(, ) is a
Japanese Company that specializes in imaging and optical products, including
Camera s,
Photocopiers and
Computer Printer s. The headquarters are in
Tokyo .
The company was established in
1933 by co-founder
Yoshida Goro and his brother-in-law
Uchida Saburo . Named , it was funded by
Takeshi Mitarai , a close friend of Uchida. Its original purpose was to research the development of quality cameras. In
June 1934 they released their first camera, the ''Kwanon'', named after the
Buddhist Goddess Of Mercy . The following year the company name was changed to ''Canon'' to reflect a more modern image.
The company's first cameras were
Leica threadmount rangefinder clones. They closely followed the Leica specifications for the threadmount lens (M39) but added innovations including a switchable magnification combined viewfinder/rangefinder. Canon at first did not have its own optical factory, using lenses made by
Nikon instead; but it soon started to manufacture its own lenses, under the "Serenar" brand. These remain popular even now among users of Canon or Leica rangefinders.
Despite the company's high profile in the consumer market for cameras and computer printers, most of the company revenue comes from the office products division, especially for analog and digital copiers, and its line of imageRUNNER
Digital Multifunctional Devices . Canon has also entered the digital displays market by teaming up with
Toshiba to develop and manufacture
Flat Panel Televisions based on
SED , a new type of display technology. Canon has announced its intention to enter the projection television market as well.
Canon's main
Competitor s include
Nikon ,
Konica Minolta ,
Leica ,
Pentax ,
Olympus ,
Sony ,
Epson ,
Kodak ,
Lomo ,
Hewlett-Packard and
Xerox .
