The history of one of the most outstanding Japanese companies began in the 1930s. By that time, the Land of the Rising Sun was already a powerful industrial power in preparation for war. The best designers and technologists from Europe and the USA were actively involved in work at Japanese enterprises, but no less importance was attached to the training of their specialists. Goro Yoshida and Saburo Uchida, two young Tokyo engineers who worked in one of the countless factories in the capital, might have remained obscure employees if not for their inventive ambitions. In 1933, friends left their native factory and registered their own company with the solid name "Laboratory of Precise Optical Instruments". Its main goal was nothing less than the creation of a Japanese camera, which would be talked about in the world.
To begin with, young people decided to carefully study the products of the then market leaders - the German companies Leiz and Contax. But it was easier said than done - photographic equipment was expensive, and the initial capital of the "Laboratory" was very, very modest. But, fortunately, Uchida's best friend, the successful doctor Takeshi Mitarai, caught fire with the crazy idea of \u200b\u200btwo friends and singled out required amount. Having bought all the German cameras available in Japan and dismantled them, the friends set about developing "the best camera in the world." Less than a year later, together with another engineer, Takeo Maeda, they created a prototype of Japan's first 35mm curtain-shutter camera, called the Kwanon. Prototype of Japan's first 35mm Kwanon camera
Prototype of Japan's first 35mm Kwanon camera
By the time you start series production, it was decided to call the previously unnamed model Kwanon. Young people did not stint on advertising by placing it in the main Japanese photo magazine Asahi Camera.
An advertisement for a Kwanon camera in Japanese photo magazines from the 1930s.
Not much time passed and the Kwanon camera made a splash on the Japanese islands. This model concentrated in itself the best design solutions of German analogues, but at the same time it was distinguished by a much more affordable price. A separate reason for the pride of young designers was the fact that Kwanon was not just a copy, but was an original engineering development.
Canon
In fact, Kwanon is the name of the thousand-armed Buddhist goddess of mercy, which Yoshida and Uchida chose as the "goddaughter" of their offspring. But in the international market, where the founding fathers of the company were aiming from the very beginning, oriental shrines were not wildly popular. That is why in 1935 the name Kwanon was replaced by Canon - which has not lost touch with the former, but, at the same time, is brighter and carries many international meanings: from the norms of composition in European fine arts and music to the body of sacred writings recognized by the Christian church. In Japanese, the word "canon" means "gun", which in a sense can also be attributed to photographic equipment: "camera-gun" sounds promising.
The first prototype of the company's symbol was a drawing of the goddess Kwanon sitting on a lotus flower. They added a frame of flames to the image and got an oriental tank icon rather than a logo, so the variant never went into production. It was replaced simply with the intricate Kwanon inscription. And in 1935, when the cameras changed their name, there was a concise inscription Canon, made in an elegant font, in which a modern style is guessed. In 1953, the letters became fatter, and three years later, the familiar logo appeared, which still looks modern.
Advertisement for Hansa Canon camera and proprietary photo enlarger
The first mass model of the company - Hansa Canon of 1937 was sold complete with a Nikkor 50 mm / f3.5 lens
business samurai
In the late 1930s, in order to attract new investors to the production of photographic equipment, it was decided to transform the "Laboratory" into a stock company Precision Optical Industry Co., Ltd. Despite the name, the company produced only cameras - that is, before the war, you could only buy Canon "bodysuits" on which lenses were mounted ... Nikkor! The situation today is fantastic and, one might even say, blasphemous. But in the 1930s, the industrial "monster" Nippon Kogaku (the progenitor of Nikon) produced only high-quality optics, not cameras. And Canon did not have the resources to launch their lenses.
At first, even the government's course contributed to the growth of the Precision Optical Industry: in September 1937, the import to Japan of most types of foreign equipment, including cameras, was banned. But with the outbreak of World War II, the company began to suffer huge losses: the country needed tanks and planes, but not cameras.
Takeshi Mitarai - co-founder and first president of Canon Corporation
As Crisis Manager at Precision Optical Industry Co., Ltd. Takeshi Mitarai, a doctor, was called upon, with whose money the first camera was developed and released. He became the first manager in the country to encroach on the holy of holies Japanese business— clan principles. The fact is that Mitarai did not see anything shameful in managing a company with the help of hired managers. Then he began to introduce a system of social benefits for his employees and other techniques unprecedented for Japanese business. All this allowed to keep production afloat after the defeat of Japan in World War II. On the Far East the war officially ended on August 15, 1945, and already on October 1, Precision Optical Industry Co. earned again - the president personally sent letters to all former employees with an invitation to return to work.
