Canon

Page Content

Canon is a multinational engineering company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is engaged in optical-mechanical and electronic production of devices for fixing, processing and printing images, medical diagnostic equipment, as well as the development of solutions in the field of information technology and television broadcasting. At the end of 2016, the Canon group of companies included 367 consolidated subsidiaries, and it employs about 198 thousand people around the world. In addition to selling products under its own brand, Canon manufactures laser printers for HP Inc., marketed under the HP LaserJet Printers brand.

Canon sponsors a number of international community organizations, including the International Red Cross and WWF. The company also takes part in cultural and sports events, including the World Press Photo competition and the UEFA Europa League.

Historical information

The history of the company begins in 1933 with the foundation by two Tokyo engineers of its predecessor - the laboratory of precision optical instruments (eng. Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory). The founders - Goro Yoshida and Saburo Uchida - set as their goal the production of a Japanese 35 mm camera, which would not be inferior in quality to its German counterparts. To do this, they disassembled and studied the device of the German Contax and Leica cameras, which were considered advanced at that time. Their research was sponsored by Takeshi Mitarai, a doctor and friend of Uchida. The first prototype was received already in 1934, but engineers managed to design a really working prototype by the end of 1935. By the beginning of the next year, the model was marketed under the name Hansa Canon; it was equipped with a lens manufactured by Nippon Kogaku, now known as Nikon. The name of the camera was formed from the Hansa trademark, owned by the first distributor, and the words Canon - a simplified English translation of the name of the deity of Japanese mythology Kwannon (Goddess of Mercy Kannon).

In the first years of work, the laboratory's production volume was about 10 cameras per month. To expand production, it was decided to attract investments by public offering of the company's shares. Thus, the Precision Optical Industry Co. was founded on August 10, 1937. Ltd. with a registered capital of 1 million yen.

Further development of the company was directed by Takeshi Mitarai, who took over in 1942. During the Second World War, the enterprise temporarily ceased its activities, but already in 1945, the American troops controlling the country showed a keen interest in Japanese cameras. As a result, the General Staff of the Allied Forces placed an order for the production of cameras for officers and soldiers. Thus, the production of cameras was resumed on October 1, 1945. In order to associate the name of the successful camera with the manufacturer, in 1947 the company was renamed the Canon Camera Company. The further spread of Canon cameras abroad was facilitated by the Korean War - photojournalists covering events in Korea felt that Japanese optics were not inferior to German ones.

1955 was marked by the entry of Canon Camera on the world market, the first overseas representative office was opened in New York (USA), two years later, the European subsidiary Canon Europa began operations in Geneva.

In 1956, the company expanded with the Canon 8T 8mm Cinema Camera, and in 1959 released the world's first zoom lens in this format.

In the 1960s, Canon began expanding into the electronics, office and home appliance markets, as well as conducting its own research in related fields.

In 1964, Canon released the Canola 130, the first electronic calculator with a keyboard layout that became the standard. The following year, the company entered the copier market with the Canofax 1000, and in 1968 the world's first plain paper copier was developed.

Due to the expansion of the range of activities in 1969, the name was simplified to Canon Inc. By 1970, the company already had its offices in the USA, Europe and Latin America, and the export of products abroad exceeded 50% of the total sales.

At the same time, the pace of development of the company lagged behind other Japanese companies, since marketing miscalculations often prevented the full use of the potential of technical inventions, for example, a new copying technology developed in 1972 was licensed to other companies. In 1975, Canon did not pay dividends to shareholders for the first time since 1945; To improve the company's position, Takeshi Mitarai, who retained the position of chairman of the board, invited Ryuzaburo Kaku to the position of CEO, under whose leadership the company's management was significantly updated and large-scale advertising campaigns began.

In 1976, the world's first digital automatic exposure camera based on the Canon AE-1 microprocessor was introduced, in an ad campaign for world tennis star John Newcomb. Other Canon innovations in the mid-1970s included a semiconductor laser printer (1975), an inkjet printer, and an apparatus for photographing the retina without the use of pupil dilators (1976).

In 1982, a cartridge copier was introduced, which was significantly easier to maintain than others. In general, starting from the 1980s, Canon successfully began to compete with the largest manufacturers of office equipment: IBM (electronic typewriters), Xerox (laser printers), Ricoh (fax machines). At the same time, Canon began a partnership with Apple, in particular in promoting Apple Macintosh computers to the Japanese market. In 1989, Canon acquired a 100% stake in Steve Jobs' NeXT Incorporated for $ 16,7 million, along with the exclusive right to distribute its products in Asia. In the camera market, Canon came out on top in the world in the early 1980s, surpassing Nikon, ceded leadership to Minolta in 1985, but regained it in 1987. In 1985, the company's turnover was $ 3,3 billion, which was 7 times more than a decade ago, in 1990 it reached $ 12,73 billion.

