A brief history of Canon in the midst of fierce competition in the field of photography
Canon
is a company camera successfully entered the competition in the world of
photography in the United States and Europe, was also successful in other
continents, Asia, Australia and Africa. History and the Canon is also
interesting as the competitors, Nikon. Canon's rival Nikon is not only
successful, but also can make Kodak lost in its own country. As well as Nikon,
Canon cameras favored not only by professional photographers, also used by the
family and the novice photographer. Canon not only produce high-end camera or
camera for photojournalists and professionals, but it is preferred by novice
photographers.
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| The Kwanon - pre-Hanza Canon. Image: blog.f64.ro |
In 1934 it produced the Kwanon, a prototype for Japan’s first-ever 35 mm
camera with a focal plane based shutter. In 1947 the company name was changed
to Canon Camera Co., Inc. shortened to Canon Inc. in 1969.
According to
en.wikipedia.org, Canon name has an interesting story, where the name comes
from Buddhist bodhisattva Guan Yin (Kannon
in Japanese), previously transliterated as Kuanyin, Kwannon, or Kwanon in
English. In 1935 the company files for registration of the "Canon"
trademark, and in 1939 also started in-house production of Serenar Lens
commences.
The Kwanon -
pre-Hanza Canon key specs:
Camera Bodies:
A Series: AE-1 | AT-1 | A-1 | AV-1 | AE-1 Program | AL-1
T- Series: T50 | T60 | T70 | T80 | T90
F-1 | New F-1
Canon FL Resources
Pellix | FTQL
Lenses: FL | FD
The lightstalking.com also noted that by mid 1937 with good sales of the
Hansa Canon, Precision Optical decided to start manufacturing their own lenses
and by 1939 they were producing the Serenar series of lenses for their cameras.
According to mir.com.my in the early development of cameras and lenses, Canon
has not produced lenses as powerful or as sharp (precision) as Leica (Germany)
and Contax, so their products remained relatively primitive. Of course, there
was no competition in terms of price. The Leica was well beyond the reach of
the masses. For example, the starting salary at a bank for a university
graduate was 70 Japanese yen per month. The top locally made model, the Pearl
spring camera, cost 49 yen. A D-model Leica with a 50mm f/3.5 lens was priced
at 420 Japanese yen. Wow.
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| Canon's first digital camera, 1984. Image: slideshare.net |
Canon never gives up the difference or gap occurs with Leica. With existing
technology, and Leica makes the German company as a role model, Canon worked
hard to make the lens and the camera at an affordable price, but high quality,
precision and sharp as Leica production. The same spirit was also conducted by
Nikon.
The lightstalking.com also mentioned that as with Nikon, in the 1950’s
Canon produced a product that raised it above the crowd. In Canon’s case it was
the Serenar 50mm f1.8 lens. It was a lens that was way ahead of its era,
effectively eliminating flare that was so prominent in many lenses of the day,
and allowing Canon to lead the field in optical technology until now.
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Canon's latest DSLR cameras, EOS 760D. Image: techradar.com |
As we know, Canon is not only successful in the field of the lens and the
camera. Great company is also renowned for photo copy machine, printer, and so
on. Photography enthusiasts can now enjoy a Canon camera in different models
and segments.
You can choose a compact camera (point to shoot), prosumer
(bridge camera), DSLR camera in a variety of segments, both for beginners or
entry level, middle-class, high-end and of course a full-frame camera.
As well as Nikon, Olympus, Pentax or Leica, Canon also have experienced the
era of analog cameras. Now with more advanced technology in the world of
photography, Canon will always compete with various famous brands, especially
Nikon. Who knows when the end of the era of the Canon vs. Nikon or Nikon vs.
Canon.
Is Olympus or Panasonic, or perhaps Samsung could change the main
battlefield changed the title to Canon vs Samsung vs Olympus or Canon? The
photographers and camera consumers who will determine the direction of the
camera in the future competition.
