Coming From Humble Beginnings To A World Class Business
In 1933, three men founded the Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory in Japan, now called Canon. Today, the company is one of the largest electronic manufacturers in the world. They are particularly well known for their digital cameras creating quality items at competitive prices. But the journey was not an easy one....
One of the founder members, Goro Yoshida helped by two others decided to create a 35mm rangefinder camera at an affordable price. Up until then, Germany had dominated the market but their products were extremely expensive. Thus 'Kwanon' was born.
One of the main problems facing the men was that they did not have a lens of their own. The decision was made to join the founder member of Nikon, Nippon Kogaku Kogyo who was producing lenses. By 1936, the team had created their first commercial camera, known as the 'Hansa Canon'. The result was an instant success but further challenges awaited them with the start of the war.
Following the war, the business formally adopted the name "Canon". Up until then, the lens had been under a different name, the camera had a different name and the company had a different name. Therefore in order to unify all these three, Canon came into existence on September 15, 1947. Gradually the company began to grow, and several historic cameras were produced including the Serenar 50mm f/1.8 lens in 1951, Canonet in 1961, AF35M (Autoboy) in 1979 and the EOS 650 in 1987.
In 1996, Canon created the first digital camera, the Powershot 600 followed by the Eos D2000 digital SLR camera for professionals in 1998, thanks to major improvements in digital technology. In addition, the XL1 digital video camera was produced and due to its outstanding performance and reliability, grew to become the official camcorder for N.A.S.A., a major feather in the cap for Canon.
Canon continued to pioneer efficiency, functionality and performance but with an affordable price tag. In 2002, they launched the EOS D60 and in 2003, the EOS 10D. Both these cameras made Canon the world leader in digital technology. Following these came the highly successful EOS Kiss Digital in 2003.
More recently, Canon has produced several digital camcorders too. In 2002 came the FV30 and the FV200KIT followed by the FV M1 and the IXY DV M2 in 2003. What Canon has managed to achieve is unusual. Not only are they the number one choice of professionals but because of their quest to create superior quality at affordable prices, consumers everywhere choose Canon also.
One of the founder members, Goro Yoshida helped by two others decided to create a 35mm rangefinder camera at an affordable price. Up until then, Germany had dominated the market but their products were extremely expensive. Thus 'Kwanon' was born.
One of the main problems facing the men was that they did not have a lens of their own. The decision was made to join the founder member of Nikon, Nippon Kogaku Kogyo who was producing lenses. By 1936, the team had created their first commercial camera, known as the 'Hansa Canon'. The result was an instant success but further challenges awaited them with the start of the war.
Following the war, the business formally adopted the name "Canon". Up until then, the lens had been under a different name, the camera had a different name and the company had a different name. Therefore in order to unify all these three, Canon came into existence on September 15, 1947. Gradually the company began to grow, and several historic cameras were produced including the Serenar 50mm f/1.8 lens in 1951, Canonet in 1961, AF35M (Autoboy) in 1979 and the EOS 650 in 1987.
In 1996, Canon created the first digital camera, the Powershot 600 followed by the Eos D2000 digital SLR camera for professionals in 1998, thanks to major improvements in digital technology. In addition, the XL1 digital video camera was produced and due to its outstanding performance and reliability, grew to become the official camcorder for N.A.S.A., a major feather in the cap for Canon.
Canon continued to pioneer efficiency, functionality and performance but with an affordable price tag. In 2002, they launched the EOS D60 and in 2003, the EOS 10D. Both these cameras made Canon the world leader in digital technology. Following these came the highly successful EOS Kiss Digital in 2003.
More recently, Canon has produced several digital camcorders too. In 2002 came the FV30 and the FV200KIT followed by the FV M1 and the IXY DV M2 in 2003. What Canon has managed to achieve is unusual. Not only are they the number one choice of professionals but because of their quest to create superior quality at affordable prices, consumers everywhere choose Canon also.
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