Hendra & Novie Photo Session

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History of Konica

The company traces its history back to 1873 (pre-dating Kodak in the photography business) when pharmacist Rokusaburo Sugiura began selling photographic materials at his store in Konishiya Rokubē, the biggest pharmacy trader in Tokyo at that time

In 1878, Rokusaburō succeeded to his family and renamed Rokuemon VI (Rokudaime Rokuemon). He gave the original shop to his younger brother and launched a new shop, Konishi Honten (Konishi Main Shop) in the Nihonbashi district of Tokyo.

In 1882, Konishi launched a project to produce photography related materials in Japan: those products were imported at that time. In 1902, Konishi began to sell the "Cherry Portable Camera" (チェリー手提用暗函), the first Japanese produced end-user oriented camera. New products were released respectively, and Konishi Main Shop became the leading camera company in Japan. In 1921, old Konishi had his elder son succeed to the family and thus company head with the name, and in this occasion Konishi Honten was turned into a company Konishiroku Honten. The name Konishiroku was taken from the abbreviation of their names, Konishi Rokuemon.

Konishiroku released their "Konica I" type camera in 1948, after which they would name their own company in 1987.

On August 5, 2003, Konica merged with Minolta to form Konica Minolta. In March 2006, the merged company closed down its photo imaging division, which produced color film, color paper, photo chemicals and digital minilab machines. Its digital SLR camera section was transferred to Sony. Dai Nippon purchased Konica's Odawara factory site and continues to produce paper under its own brand, while Seapac acquired the Konica chemical factory.

History of Pentax

The company was founded as Asahi Kogaku Goshi Kausha in November 1919 by Kumao Kajiwara, at a shop in the Toshima suburb of Tokyo, and began producing spectacle lenses (which it still manufactures). In 1938 it changed its name to Asahi Optical Co., Ltd. (旭光学工業株式会社, Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō Kabushiki-gaisha), and by this time it was also manufacturing camera/cine lenses. In the lead-up to World War II, Asahi Optical devoted much of its time to fulfilling military contracts for optical instruments. At the end of the war Asahi Optical was disbanded by the occupying powers, being allowed to re-form in 1948. The company resumed its pre-war activities, manufacturing binoculars and consumer camera lenses for Konishiroku and Chiyoda Kōgaku Seikō (later Konica and Minolta respectively).

Early 1950s to 2007

The period around 1950 marked the return of the Japanese photographic industry to the vigorous level of the early 1940s, and its emergence as a major exporter. The newly reborn industry had sold many of its cameras to the occupation forces (with hugely more disposable income than the Japanese) and they were well received. The Korean War saw a huge influx of journalists and photographers to the Far East, where they were impressed by lenses from companies such as Nikon and Canon for their Leica rangefinder cameras, and also by bodies by these and other companies to supplement and replace the Leica and Contax cameras they were using.

In 1952 Asahi Optical introduced its first camera, the Asahiflex (the first Japanese SLR using 35mm film). Since then the company has been primarily known for its photographic products. The company's photography products were imported to the United States from the 1950s until the mid 1970s by Honeywell Corporation and were labeled Honeywell Pentax rather than Asahi Pentax, the name by which they were distributed to the rest of the world. The company was renamed Pentax Corporation in 2002. It was one of the world's largest optical companies, producing still cameras, binoculars, and spectacle lenses as well as a variety of other optical instruments. In 2004 Pentax had about 6000 employees.

Merger with Hoya

In December 2006, Pentax started the process of merging with Hoya Corporation to form 'Hoya Pentax HD Corporation'. Hoya's primary goal was to strengthen its medical-related business by taking advantage of Pentax's technologies and expertise in the field of endoscopes, intraocular lenses, surgical loupes, biocompatible ceramics, etc. It was speculated that Pentax's camera business could be sold off after the merger. A stock swap was to be completed by October 1, 2007 but the process was called off on April 11, 2007. Pentax president Fumio Urano resigned over the matter, with Takashi Watanuki taking over as president of Pentax. However, despite Watanuki's previously stated opposition to a Hoya merger, on May 16 it was reported that Pentax had accepted "with conditions" a sweetened offer from Hoya, according to a source familiar with the matter.Pentax was under increasing pressure from its major shareholders, Sparx Asset Management in particular, to accept Hoya's bid.

