Canon Hits Major Production Milestone With EOS Series Cameras And EF Lenses

MELVILLE, N.Y., Oct. 17, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Canon U.S.A. Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, today announced that its parent company, Canon Inc., has reached two major production milestones— a combined production of the company's film and digital EOS-series interchangeable-lens cameras surpassed 90 million on September 20, 2017 and 130 million¹ EF-series interchangeable lenses on October 12, 2017.  A  Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR Camera was the 90 millionth EOS Series camera produced, while an EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM Ultra-Wide Zoom Lens was the Company's 130 millionth interchangeable lens.

Canon's EOS system of SLR cameras made their debut alongside the EF series of interchangeable lenses in March 1987 as the world's first fully electronic mount system for silver halide Auto Focus (AF) SLR cameras. Throughout the years, both product lines have continued to expand, providing equipment for various users ranging from first timers to well-seasoned professionals. Production accelerated in the early 2000s with the popularization of Digital SLR cameras.

Since its inception, Canon has continued to develop revolutionary technologies in the EOS series featuring high-image quality, speed and intuitiveness at the core of the design process. The company has also continued to develop their own CMOS sensors and DIGIC Image Processors for the EOS series to provide photographers with the right creative tools to capture the images and videos they desire. Canon's EF lenses feature world-first² innovations, such as the Ultrasonic Motor (USM), Image Stabilizer (IS) technology and a multilayered diffractive optical (DO) element.

EOS Series
The EOS series of interchangeable-lens cameras began with the Canon EOS 650 SLR camera, released in March 1987. The camera not only featured the world's first electronic lens mounting system, but also included fully digitized communications between the camera body and lens,  providing photographers with a new generation of autofocus technology capabilities.

As popularity of silver-halide cameras boomed, Canon launched several models that covered a wide variety of end-user needs, including the Canon EOS-1 SLR camera in 1989, aimed at professional photographers, and the Canon EOS Rebel XS SLR camera in 1993, a compact, lightweight, entry-level model that expanded Canon's user base.

Throughout the years, Canon has continued to advance its products that enabled the Company to maintain the No. 1 share of the global interchangeable-lens digital camera market for 14 consecutive years from 2003 to 2016. ³ In 2003, during the dawn of the digital camera age, Canon released the groundbreaking Canon EOS Digital Rebel DSLR camera, an entry-level, digital SLR camera that provided a compact, lightweight body at an affordable price. This move triggered a massive expansion of the camera market, with Canon claiming the overwhelming market share lead that year. The future release EOS 5D series DSLR cameras, aimed at professional photographers, helped popularize video capture using DSLR cameras.

EF Lenses
Since the development of Canon's first EF lens, launched alongside the EOS series in 1987, Canon has continued to produce EF lenses featuring world-first technologies such as the EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM with Image Stabilization in 1995, the EF 400mm f/4 DO IS USM with a Diffractive Optics in 2001 and the EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, treated with highly anti-reflective Subwavelength Structure Coating (SWC) in 2008. Additionally, in 2015, Canon released the EF11-24mm f/4L USM, the world's first⁴ ultra-wide-angle zoom lens to achieve an 11 mm focal length.

Today, Canon boasts 93 lenses⁵ in its comprehensive EF lens lineup, with focal lengths that range from an ultra-wide 8 mm angle all the way to a super-telephoto 800 mm focal length as well as EF Cinema Series lenses for video production. With a wide selection of lenses for every application including zoom lenses, image stabilization-equipped lenses, fast-aperture lenses, macro lenses and even the TS-E tilt-shift lenses, Canon EF lenses have always been well positioned to meet the needs of all photographers.

For more information about Canon's milestone of 90 million EOS Series cameras and 130 million EF series interchangeable lenses please visit, usa.canon.com

About Canon U.S.A., Inc.
Canon U.S.A., Inc., is a leading provider of consumer, business-to-business, and industrial digital imaging solutions to the United States and to Latin America and the Caribbean markets. With approximately $29 billion in global revenue, its parent company, Canon Inc. (NYSE: CAJ), ranks third overall in U.S. patents granted in 2016.^† Canon U.S.A. is committed to the highest level of customer satisfaction and loyalty, providing 100 percent U.S.-based service and support for all of the products it distributes in the United States. Canon U.S.A. is dedicated to its Kyosei philosophy of social and environmental responsibility. In 2014, the Canon Americas Headquarters secured LEED® Gold certification, a recognition for the design, construction, operations and maintenance of high-performance green buildings. To keep apprised of the latest news from Canon U.S.A., sign up for the Company's RSS news feed by visiting www.usa.canon.com/rss and follow us on Twitter @CanonUSA. For media inquiries, please contact [email protected].

† Based on weekly patent counts issued by United States Patent and Trademark Office.
1 Includes all EF series lenses, including EF Cinema Series lenses.
2 Based on a Canon survey.
3 Based on a Canon survey
4 Based on a Canon survey
5 Including two EF lens extenders, two models available outside of Japan and fourteen EF Cinema lenses. As of October 2017.

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For sales information/customer support:      
1-800-OK-CANON  

SOURCE Canon U.S.A., Inc.

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