The occupiers helped the company recover quickly - American soldiers and officers turned out to be the most active buyers of Japanese cameras, which were cheaper than German and American counterparts. But the size of the American military contingent was limited, and the mass Japanese consumer at that time had no time for photographs. Therefore, Mitarai founded two affiliated companies, one of which produced and sold radios, and the other - drugs, which later allowed Precision Optical Industry Co. expand the production of photographic equipment.
Fight for the pros
After the war, the company developed several successful rangefinder models - improved variations on the Leica theme, which were already equipped with their own optics, since Nippon Kogaku had also taken up the development of cameras by that time and stopped supplying their lenses to Canon.
In 1959, Canon released its first SLR camera. The Canonflex model featured a rugged metal body, interchangeable pentaprism and a built-in exposure meter. But professionals paid more attention to the Nikon F DSLR, which appeared in the same year, not least due to a wider choice of optics and a variety of additional accessories. The lot of Canon remained the service of the mass consumer, which, however, brought a very good income.
In the 1960s, the company not only released some of the most interesting cameras, but also achieved significant success in the production of optics. So, in 1961, a 50 mm f / 0.95 rangefinder lens appeared, which still remains the fastest in the world.
The world's fastest Canon 50mm f/0.95 lens on a Canon 7 rangefinder
In 1964, the "widest wide-angle" DSLR, the FL 19mm f/3.5, appeared. By 1969, the company had mastered the production of fluorite optics and released the world's first telephoto FL 300mm f/5.6mm with fluorite lenses and excellent chromatic aberration correction. In 1971, Canon pioneered the use of aspherical lenses in "lens engineering" with the FD 55mm f/1.2 AL lens. It became part of the advanced FD photographic system, which, in addition to lenses with new FD mounts, also included the company's first truly professional SLR camera, the Canon F1.
A new type of mount allowed full use of automatic exposure metering - shutter priority mode in the range from 1 to 1/2000 sec. The viewfinder had a 97% field of view and the ability to change focusing screens. The F-1 Accessory System included a remote trigger control for the first time. Canon guaranteed at least 100,000 F-1 shutter releases at -30 to +60 degrees. The camera was so successful that it was produced for 10 years. With its appearance, many professional photographers, especially reporters, drew attention to the company.
Movie cameras and bubble printing
In addition to the release of cameras, Canon gradually mastered related areas of production. So, in 1955, Canon specialists began to develop an 8-mm movie camera. At first, as in the story with the first camera, they were thoroughly studied foreign designs American this time. And a year later, the company introduced its original portable amateur 8-mm movie camera Canon Cine 8. Many believe that this moment marked the beginning of the "Japanese economic miracle", when the Japanese Appliances and electronics began to conquer the whole world.
Canon Reflex Zoom 8 Canon Reflex Zoom 8
In the 1960s, Canon decided to enter the copier market, which was then ruled by the American Xerox. Real "patent fortresses" reliably protected the products of this company from the encroachments of competitors - there was nothing to think about using American technologies. As a result, in 1970, Canon introduced the NP series of copiers based on a new electrographic system and capable of handling plain paper. The company also protected its invention with patents, but, unlike Xerox, began to sell know-how licenses to everyone. Even today, this brings Canon tens of millions of dollars a year.
Today, office equipment occupies the lion's share of all Canon products..
If the production of film cameras and copiers was a conscious decision, then the company started developing printers by accident. In 1977, a significant event occurred - one of the employees of the Canon laboratory accidentally touched a syringe filled with copier ink with a soldering iron. Under the influence of high temperature, an ink bubble first appeared at the tip of the needle, which then spread in a thin stream over the paper. In the laboratory stuffed with bright Japanese minds, this case did not go unnoticed - it served as an impetus for the development of the famous Buble-Jet bubble inkjet technology, which is still used in a variety of Canon inkjet printers.
Canon specialists also have priority in the development of laser printing technology. In 1975, a prototype laser printer made a lot of noise at the Japanese National Computer Conference. And when Canon specialists managed to make such a device portable, the then American printer market leader Hewlett-Packard offered Canon cooperation. Under the terms of the concluded agreement, the Japanese took over the "stuffing" of the devices, and the Americans - software, case design and worldwide distribution under its own brand. As a result, according to Forbes magazine, both companies now control up to 70% of the world market for laser printers.
EOS system
In 1979, Canon introduced the AF35M compact camera, its first autofocus model. Around the same time, the company began to develop an original electronic photo system in which new technologies would be fully involved. In 1987, such a system - EOS (Electronic Optical System) - was introduced.
