Canon

History

‘Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory’ is the predecessor of Canon Inc. and was founded in Tokyo in 1937 by Takeshi Mitarai, Goro Toshida, Saburo Uchida and Takeo Maeda.
1934 logo depicting the Bodhisattva Kwan'on

1930s - 60s 1934: ‘The Kwanon’[3], Japan’s first 35 mm focal plane-shutter camera, was produced in prototype form. 1940: An indirect X-ray camera, also a first for Japan, is developed. 1947: The company is renamed Canon Camera Co., Inc. 1958: A field zoom lens for television broadcasting is introduced. 1959: The world’s first camcorder with a zoom lens, ‘Relfex Zoom 8’, is introduced. 1964: ‘Canola 130’, the world’s first 10-key calculator is introduced. 1969: The company’s name is changed to Canon Inc.

1970s – 00s 1971: The ‘Canon F-1’, a top-end SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera, and FD lenses are introduced. 1976: Canon launches the world’s first camera with an embedded micro-computer, the ‘AE-1’. 1985: The world’s first Ink Jet printer using Bubble Jet technology is introduced. 1987: The 'EOS 650' autofocus SLR camera is introduced and the Canon Foundation is established. 1988: Canon introduces 'Kyosei philosophy'. 1992: The ‘EOS-5’, the first-ever camera with eye-controlled autofocus is launched. 1995: The IXUS, a pocket-sized camera with the Advanced Photo System, is introduced. 1995: introduced the first commercially available SLR lens with internal image stabilization, the Canon EF75-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM. 1997: Canon enters the digital video camcorder market. 2002: Mr Fujio Mitarai, President and CEO of Canon Inc., is named one of the world’s top 25 managers by magazine BusinessWeek. 2003: The world’s first portable digital X-ray system is used to reconstruct the face of an Egyptian mummy believed to be Queen Nefertiti. 2004: The XEED SX50 LCD projector is introduced. 2005: Canon’s first high-definition video camcorder is introduced. 2007: Canon Europe’s 50th anniversary.

Today, the company produces digital compact and SLR cameras, printers and analog and digital copiers for the office, including its line of imageRUNNER and imagePRESS digital multifunctional devices.

In 2008 Canon was awarded over 2000 patents in the U.S.; it regularly places in the top five in total patents for the year.