Canon Inc. Kyanon kabushiki-gaisha is a Japanese multinational corporation specialized in the
manufacture of imaging and optical products, including cameras, camcorders, photocopiers,
steppers, computer printers and medical equipment. Its headquarters are located in Ōta, Tokyo,
Japan. Canon has a primary listing on the Tokyo Stock
Exchange and is a constituent of the TOPIX index. It has a secondary listing on the New
York Stock Exchange.
Name The company was originally named Seikikōgaku
kenkyūsho. 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. The name Canon comes from Buddhism,
of Buddhist bodhisattva Guan Yin, in Japanese, previously transliterated Kuanyin, Kwannon,
or Kwanon in English. History
1937 to 1970 The origins of Canon date back to the founding
of Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory in Tokyo in 1937 by Takeshi Mitarai, Goro
Yoshida, Saburo Uchida and Takeo Maeda. During its early years the company did not have any
facilities to produce its own optical glass, and its first cameras incorporated Nikkor
lenses from Nippon Kogaku K.K.. Between 1933 and 1936 ‘The Kwanon’, a
copy of the Leica design, Japan’s first 35 mm focal plane-shutter camera, was developed
in prototype form. In 1940 Canon developed Japan's first indirect X-ray camera. Canon
introduced a field zoom lens for television broadcasting in 1958 and in 1959 introduced
the Reflex Zoom 8, the world’s first movie camera with a zoom lens, and the Canonflex.
In 1961 Canon introduced the Rangefinder camera, Canon 7, and 50mm 1:0.95 lens in a special
bayonet mount. In 1964 Canon introduced the 'Canola 130', the first Japanese made 10-key
calculator, a substantial improvement on the design of the British Bell Punch company,
which introduced the first fully electronic calculator two years earlier with the Sumlock
Anita Mark 8 unit. In 1965 Canon introduced the Canon Pellix, a single lens reflex camera
with a semi-transparent stationary mirror which enabled the taking of pictures through
the mirror.
1970 to 2010 In 1971 Canon introduced the F-1, a high-end
SLR camera, and the FD lens range. In 1976 Canon launched the AE-1, the world’s first
camera with an embedded micro-computer. In 1982 "Wildlife as Canon Sees It" print
ads first appeared in National Geographic magazine. Canon introduced the world’s first
Inkjet printer using bubble jet technology in 1985. Canon introduced Canon Electro-Optical
System in 1987, named after the goddess of the dawn. EOS 650 autofocus SLR camera is
introduced. Also in 1987 the Canon Foundation was established. In 1988 Canon introduced
'Kyosei philosophy'. The EOS 1 Flagship Professional SLR line was launched in 1989. In the same
year the EOS RT, the world's first AF SLR with a fixed, semi-transparent pellicle mirror,
was unveiled. In 1992 Canon launched the EOS 5, the first-ever
camera with eye-controlled AF, and the PowerShot 600, its first digital camera. In 1995 Canon
introduced the first commercially available SLR lens with internal image stabilization,
EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM. EOS-1N RS, the world's fastest AF SLR camera with a continuous
shooting speed of 10 frame/s at the time. Based on the EOS-1N, the EOS-1N RS has a fixed,
semi-transparent pellicle mirror with a hard coat. In 1996 Canon introduced a pocket-sized
digital camera with the Advanced Photo System, named ELPH in America and IXUS in Europe.
Canon entered the digital video camcorder market in 1997.
In 2004 Canon introduced the XEED SX50 LCD projector. Canon introduced its first high-definition
camcorder in 2005. In November 2009 Canon made a €730 million
all-cash offer for the Dutch printer maker Océ. Canon had acquired majority ownership
of Océ by March 2010, and completed the acquisition of 100% of shares in Océ by the end of 2011.
2010 to present In 2010 Canon acquired Tereck Office Solutions,
Inc. On 16 March 2010, Canon announced that it
was seeking to acquire a new .canon generic top-level domain. In the third quarter of
2012, Canon's global market share in the sale of printers, copiers and multifunction devices
amounted to 20.90 percent. In early 2013, Canon USA moved into a new
$500 million headquarters in Melville, New York.
In February 2014, Canon announced it would acquire Texas-based Molecular Imprints Inc,
a developer of nanoprint lithography systems, for an amount speculated to be around $98
million. Products
Canon manufactures consumer imaging products including printers, scanners, binoculars,
compact digital cameras, film SLR and digital SLR cameras, lenses and video camcorders.
The "Business Solutions" division offers multi-functional printers, black and white and color office
printers, large format printers, scanners, black and white and color production printers,
as well as software to support these products. DeVito/Verdi was hired for an award winning,
humorous campaign with the concept “If business were that easy, you wouldn't need us,” using
old office footage to describe the new ways Canon Business Solutions was bringing copiers
and office supplies forward. Lesser known Canon products include medical,
optical and broadcast products, including ophthalmic and x-ray devices, broadcast lenses,
semiconductors, digital microfilm scanners, and handy terminals.