The first camera in this revolutionary series was the Canon EOS 650 with a completely new EF (Electronic Focus) mount. Its peculiarity is the presence of electrical contacts, through which a signal is sent to the autofocus motor hidden in the lens. Several new autofocus lenses with these motors and EF mount went on sale at the same time as the camera. At the same time, none of the earlier Canon lenses could be installed on new electronic cameras. It was a very risky, but at the same time a far-sighted step - in the future, he allowed the company to apply the latest in their cameras electronic systems without any restrictions.
Canon's current line of autofocus EF lenses
In terms of positioning, the EOS 650 was a beginner camera. Debut new system in the world of professional photography came in 1989, when the company introduced the legendary Canon EOS 1 camera. This camera is the first to feature a Quick Control Dial on the back of the camera. The viewfinder with 100% coverage of the space displayed on the film was equipped with diopter correction.
LCD displays with shooting parameters were in the viewfinder and on the top cover. The camera worked with shutter speeds ranging from 30 to 1/8000 sec. at a sync speed of 1/125 sec., and the cross-shaped autofocus sensor provided extremely fast focusing for that time, especially when used with the new high-speed lenses of the professional L series. Due to the outstanding qualities of the new professional camera, starting in the 1990s, Canon products began to determine the choice of most photojournalists worldwide. The Canon EOS 1 camera has gone through more than one upgrade in the future, and Canon's modern digital top models - the EOS-1Ds Mark III and EOS-1D Mark III can be considered its direct descendants.
Canon cameras in the 1990s EOS series began to determine the choice of photojournalists around the world
Series electronic cameras EOS won laurels not only among professionals. In 1993, the EOS 500 consumer DSLR made multi-point, truly high-speed autofocus available to the mass consumer. The camera was smaller and lighter than previous models, but the functionality suited almost everyone. For the first time ever, just one model, the EOS 500, outsold all others. EOS cameras taken together. A further evolution of the EOS 500 was the most popular film model, the EOS 300, which served as the basis for the creation of the first digital SLR that cost less than $1,000, the Canon EOS 300D.
Canon Digital
Canon launched its first digital camera in 1986. The very compact RC-701 reflex camera was equipped with a 6.6 x 8.8 mm CCD sensor, which made it possible to take pictures with a resolution of 780 pixels on the long side. Especially for a camera with a tiny matrix, ultra-fast "digital" lenses were developed: 6 mm f / 1.6, 11-66 mm f / 1.2 and telezoom 50-150 mm. Conventional Canon optics could only be mounted on the camera through special adapters, while not forgetting the huge crop factor. Otherwise, the device had very good characteristics even by today's times: shutter and aperture priority modes, shutter speed range from 1/8 to 1/2000 sec. at a rate of fire up to 10 frames per second. Priced at $3,000 with a standard 11-66mm f/1.2 zoom, this camera targeted the limited press market.
Moreover, the Canon RC-701 was intended primarily for TV journalists ... The fact is that it was difficult to print an image with such a low resolution, even if it was a newspaper, in those years. On the other hand, electronic pictures could be quickly transferred over telephone networks to the editorial office and shown on television news as the latest information from the scene. A set of a camera, three lenses, adapters for conventional optics, a separate writing player, a mini-printer, a laminator, and a portable computer "sharpened" for data transmission over telephone networks cost $27,000 - quite a lot of money for a large editorial.
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| Kodak EOS DCS 3 digital camera based on Canon EOS 1n, 1995 | Canon EOS D30 - the company's first mainstream DSLR camera, 2000 | Professional digital SLR canon camera EOS 1D, 2001 |
However, Canon's first viable professional digital camera did not appear until nine years later, after starting a partnership with Kodak, a leader in the development of digital sensors. Based on Canon's acclaimed EOS 1n film model, the Kodak EOS DCS 3 featured a 1.3-megapixel 16.4 x 20.5mm CCD sensor. It allowed you to take color photographs from 200 to 1600 ISO and black and white from 400 to 6400 ISO. In addition, the device had excellent speed characteristics, outstanding reliability and, of course, could work with the entire fleet of Canon EF optics.
In 2000, Canon introduced its independent development- 3-megapixel semi-professional model Canon D30, which became one of the first mass-produced DSLR cameras in the world. A year later, a full-fledged camera for professionals appeared - Canon 1D. Unlike the “younger” D30, the new top camera was equipped not with a “noisy” CMOS sensor, but with a 28.7 x 19.1 mm CCD matrix (crop factor 1.3) with a resolution of 2496 x 1662 pixels. The maximum sensitivity was ISO 3200, the minimum shutter speed was 1/16,000 second, and the "rate of fire" reached 8 frames per second. In the course of further evolution, just a year later, the camera received a full-frame sensor (35.8 x 23.8 mm) with a resolution of 11 megapixels and the “S” in the title. After the advent of the Canon 1Ds, many glossy magazines for the first time began to accept photography from photographers taken with a digital small format camera.
