Melville, NY—Canon USA announced that its parent company, Canon Inc., reached two major Canon milestones. They are the cumulative production of 110 million EOS interchangeable-lens cameras in March (film/digital) as well as the cumulative total of 160 million RF/EF interchangeable lenses in May.
An EOS R6 Mark II camera (released December 2022) was the 110 millionth EOS series camera produced. Moreover, an RF100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM lens (released July 2021) became the company’s 160 millionth interchangeable lens produced.
Canon Milestones
Furthermore, EOS, or Electro Optical System, is also the name of the Greek goddess of the dawn. The Canon EOS system debuted alongside EF interchangeable lenses in March 1987. They boasted the first fully electronic mount system for silver halide film AF SLR cameras.
Since then, Canon has continued to launch a range of products, including the professional-model EOS-1D camera series and the EOS 5D camera series. What’s more, both paved the way for digital SLR video recording.
“Canon’s desire to further expand the boundaries of visual expression led to its next-generation EOS R camera system, launched in October 2018. By striving to expand its lineup of attractive products to meet a diverse range of needs, the Canon EOS camera series has gained and maintained the support of many users over the years,” the company announced.
In addition, Canon’s proprietary EF lenses, launched in March 1987 along with the EOS SLR camera system, have continued to evolve. Among their technologies are the ultrasonic motor (USM), image stabilizer (IS) technology, as well as a multilayered diffractive optical (DO) element.
The RF lens—which leverages a large aperture and short-back focus, along with the EOS R format’s high-speed signal transmission system, launched in 2018. With that addition, Canon’s range of lenses includes a total of 115 models.
The EOS Camera Series
The EOS camera series, a new generation of AF SLR cameras that adopted an electronic mount system and achieved full electronic control of the entire system, launched with the EOS 650 in March 1987.
As silver halide cameras boomed, Canon launched several models covering a range of user needs. They included the pro-level EOS-1 camera in Japan in 1989 and the compact EOS Kiss (Rebel XS or EOS 500 in other regions) in Japan in 1993.
Then in 2003, during the early years of the digital camera, Canon released in Japan the EOS Kiss digital camera (EOS Digital Rebel or EOS 300D digital camera). The entry-level digital SLR realized a compact, lightweight body at an affordable price. The later release of the EOS-1D camera series for professionals and the EOS 5D series helped popularize video capture using SLRs.
Furthermore, in October 2018, Canon launched the EOS R mirrorless camera system with the EOS R. In July 2020, the EOS R5 became the first camera to feature 8K video recording. Moreover, the EOS R3 in November 2021 featured tracking of fast-moving subjects and continuous shooting performance.
In addition, Canon launched the EOS VR system, to record video for virtual reality content, in December 2021.