Digital cameras
Canon has been manufacturing and distributing digital cameras since 1984, starting with
the RC-701. The RC series was followed by the PowerShot and Digital IXUS series of digital
cameras. Canon also developed the EOS series of digital single-lens reflex cameras which
includes high-end professional models. Canon introduced Thermal Transition Copying
as a part of the manufacturing process for all of its cameras. This process allows a
camera's polymer casing to very slightly change temperature through an exothermic reaction
triggered by electronic sensors, to assist in the prevention of condensation inside the
camera; a common problem experienced when using an SLR camera in certain conditions.
Related with consumers' trend of switching compact cameras to smartphones, in Q1 2013
Canon Inc. operating profit fell 34 percent year-on-year.
Digital copiers Canon's largest division in terms of revenue
is its multifunction copier division. Canon distributes its consumer and home office imageCLASS
line though retail outlets and professional grade imageRUNNER series through subsidiary
Canon Business Solutions and independent distributors. The professional grade series ranges from
small table tops to large digital presses. Printers
For many years, Canon were the principal makers of the print-engines found in industry-standard
laser printers. The first models of Apple LaserWriter, and the equivalent products made
by HP, used the Canon LBP-CX engine. The next models used the Canon LBP-SX engine. Later
models used the Canon LBP-LX, LBP-EX, LBP-PX engines and many other Canon print engines.
Flash units
Canon produces a range of high-output flash units for its DSLR cameras, including the
270EX, 320EX, 430EX Speedlites and the Canon 600EX-RT Speedlite. Canon also produces macro
flash units including the Macro Twin Lite and the Macro Ring Lite.
Scanners Canon manufactures a wide range of flatbed
scanners, film scanners, and document scanners for home and business use, including the Canon
Canoscan 8800F.
Computers Canon introduced two MSX home computer models
in 1983, the V-10 and the V-20. Both offered just the minimum range of the MSX standards
without any additional features. The V-20 was able to receive shooting data from the
T90 Canon camera with the Data Memory Back T90 expansion.
Canon also sold a Canon AS400 PC 640x480 color display computer based on 8086 processor using
CPM or MSDOS. Options included a 5mb Hard Drive..
Camcorders See List of Canon camcorders
Operations Canon's world headquarters are located at
30-2 Shimomaruko 3-chome, Ohta-ku, Tokyo 146-8501, Japan. Canon has regional headquarters in
the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Japan, Asia and Oceania. Canon Europe has
two principal subsidiaries: Canon Europa NV and Canon Europe Ltd..
Canon is organised into three principal business segments: the Office Business Unit; the Consumer
Business Unit; and the Industry and Others Business Unit.
On Dec 26, 2003, Canon Inc. announced restructuring plans for three domestic Canon Group companies.
The restructuring involved the merger of two companies and the spinning off of 1.
Canon generated total revenues of US$45,608 million in 2011, of which 53.9% was by the
Office Business Unit, 36.9% by the Consumer Business Unit and 11.8% by the Industry and
Others Business Unit. In the same year, 31.3% of revenues were generated in Europe, 27.0%
in the Americas, 22.2% in Asia and Oceania and 19.5% in Japan.
Canon invested a total of US$3,946 million in research and development in 2011, equivalent
to 8.7% of sales. In 2011, Canon was granted 2,813 patents in the United States, the third-highest
number of any company.
Environmental record A report by the environmental organization
Clean Air-Cool Planet puts Canon at the top of a list of 56 companies the survey conducted
on climate-friendly companies. Canon has also launched three new calculators
in Europe, called "Green Calculators", which are produced in part from recycled Canon copiers.
The company has a corporate social responsibility strategy in Europe named ‘Green is just
a shade of blue’. The strategy places emphasis on green issues being ‘a small part of the
bigger, bluer picture’, and therefore gives equal importance to other areas, including
ethics, attitudes, humanitarian aid and disaster relief, education, science and social welfare.
The Canon Group has an environmental charter which looks at ‘offering products with a
lower environmental burden through improvements in resource efficiency, while eliminating
anti-social activities that threaten the health and safety of mankind and the environment.’
Charitable activities In 2008 Canon donated financial support to
help the estimated 5 million people displaced by the earthquake that hit China’s Sichuan
province in May 2008. 1 million RMB was donated to the Red Cross
Society of China shortly after the earthquake. Canon Inc, Japan, soon followed with a donation
of 10 million RMB. Sponsorships
In 1983 Canon became the first title sponsors of the English football league The Football
League, which was named The Canon League from 1983 to 1986, when the sponsorship was taken
over by the Today newspaper. Between 1985 and 1993, Canon sponsored Williams
in Formula One while they won World Drivers Championships for Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell
and Alain Prost and Four World Constructors Championships.
Since 2006 Canon has been helping the Red Cross provide support to thirteen Red Cross
National Societies across Europe, with focus on youth projects. Support from Canon includes
financial contributions and donations of imaging equipment; including cameras, copying machines
and digital radiography devices, as well as volunteer activities.
Canon Europe has been a partner of World Press Photo for sixteen years. World Press Photo
promotes the professional standards in photography; organises the largest international contest
for professional photojournalists and acts as a worldwide platform for press photography.
See also
Canon Open Nikon
Notes
References
External links Canon official site
Canon's Online Camera Museum Canon Electronic Business Machines Co., Ltd.
Canon Owners Exchange Canon Authorized Online Store
A joint effort by Canon and Catricity to share information on Open Data