In the future, Canon released revolutionary digital models with enviable regularity, confirming the reputation of a company that is not afraid of the most daring technological and marketing experiments. Thanks to this, he became the No. 1 photo producer in the world.
To date, the Canon group worldwide unites more than 230 companies, employing over 118,000 people. In 2007, the consolidated net sales of Canon Inc. grew by 7.8% and amounted to 4481.3 billion yens. And consolidated net profit increased by 7.2% and reached 488.3 billion yen. As for the operating profit of the company, it increased by 7.0% and amounted to 756.7 billion yen. So impressive financial results achieved through significant investment in research and development. About 8% of the profit from the total turnover the company invests in the development of new technologies and products.
In business literature, Canon is often referred to as a true samurai. Indeed, from the moment of its foundation, the Japanese company adhered to the tactics of these famous warriors - to thoroughly study the enemy in order to defeat him with his own weapons.
The history of the company began with the dream of its founders - Goro Yoshida (1900 - 1993) and Saburo Uchida (1899 - 1982), passionate lovers of cameras. They dreamed of making cameras that were not inferior in quality to the best - German ones. This audacity was unheard of in those days. But the young people still decided to challenge the Germans.
So how was this dream born? …Let's dig deep. Goro Yoshida was born in Hiroshima. After that, he came to Tokyo to complete his secondary education and got a job as an apprentice in a film camera and projector repair company. In the second half of the 1920s, Yoshida often traveled to Shanghai on business trips to purchase the necessary spare parts. Once in these parts, he met an American merchant, E. Roy, who hinted to him: “Why do you come here to buy spare parts for cameras if you can make them yourself? Japan is a fairly highly developed country, and as long as it manufactures aircraft and ships, can it really not cope with such a simple task?
Yoshida considered. However, his entrepreneurial streak told him that research should begin not in his immediate working area, but in a slightly different one. He had long been attracted to cameras, but he always considered them to be rather complex inventions. However, Roy so inspired him with his words that upon arrival in native city he decided to take apart his foreign camera. He later recalled: “To my surprise, I did not find any unique elements there, such as, for example, diamonds inside a movie camera. The parts were made of brass, aluminium, iron and rubber. I was amazed that cameras made from such inexpensive materials had such high prices!
It was a small matter - to find an assistant and turn the dream into reality. And then his half-brother Saburo Uchida comes to the aid of Goro. The problem was solved. All that remained was to act.
First of all, it was decided to thoroughly investigate the products of competitors in order to find out strengths and operating principles. To this end, Goro and Saburo dismantled the Leica and Contax cameras at their disposal and carefully studied the “stuffing”. All this action took place in the so-called Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory, which occupied one room on the 3rd floor of the Takekawaya Building in Tokyo. Since German cameras were expensive, the young enthusiasts needed a sponsor. Uchida's close friend, Takeshi Mitarai (1909-1977), a gynecologist by profession, came to the rescue and supplied the laboratory with the necessary facilities.
In 1934, friends finally managed to prototype Japan's first 35mm camera with a focal plane shutter. Yoshida, a staunch Buddhist, suggested giving the device the name "Kwanon" in honor of the Buddhist thousand-armed goddess of mercy Kwanon.
The first advertisement for the new camera appeared in Asahi Camera magazine, which to this day remains one of the most authoritative photographic publications in Japan. The advertisement read: “Class I submarine. Type 92 airplane. Kwanon camera. All of these are world leaders.” Since the aforementioned submarine and airplane symbolized the military power of Japan in the late 1930s, the first Japanese 35-mm camera automatically stood on a par with the best scientific and technological achievements of the country. Familiar motives, eh? Isn't this the idea Mr. Roy gave Yoshida?
The advantages of the new camera were undeniable, and the price was quite affordable - in any case, the Kwanon was much cheaper than German cameras. However, to stimulate sales outside of Japan, where Buddhist symbols were not so popular, it became necessary to come up with new brand. After a successive enumeration of different options, instead of the name "Kwanon" on June 26, 1935, it was registered under the number 278297, and on September 19 of the same year it was officially introduced trademark Canon. The word "Canon" itself meant "canon, standard". Naturally, one can say now that back then the founders thought they would keep the same high standard of quality all the time. That would be beautiful story, but in fact "Canon" is the Latin spelling of the name of the same goddess.
