in partnership to develop Face-priority AF (Autofocus), a state-of-the-art photography feature that uses the latest digital face finding technology from Identix to automatically detect human faces in the scene, and to automatically adjust camera settings, such as focus and gain, to produce optimal images of the faces irrespective of background, lighting or other viewing conditions. The Face-priority AF feature will initially be available with Nikon’s COOLPIX 7900, COOLPIX 7600 and COOLPIX 5900 models. The licensing agreement between Identix and Nikon covers production for the entire COOLPIX camera line, which is expected by Nikon to be in the multimillions of camera units. According to Identix President & CEO Dr. Joseph J. Atick, this license by Identix to Nikon represents the largest deployment to-date of FaceIt technology in a commercial application. The face finding technology works in real time and it is able to control the auto-focus even if the person moves or the photographer recomposes the picture. The feature works effectively for both horizontal and vertical positions or even if the camera is tilted. The end result is a smarter camera eliminating the need for the user to manually adjust the settings, making the camera more user-friendly, more fun and easier to use. “As a photography enthusiast myself,” Dr. Atick said, “I truly appreciate the value of the Face-Priority AF camera mode enabled by FaceIt. With this feature photographers are able to automatically adjust camera settings faster than any human capability allows, to capture that unique, split second expression on someone’s face, resulting in the ability to consistently produce perfect human portraits. I am pleased to see Identix contributing to the historical list of innovations in photography alongside creative giants such as Nikon that provided so much technological leadership and helped define modern photography throughout the second half of the 20th century and up through today.”