Ronkonkoma, NY—Sigma Corporation of America announced the passing of Sigma Corporation’s founder and CEO, Michihiro Yamaki, who died of liver cancer in Tokyo, Japan, on January 18. He was 78.
“We are deeply saddened by this loss,” said Mark Amir-Hamzeh, president of Sigma Corporation of America. “Mr. Yamaki was an industry visionary, and his leadership and enthusiasm has been the driving force behind our company’s innovation for more than 50 years. We’re sending our deepest condolences to the Yamaki family, and our entire Sigma family around the world, during this very difficult time.”
Yamaki founded Sigma Corporation on September 9, 1961 with the development of the first-ever rear-attached lens converter. At that time, most photo enthusiasts believed that a lens converter could only be attached to the front of a camera lens, but the 27-year-old optical engineer reinvented conventional optical theory. Sigma Corporation celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2011 with Yamaki still at the company’s helm.
Throughout his years in the photo industry, Yamaki was focused on producing high-quality, high-performance photographic technology at moderate prices. His goal for the company was always to make outstanding image quality accessible to all photographers. To this end, he grew the family-owned organization into a leading researcher, developer, manufacturer and service provider of lenses, cameras and flashes. The company is now known as the largest independent SLR lens manufacturer in the world, producing more than 50 current lenses that are compatible with most manufacturers, including Sigma, Canon, Sony, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax and Sony.
In 2008, under Yamaki’s direction, Sigma Corp. purchased Foveon, a California-based company that developed the X3 image sensor technology. This patented, three-layer image sensor captures all primary RGB colors at each pixel location arranged in three layers to deliver high-resolution, high-definition images with three-dimensional detail. Last year, the company announced the arrival of its SD1, a 46 megapixel direct image sensor camera that offers more megapixels than any other DSLR currently on the market. Sigma continued its theme of addressing gaps in the industry and the needs of photographers by kicking off 2012 with the launch of its new Digital Neo (DN) line of lenses for Micro Four Thirds and E-mount camera systems.
In addition to his inventions and photographic foresight, Michihiro Yamaki made many other contributions to the industry. He served organizations such as the Japan Photographic Enterprises Association, Japan Machinery Design Center, Japan Optomechatronics Association, Photographic Society of Japan, and Japan Camera Industry Institute. He was honored with the Person of the Year award from the PhotoImaging Manufacturers and Distributors Association (PMDA), the Hall of Fame award from the International Photographic Council (IPC) and the Golden Photokina Pin for his longtime contribution to the imaging industry. sigmaphoto.com