Soon a serial 35 mm Hansa Canon camera appeared. Its price - 275 yen - compares favorably with Leica cameras, which cost twice as much. True, at first, friends released only ... 10 cameras per month! Therefore, in order to expand production, a piece of land was purchased, where a new plant. It became clear that the company grew out of a cramped laboratory. In addition, additional capital was needed to offset the costs of the new plant. For this purpose, in 1937, on the basis of the laboratory, joint-stock company- «Precision Optical Industry Co., Ltd.». Its registered capital was 1 million yen. A year later, the company's staff grew from 30 to 150 people.
The internal success of the company led to the fact that Canon quickly entered the foreign market. It is worth noting here that this situation was also facilitated by the fact that, in preparation for the war, Japan tightened imports (including foreign cameras), making it much easier for Canon to gain a strong position within the country.
By the beginning of World War II, Canon had become one of the largest in Japan. Further actions of the company were aimed at its positioning on the world stage. For this, Canon was renamed Canon Camera Co. Inc." The Japanese wanted the whole world to know that the company was making cameras. One of the highlights for Canon was first place at the San Francisco Expo, where the best camera was recognized as the "Canon IIB" model. The quality of the products of the Japanese company began to be evaluated by the whole world.
Well, in the middle of the century, the Canon management already familiar to us, headed by Goro Yoshida, Saburo Uchida and Takeshi Mitarai, began to introduce a new corporate culture, the cornerstone of which was the philosophy of kiosei. The essence of this teaching is that large companies responsible for the future life of society and each individual. Therefore, they must behave in such a way as to be in harmony with the whole world, which is so difficult to achieve. The company must improve its relationships not only with partners or customers, but also with entire nations. In fact, it is about the image of Canon in the eyes of society. What is the image in the West, the whole philosophy in the East ...
Management's attention was focused not only on external factors. A lot of attention was also paid to the internal life of the company. In 1952, on the day of the 15th anniversary of the founding of the company, its anthem was written, which outlined the philosophy of the company. According to her, the spirit of "Canon" includes three aspects - spontaneity, autonomy and self-awareness.
Somewhat later, the company began producing cameras and other equipment for television broadcasting, making an invaluable contribution to the creation of national television. The range of products manufactured by Canon has expanded further. Calculators, equipment for the production of microcircuits, and copiers were added to cameras.
In 1970, the company opens its first overseas production - on the island of Taiwan. Since then, the number of its branches around the world has grown steadily.
In 1975, Canon introduced its first laser printer, ahead of the then-famous American giant Hewlett-Packard in this matter. Moreover, the development of "Canon" has become the basis for future similar models from HP and Apple.
The company grew, proving to the whole world that Japanese products can be not only of high quality, but much better than American and European ones. However, the main discovery of the company in the 70s was, of course, the inkjet printer, which Canon introduced in 1977. It was the world's first inkjet printer. Legend has it that the idea for such a printer came to one of the company's employees after he accidentally dropped a soldering iron on an ink syringe. The soldering iron was turned on, and therefore, under the influence of high temperature, interesting effects began to occur with ink, to which the engineer turned his attention. 4 years later hard work The BJ-80 Bubble Jet printer was introduced. Surprisingly, the company originally called this type of printer bubble (Bubble Jet) and not inkjet. The new name came later.
Today, Canon products are the widest range of equipment - photo and video cameras, displays and office equipment, medical and broadcasting equipment. The corporation unites 230 companies with more than 127 thousand employees. At the helm of such a giant is Fujio Mitarai (the nephew of that same Mitarai), who worthily continues the work begun by his ancestors.
Hansa Canon with Nikkor 50mm/f3.5. 
"Rangefinder" Canon G III QL. 
The first calculator was Canola 130S. 
anon EOS 650. 
Today, the bulk of Canon's total production is office equipment devices: from printers and faxes to scanners and copiers. That, however, does not prevent it from being considered the manufacturer of the most popular photographic equipment in the world. After all, founded in the early 30s of the XX century, the company began with the development of cameras, becoming a pioneer in the Japanese photographic industry.
In 1933, in the Roppongi district of Tokyo, a very small production, to create precise optical instruments. The laboratory occupied one room on the 3rd floor of the Takekawaya Building. The workshop was founded by two talented engineers: Goro Yoshida and his half-brother Saburo Uchida. To begin with, young people decided to carefully study the products of the then market leaders - the German firms Leitz and Carl Zeiss. After the foreign camera that Goro Yoshida had was dismantled, the young engineers were amazed at what they saw: cameras made from such inexpensive materials (brass, aluminum, iron and rubber) had such high prices!
Since German cameras, samples of which were taken apart by screws for further study"fillings" were expensive, young enthusiasts needed a sponsor. A close friend of Saburo Uchida came to the rescue - Takeshi Mitarai, a gynecologist by profession, who provided the laboratory with the necessary funds. Subsequently, Takeshi Mitarai became the president of the company.