The company's growth slowed in the 1990s, partly due to the saturation of the camera market (although Canon had less than 20% of sales), and partly due to the appreciation of the yen. The reaction to this was the relocation of production to other countries of the world, in particular, in 1995, the production of inkjet printers was launched in Mexico, and in 1996 - in Scotland. The company also began to develop new markets in the Asia-Pacific region and Russia.

In December 2016, Canon acquired its subsidiary Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation from another Japanese corporation, Toshiba; the deal was valued at ¥ 665,498 billion ($ 5,8 billion).

On November 10, 2017 Canon announced its own virtual TV broadcasting system with the Free Viewpoint Video System, which is to be presented at the international exhibition Inter BEE-2017 in Chiba (Japan). This solution can be in demand in a variety of areas, including broadcasting sports events. The surround television broadcasting system includes several HDTV cameras installed around the perimeter of the stadium. The footage is processed using advanced technologies that can turn HD video from multiple sources into XNUMXD spatial data. As a result, viewers can observe the virtual scene from any angle and from any point, including following the players by choosing the field level view.

activity

The main divisions of the company:

Office equipment (Office Business Unit) - production of laser multifunctional devices, printers, copiers and similar office equipment (this segment accounted for 2016% of sales in 53,1, of which 14,8% were for laser printers for HP Inc.) ;
Photo and video equipment (Imaging System Business Unit) - production of cameras, video cameras, lenses, photo printers, inkjet printers, multimedia projectors, scanners, broadcasting equipment and calculators (32,2% of sales);
Industrial equipment (Industry and Others Business Unit) - production of systems for photolithography (technological process in the manufacture of microcircuits and panels on liquid crystals), medical diagnostic equipment, as well as ophthalmic lenses, micromotors and video surveillance systems (17,2% of sales).

The company's production facilities include 30 factories in Japan and 18 in other countries such as the USA, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Taiwan, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.

At the end of 2016, sales markets were distributed as follows: North and South America - 28,3%; Europe - 26,9%; Asia and Oceania - 24%; Japan - 20,8%

As of 2010, Canon is the world leader in the camera market with a market share of 19%, followed by Sony (17,9%) and Nikon (12,6%). In the digital SLR camera market, this brand is also the first with a share of 44,4%, followed by Nikon (29,8%) and Sony (11,9%).

Canon was the first in the world to overcome the "psychological" barrier of the price of a digital SLR amateur camera, reducing it to below $ 1000 (model Canon EOS 300D).

Canon in Russia

Today Canon is represented in Russia by Canon Ru, owned by Canon Europe headquartered in London. In addition to the central office in Moscow, Canon Ru has offices in St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk, as well as representative offices in all federal districts of Russia.

The main activity of "Canon Ru" is the supply of the entire range of Canon equipment to Russia, marketing support of the brand, as well as the sale of equipment imported to Russia. Since the beginning of 2010, Canon Ru has been the only importer of Canon equipment in Russia.

Affiliated companies

Canon Marketing Japan Inc. (Japan);
Canon USA, Inc. (USA);
Canon Europa NV (Netherlands);
Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation (Japan).

Shareholders

The Master Trust Bank of Japan, Ltd. - 5,0%
Japan Trustee Services Bank, Ltd. - 4,9%
The Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company, Ltd. - 2,8%
Barclays Securities Japan Limited - 2,0%
Mizuho Bank, Ltd. - 1,7%
Moxley and Co. LLC - 1,5%
State Street Bank West Client — Treaty - 1,3%
Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance Inc. - 1,3%
Obayashi Corporation - 1,2%

Lens markings from Canon manufacturer

Label	Value	transcript
II, III, ...	Versions	Lens versions are marked with Roman numerals
EF		EF mount lens
Ef-m		EF-M mount lens
Ef-s		EF-S mount lens
DO	Diffractive optics	Presence of distortion and color correcting elements in telephoto lenses (weight reduction)
IS	image stabilizer	Optical stabilizer
L.	L series lens	High quality Canon optics
Macro	macro lens	Macro Capability
MP-E		Magnifying lens
RF		RF mount lens
Nano USM	Ultrasonic motor of the nano type	Average focus performance between STM and USM. Quieter STM but slower USM
STM	stepping motor	High performance focusing stepper motor
TS-E		Tilt-shift lens (shift the blur area horizontally and vertically, as well as perspective correction)
USM	ultrasonic motor	Canon high performance ultrasonic motor

About Canon cameras with examples of photos

Reviews and examples of photos from Canon lenses

Adapters for cameras and lenses

Sometimes I buy photographic equipment from the USSR and not only. You can offer your write me. Help the project: 5469 1200 1062 4624. Comments can be left without registration and SMS

[PRO] PHOTO

Historical information

activity

Canon in Russia

Affiliated companies

Shareholders

Lens markings from Canon manufacturer

About Canon cameras with examples of photos

Reviews and examples of photos from Canon lenses

Adapters for cameras and lenses

Add a comment Отменить ответ

Interesting, but not accurate

ZENIT Surprise MT-1

AGAT-18 | review with photos

Soviet camera Zenit-18

Camera Zenit-19

[PRO] PHOTO