On August 6, 2007, Hoya completed a friendly public tender offer for Pentax and acquired 90.59% of the company. On August 14, 2007, the company became a consolidated subsidiary of Hoya. On October 29, 2007, Hoya and Pentax announced that Pentax, as the company ceasing to exist, will merge with and into Hoya effective on March 31, 2008.Hoya closed Pentax-owned factory in Tokyo, Japan and moved most of their operations to Southeast Asia. All professional (DA*) and consumer (DA, D-FA) lenses are produced in Vietnam, whereas DLSR cameras are produced in Phillipines.

Prewed Andy & Sherly

History of Canon

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.




1930s - 60s

1933 - 1936 : ‘The Kwanon’, 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.
1961: Canon creates an outstanding Rangefinder camera, the 7, with a 50mm lens with an f/0.95 of apperture. The camera is also decline with a f/1.4 50mm. 1964: ‘Canola 130’, the first Japanese made 10-key calculator is introduced. It was a substantial improvement on the design of the British Bell-Punch company that introduced the first fully electronic calculator two years earlier with the Sumlock Anita Mark 8 unit.
1965: Canon introduce the PELLIX, an SLR camera with a semi-transparent mirror who provide the possibility to take pictures through the mirror. 1969: The company’s name is changed to Canon Inc.

1970s – 00s

1971: The F-1, a top-end SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera, and FD lenses are introduced.
1976: AE-1 launched, the world’s first camera with an embedded micro-computer.
1985: The world’s first Inkjet printer using Bubble Jet technology is introduced.
1987: Introduction of EOS System (Electro optical system). EOS is also the name of a goddess of the dawn. The EOS 650 autofocus SLR camera is introduced and the Canon Foundation is established.
1988: Canon introduces 'Kyosei philosophy'.
1989: The EOS RT is unvealed. This is the world's first AF SLR with a fixed, semi-transparent pellicle mirror .
1992: The EOS 5, the first-ever camera with eye-controlled AF is launched.
1995: Introduces the first commercially available SLR lens with internal image stabilization, the EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM. The EOS-1N RS the world's fastest AF SLR camera with a continuous shooting speed of 10 fps at the time. Based on the EOS-1N, the EOS-1N RS has a fixed, semi-transparent pellicle mirror with a hard coat.
1996: The ELPH (America) IXUS (Europe), a pocket-sized camera with the Advanced Photo System, is introduced.
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 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.

Origins of company name

The name Canon began in 1934 with a prototype for Japan’s first-ever 35 mm camera with a focal plane shutter. It was named 'Kwanon' by Goro Yoshida after the Buddhist bodhisattva Guan Yin.

Digital photography

Nikon created some of the first digital SLRs (DSLRs) as research projects for NASA in 1991. After a late-1990s partnership with Kodak to produce digital SLR cameras based on existing Nikon film bodies, Nikon released the Nikon D1 SLR under its own name in 1999. Although it used an APS-C-size light sensor only 2/3 the size of a 35 mm film frame (later called a "DX sensor"), the D1 was among the first digital cameras to have sufficient image quality and a low enough price for some professionals (particularly photojournalists and sports photographers) to use it as a replacement for a film SLR. The company's Coolpix line became popular with consumers as well, as digital photography became increasingly prevalent through the early 2000s.

Nikon retained a strong professional and enthusiast following with its DSLRs and lenses, especially as it remedied their autofocus performance with its AF-S lens line, while largely maintaining compatibility with older lenses. Still, through the mid-2000s, Nikon remained in second place behind Canon in SLR camera sales, and Canon had several years' lead in producing professional DSLRs with light sensors as large as traditional 35 mm film frames. All Nikon DSLRs from 1999 to 2007, by contrast, used the smaller DX size sensor.

Then, 2005 management changes at Nikon yielded a more aggressive approach to camera design. With the introduction of the full-frame Nikon D3 in late 2007, and the Nikon D700 a few months later -- as well as several new introductory and mid-range SLRs -- Nikon regained much of its reputation among professional and amateur enthusiast photographers as a leading innovator in the field, especially because of the speed, ergonomics, and low-light performance of its latest models.The mid-range Nikon D90, introduced in 2008, was also the first SLR camera to record video