A year later, together with another engineer, Takeo Maeda, a prototype of the first Japanese 35 mm camera with a focal plane shutter was created. Being a believer, Yoshida named the camera "Kwanon" (Kwanon) in honor of the Buddhist thousand-armed goddess of mercy. The June issue of Asahi Camera magazine featured an announcement about Kwanon cameras. The Kwanon camera made a splash in the Japanese photographic market. Kwanon was not a banal copy, but an original engineering development that had an affordable price.
To stimulate sales in the international market, where Buddhist symbols were not so popular, it became necessary to come up with a new brand. Instead of the name "Kwanon", the trademark "Canon" was officially introduced, which is the Latin version of the spelling of the name of the same goddess.
Additional capital was needed to expand production. In 1937, on the basis of the laboratory, a joint-stock company Precision Optical Industry Co., Ltd. was established. The first mass-produced model was called the Hansa Canon, which was sold with a Nikkor 50 mm/f 3.5 lens. The company was engaged exclusively in the production of Canon cameras, which were installed Nikkor lenses. In the 1930s, industrial giant Nippon Kogaku K.K. (known today as Nikon) produced only high-quality Nikkor brand optics, without focusing on cameras. Canon, in turn, did not have enough resources to establish the production of its own optics, which was the reason for the necessary cooperation, which ceased in mid-1947. By that time, Nippon Kogaku K.K. launched the independent production of the first Nikon I camera, which had a Leica threaded mount (M39 mm).
At first, the growth of the Precision Optical Industry was facilitated by the Japanese government's ban on the import of most types of foreign equipment, including cameras. But with the outbreak of World War II, as a result of a sharp drop in demand for cameras, the company began to suffer huge losses.
To bring the company out of the crisis in 1942, Takeshi Mitarai was called. It was he who first began to introduce a system of social benefits. And after the end of World War II, Takeshi Mitarai personally sent letters to all former employees inviting them to return to work.
The quick recovery of the company was ensured by the occupiers - American soldiers and officers, who turned out to be the most active buyers of Japanese cameras, which were cheaper than German and American counterparts. For amplification financial stability and further development, Mitarai founded two subsidiaries, one of which is Akatsuki-Musen Co., Ltd. manufactured and sold radios, while another Kashiwa-Yakugyu Co., Ltd. - medicines. After the main enterprise got on its feet, these two subsidiaries were closed.
In 1947, after the adoption of the new name "Canon Camera", the company develops several successful models of rangefinder cameras, which are improved variations of Leica, but already equipped with their own optics.
In 1959, Canon released its first SLR camera, the Canonflex. But despite the durable metal case, interchangeable pentaprism and built-in light meter, professionals gave their sympathy to the DSLR Nikon F. with a wider choice of optics and numerous accessories. Canon products were considered the choice of the mass consumer, which brought in a very good income.
In the mid-1950s, Canon tries its hand in related fields. At the end of 1956, the production of the CanonCine 8T 8mm film camera was launched, and two years later, the CanonProector P-8 film projector. In the 1960s, Canon decided to enter the market copy equipment. As a result of rivalry with the American company Xerox, whose products were reliably protected by proprietary technologies, Canon developed devices based on a new electrographic system that works with plain paper. Canon also patented its invention, but, unlike Xerox, began to sell licenses to third-party manufacturers. This practice still brings Canon tens of millions of dollars a year today.
In 1964, Canon developed the first electronic calculator, the Canola 130S, which made its way to the world market in 1968. The cost of the device was a little less than a thousand US dollars.
From 1971 to 1976, Canon produced a small-format single-lens reflex Canon camera F-1, the first professional system camera. For the first time, a new version of the Canon FD mount was used, compatible with the previous Canon FL and Canon R. At that time, the company made significant progress in "lens engineering", which made it possible to seriously expand the line of lenses. Like the main competitor of the Nikon F series, the Canon F-1 was equipped with a removable pentaprism of four modifications. One of the modifications "Servo EE Finder" supported the operation of the camera in shutter priority mode in the range from 1 to 1/2000 sec., and the aperture value was changed using a servo that rotated the aperture ring. The convenience and reliability of the Canon F-1 system has been appreciated by professional photographers, especially reporters.
In 1975, at the Japanese National Computer Conference, Canon introduced a prototype laser printer. After Canon specialists created a portable version of the device, the American company Hewlett-Packard offered cooperation. As a result, both companies now control up to 70% of the world market for laser printers.
