Canon

The origins of Canon

It all started back in 1933, a time when the camera and optical equipment market was dominated by German brands. Mr Goro Yoshida, a repairer of optical instruments, his brother in law Saburo Uchida, and his colleague Takeo Maeda joined forces and decided to create a Japanese camera that could compete with German products. Together they founded the company Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory in Tokyo.

The first Canon camera

In the summer of the following year, they built their first camera partly of parts and components obtained from external suppliers (including lenses). They named it Kwanon, after the Buddhist goddess of mercy, but it was never released for sale. A year they decided they needed a more modern-sounding brand and renamed the company 'Canon'.

More milestones

The first Canon camera available to customers, named the Hansa Canon, was launched on the Japanese market in early 1936. It was still made using optics from external manufacturers, but the design and construction were directed by Canon. Many called the Hansa a mere imitation of the then-popular Leica camera, but there is no doubt that this was the first high-quality 35 mm camera from Japan.

The rise of the Canon brand

Since then, Canon has gone from strength to strength. In the 1940s it produced its own Serenar lens as well as the first 35mm X-ray camera in Japan. In the following decade Canon introduced 18 new types of cameras with Serenar lenses. In the mid-sixties, Canon expanded its scope to the production of TV cameras, which were used for live news broadcasts in Japan. In the sixties and seventies, Canon introduced 54 new models to the market, including their first single-lens reflex camera, Canonflex. In 1987, following two successful decades, Canon introduced a number of innovations and new technologies, such as their first EOS camera, triggering an avalanche of sales.

More than just cameras

Today, as well as being a world-famous manufacturer of cameras, Canon is also a best selling-brand of printers, copiers and multifunction devices. The reason is simple: Canon products are known for superior quality at reasonable prices.