Canon Digital Cameras - From Humble Beginnings To World Class Corporation

The story starts in 1933 when three men launched the Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory in Japan. Since then, the company has evolved into one of the largest manufacturers of electronic equipment on the planet. Now know as Canon, the business has gone from strength to strength, particularly in the digital camera sector where their reputation for quality merchandise at competitive prices is legendary. The road to riches however was not an easy one....

In the beginning, there was the phantom prototype camera known as 'Kwanon'. In those days, Germany was deemed to be the master of camera manufacturing. Their cameras were particularly costly. So, Goro Yoshida, along with two other men attempted to create a 35mm range finder camera at a more cost effective price and developed the "Kwanon'.

One of the biggest problems for the company was that it did not have it's own lens. Thus, it made the decision to join with Nippon Kogaku Kogyo (later to become Nikon) and obtain lenses from him. Now armed with the lenses, Canon managed to produce its first commercial camera known as the "Hansa Canon" (1936), which became a smash hit. However, the organization still had to face several challenges because of the War.

After the war, on September 15th 1947, the organization officially took the name Canon. Until that moment, the camera, the lens and the company all had different names. Now unified under one banner, the company slowly started to expand and a number of significant cameras were created including the Serenar 50mm f/1.8 lens (1951), the Canonet (1961), the AF35M (1979) and the EOS 650 (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 NASA. A major feather in the cap for Canon.

Canon continued to produce cameras that gave exceptional performance, incorporated impressive functionality but were still affordable including the EOS D60 in 2002 and the EOS 10D in 2003. These particular cameras made Canon number 1 in digital technology. Another success came in 2003 with the launch of the EOS Kiss Digital.

Since then, Canon has created a number of digital camcorders. Beginning with the FV30 and the FV200KIT in 2002, Canon went onto launch the FV M1 and the IXY DV M2 in 2003 in the mid range segment. As the company advances, Canon continue to provide its customers with superior and improved technology at the cheapest price possible. They are recognized as the choice of professionals in the world of photography however now with a comprehensive range of merchandise, Canon is firmly placed in the consumer market also.