In 1977, Canon developed the famous Buble-Jet bubble inkjet technology, which is still used in a variety of Canon inkjet printers. Interestingly, the impetus for the development of technology was the case with the laboratory assistant of the company. Having touched the syringe filled with ink for the copier with the soldering iron turned on, the laboratory assistant noticed that under the influence of high temperature an ink bubble first appeared on the tip of the needle, which then spread in a thin stream over the paper.
In 1979, Canon introduced its first autofocus model, the AF35M. In 1987, Canon specialists developed a system - EOS (Electronic Optical System), thanks to which the company entered the history of the development of photographic equipment. The first model based on the new system was the Canon EOS 650 with a completely new EF (Electronic Focus) mount. The innovation of the new lenses was to install the autofocus motor inside the lens, the signal to which came through the connectors of the new EF mount. It is worth noting that none of the earlier Canon lenses could be mounted on newer electronic cameras.
Debut of a new EOS systems in the world of professional photography took place in 1989. The presented professional model Canon EOS 1 had a high-strength dust and moisture-proof body and was distinguished by ergonomics unprecedented for those times. For the first time, the Quick Control Dial appeared on the back of the case. The viewfinder, equipped with diopter correction, had 100% of the space displayed on the film. Liquid crystal displays duplicated information about the shooting parameters in the viewfinder window and on the top cover of the rear wall. The operating range of shutter speeds was from 30 to 1/8000 sec. at a sync speed of 1/125 sec. The cross-shaped autofocus sensor, when used with the new high-speed lenses of the professional L series, provided ultra-fast focusing for that time. Thanks to high quality Since the 1990s, Canon's products have become the choice of a growing number of photojournalists around the world.
In 1993, the EOS 500 reflex camera, representing a line of amateur cameras, made multi-point high-speed autofocus available to the mass consumer. The EOS 500 alone outsold sales of all other EOS cameras combined.
Closely following all the new trends in technological progress, in 1986 Canon introduced its first digital camera. The relatively compact RC-701 SLR equipped with a 6.6 x 8.8 mm CCD-matrix makes it possible to obtain images with a resolution of 780 pixels on the long side. Specially designed ultra-fast lenses: 6 mm f/1.6, 11–66 mm f/1.2 and 50–150 mm telezoom. But the high cost of the device did not allow the model to become mass.
Canon's first full-fledged professional digital camera did not appear until nine years later. In collaboration with Kodak, then a leader in the development of digital sensors, the Kodak EOS DCS 3 was released, which was based on the well-established Canon EOS 1n film model. Equipped with a 1.3-megapixel CCD-sensor measuring 16.4 x 20.5 mm, the digital camera made it possible to take color photographs from 200 to 1600 ISO and black and white from 400 to 6400 ISO. And, of course, the Kodak EOS DCS 3 was compatible with the entire line of Canon EF optics.
In 1995, Fujio Mitarai, the nephew of the company's founder Takeshi Mitarai, came to the management of the company. The non-core division operating in the personal computer market was immediately closed. It was decided to focus on the direction of IT (information technology), as well as the production of printers and digital cameras(Looking ahead, we can say that the company's sales increased by 23%).
In 2000, Canon launched a completely self-developed digital 3-megapixel semi-professional model Canon D30, which became one of the first mass-produced digital cameras in the world. In 2001 - a full-fledged camera for professionals Canon 1D. The main advantage is not a "noisy" CMOS sensor. The dimensions of the CCD were 28.7 x 19.1 mm (Crop factor 1.3) with a resolution of 2496 x 1662 pixels. The maximum sensitivity was ISO 3200, the minimum shutter speed was 1/16,000 second, and the "rate of fire" reached 8 frames per second. A year later, the camera received a full-frame sensor (35.8 x 23.8 mm) with a resolution of 11 megapixels and the “S” in the title.
The further evolution of the Canon 1D system has led to the creation of digital top models Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III (2007), EOS-1D Mark III (2007) and EOS-1D Mark IV (2009). On October 18, 2011, the Canon EOS-1D X was introduced, designed to replace two models of professional cameras in the series at once.
Today, the main task that Fujio Mitarai, the President and CEO of Canon (this is the full name of his position) sets before the company, is to become the undisputed leader in all markets in which his company's products are presented.
The first Canon logo was very different from what it was later. It was an image of the Buddhist goddess of mercy sitting on a lotus flower. The next version of the logo retained only the name of the company, written in a unique "Kwanon" font. In 1935, the logo was changed to "Canon" and it has gradually improved to the look we are all used to now. 
The first company to manufacture an inkjet printer is Hewlett-Packard.
According to the principle of operation, inkjet printers differ from matrix printers in their non-impact mode of operation due to the fact that their print head is not a set of needles, but thin nozzles, the diameters of which are tenths of a millimeter. In the same head, a reservoir with liquid ink is installed, which are transferred through nozzles, like microparticles, to the carrier material. In general, the number of nozzles in various manufacturers' models ranges from 16 to 64. However, the HP DeskJet 1600 printhead has 300 black ink nozzles and 416 color ink nozzles. Ink storage is provided by two design solutions. In one of them, the printer head is combined with the ink reservoir, and the replacement of the ink reservoir is simultaneously associated with the replacement of the head. Another involves the use of a separate reservoir, which provides the printer head with ink through a system of capillaries.
Inkjet printers mainly use the following ink application methods: piezoelectric, gas bubble method and drop on demand method.
2.1. Piezoelectric method
The piezoelectric method is based on nozzle control using the inverse piezoelectric effect, which, as is known, consists in the deformation of a piezoelectric crystal under the action of an electric field. To implement this method, a flat piezocrystal connected to a diaphragm is installed in each nozzle.
The action of the electric field compresses and unclenches the nozzle, filling it with ink. The ink that is squeezed back flows back into the reservoir, and the ink that comes out of the nozzle in a droplet leaves a dot on the paper. Similar devices are produced by Epson, Brother and others.
Although the inkjet printing principle has been known for a long time, these devices would not have found such a wide application if it were not for the invention that became the basis for the spread of inkjet technology - this is the technology of “bubble” inkjet printing (bubble-jet). The first and main patent for it belongs to Canon. Hewlett-Packard also owns a number of important patents in this area; it created the first inkjet printer using ThinkJet bubble technology in 1985. By exchanging licenses, the two companies have gained an overwhelming advantage over their competitors - they now own 90% of the European inkjet printer market.
2.2. Gas bubble method
The method of gas bubbles is thermal and is called the method of injected bubbles (Bubble - jet) or bubble printing technology. Each print head nozzle of a printer using this method is equipped with a heating element in the form of a thin film resistor, which, when a current is passed through it, heats up to a high temperature in 7-10 microseconds. The temperature required for the evaporation of ink, for example, Hewlett-Packard, reaches about 400°C. The ink vapor bubble (bubble) that occurs during sharp heating tends to push out the necessary drop of liquid ink with a diameter of less than 0.16 mm through the nozzle outlet, which is transferred to the paper. When the current is turned off, the thin-film resistor cools quickly, the vapor bubble decreases in size, which leads to a rarefaction in the nozzle, where a new portion of ink enters.
This technology is used by Canon. Due to the fact that there are fewer structural elements in the printing mechanisms of printers that implement the gas bubble method than those that use piezoelectric technology, such printers have greater reliability and resource. Along with this, the use of this technology makes it possible to achieve higher resolution printing. However, while providing high quality when drawing lines, this method has a disadvantage when printing areas of solid fill, since they turn out to be somewhat blurry. The use of inkjet printers, the printing mechanism of which is based on the method of gas bubbles, is advisable when it is necessary to print graphs, histograms and other types of graphic information without halftone graphic images. For better printing, you should choose inkjet printers that implement the drop-on-demand method.
Goro Yoshida was born in 1900 in Hiroshima. Even before graduating from high school, he moved to Tokyo, where he began to study and soon excelled in the field of creating cameras and projectors. Even then, he dreamed of inventing a high-quality photographic camera that would be different from others.
In the second half of the twenties, Goro went to China (Shanghai) for the necessary ingredients for his future work. There he met an American merchant who convinced Yoshida of the correctness of his aspirations. The seller told the future inventor that a country like Japan, which creates excellent warships and aircraft, is quite capable of producing excellent cameras, as well as their components.
Goro Yoshida proved to be talented and able to learn quickly. Very soon he was involved in the process of creating new Japanese cameras. In 1934, Japan's first 35 mm shutter camera (with shutter frame) was born. The chamber was named Kwanon, after the Buddhist deity of mercy.
In 1937, Yoshida and his partner Saburo Uchida (a good "techie" and part-time son-in-law of Goro) created a company that was called Canon. It was a real breakthrough and the birth of the brand famous today.
In the current period digital cameras, lenses, as well as other Canon equipment are considered among the best in the world. The company regularly produces new ultra-modern devices with great functionality.
Canon products, including digital cameras, are represented by a significant range of models, each of which demonstrates many excellent technical features.
Canon lenses are very popular, for example, Canon 10-22. These lenses are designed specifically for certain DSLRs and are ideal for professional photographers. Not surprising, because the Canon 10-22 lens features instant, completely silent, auto focus and other useful features.
Of course, the name of the Japanese inventor Goro Yoshido will long remain in the memory of fans of Canon's superior products. His revolutionary projects at one time played a big role and contributed to the further development of the photographic direction.
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