Canon Celebrates Significant Milestone With Production Of 120 Million EF Lenses

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Canon Celebrates Significant Milestone With Production Of 120 Million EF Lenses

MELVILLE, N.Y., Sept. 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, announced today that its parent company, Canon Inc., reached a new lens-manufacturing milestone with the production on August 26, 2016 of the Company's 120-millionth EF-series interchangeable lens for EOS cameras--an EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM telephoto zoom lens.

http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnvar/20160119/323578LOGO

Production of interchangeable EF lenses for Canon EOS-series AF (Autofocus) single-lens reflex film cameras began in 1987 at the Company's Utsunomiya Plant. Over the years, EF lenses have gained support from a wide range of users and production has since expanded to a total of four manufacturing bases, including Canon Inc., Taiwan; Canon Opto (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.; and Oita Canon Inc. in southern Japan.

EF lens production passed the 10-million-unit mark in 1995 and crossed the 50-million-unit threshold in 2009. In April 2014, the Company celebrated its first-in-the-world achievement of having manufactured 100 million EF lenses, and now, setting a new world record for the most interchangeable lenses produced, Canon manufactured its 120-millionth EF lens in August 2016. In addition, Canon's interchangeable-lens digital cameras (digital SLR and compact-system cameras), which utilize EF lenses, have maintained the No. 1 share of the global market for 13 consecutive years since 2003.(*)

Canon's proprietary EF lenses, launched in March 1987 along with the EOS SLR camera system, have continued to evolve since their introduction, leading the industry through the incorporation of a wide range of innovative technologies, including such world's firsts as the Ultrasonic Motor (USM), Image Stabilizer (IS) technology, a multilayered diffractive optical (DO) element, and Subwavelength Structure Coating (SWC) anti-reflection technology. The Company's extensive EF lens-series lineup currently comprises a total of 97 models,(**) including EF Cinema Lenses for digital cinematography.(***)

Canon will continue refining its imaging technologies centered on its EF lens lineup, striving to cater to the varying needs of photographers--from first-time users to advanced amateurs and professionals--while contributing to expanding the photographic and video imaging culture.

(*) As of March 29, 2016, based on a Canon survey.
(**) Including two EF lens extenders and three models available outside of Japan. As of September 7, 2016.
(***) For more information visit "The Eyes of EOS" Canon EF lens portal site at http://www.canon.com/the-eyes-of-eos/

Canon EF Lenses Equipped with World's-first Technologies

                                 Model name      Main features and technologies      Launch date
                                 ----------      ------------------------------      -----------

    EF300mm f/2.8L USM(1)                   World's first(2) use of a lens-based
                                            Ultrasonic Motor (USM)                   Nov. 1987
    ---------------------                                                            ---------

    USM technology
     delivers fast
     autofocusing
     thanks to its
     high torque
     and
     responsiveness.
     By converting
     ultrasonic
     vibrations
     into
     rotational
     energy, the
     technology
     makes possible
     quiet, smooth
     AF drive
     performance.
    ----------------

    EF75-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM(3)            World's first(2) use of Image Stabilizer
                                            (IS) technology                          Sep. 1995
    ----------------------------                                                     ---------

    Users can see
     the results of
     IS technology
     through the
     viewfinder.
     Delivering
     high precision
     and stability
     for
     outstanding
     image
     stabilization
     results, this
     technology
     expands the
     possibilities
     for handheld
     photography.
    ---------------

    EF400mm f/4 DO IS USM4                  World's first(2) use of a diffractive
                                            optical (DO) lens element                Dec. 2001
    ----------------------                                                           ---------

    Diffraction is
     an optical
     phenomenon in
     which light
     waves bend as
     they pass
     around the
     edges of an
     object. DO
     lens elements
     use this
     phenomenon to
     correct for a
     variety of
     aberrations by
     controlling
     the path that
     light travels.
    ---------------

    EF24mm f/1.4L II USM                    World's first5 use of Subwavelength
                                            Structure Coating (SWC)                  Dec. 2008
    --------------------                                                             ---------

    SWC technology
     helps minimize
     reflections by
     aligning
     countless
     wedge-shaped
     structures
     more minute
     than the
     wavelength of
     visible light
     on the surface
     of a camera
     lens.
    ---------------

    EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM             World's first(2) use of Hybrid IS, which
                                            helps compensate for both angle camera
                                            shake and shift camera shake             Oct. 2009
    ---------------------------                                                      ---------

    Employing a
     newly
     developed
     algorithm,
     Hybrid IS
     optimally
     adjusts for
     camera shake
     based on
     information
     gathered by
     two sensors
     located in the
     lens. By
     precisely
     driving the
     optical
     correction
     system, the
     technology
     simultaneously
     corrects for
     angle and
     shift camera
     shake.
    ---------------

    EF8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM               World's first(2) fisheye lens to deliver
                                            both 180-degree diagonal angle of view
                                            and 180-degree circular fisheye          Jul. 2011
    -------------------------                                                        ---------

    The EF8-15mm f/
     4L Fisheye USM
     enables the
     capture of
     images with
     dramatic
     deformations,
     exaggerated
     perspectives
     and extreme
     depths of
     field, making
     possible
     images that
     are
     significantly
     distorted,
     similar to
     what a fish
     might see were
     it to look
     skyward from
     under the
     water surface.
    ---------------

    EF200-400mm f/4L IS USM                 World's first(2) super-telephoto zoom
                                            lens to employ an internal extender      May 2013
    Extender 1.4x
    -------------

    Featuring a
     built-in 1.4x
     extender, the
     EF200-400mm
     f/4L IS USM
     Extender
     1.4x's zoom
     range can be
     expanded with
     a simple one-
     touch
     operation even
     in locations
     where users
     are unable to
     switch lenses.
    ---------------

    EF11-24mm f/4L USM                      World's first(2) lens offering ultra-
                                            wide-angle 11 mm minimum focal length    Feb. 2015
    ------------------                                                               ---------

    In addition to
     achieving the
     world's widest
     angle of view
     starting at a
     minimum focal
     length of
     11mm, the
     EF11-24mm f/
     4L USM
     effectively
     corrects for
     aberrations
     commonly
     associated
     with ultra-
     wide-angle
     lenses,
     delivering
     superior
     image-quality
     performance.
    ---------------

    1              As of September 7, 2016, production for
                   this lens has already been discontinued.
                   Successor: EF300mm f/2.8L IS II USM
                   (launched in August 2011).

    2             Among interchangeable SLR camera lenses.

    3              As of September 7, 2016, production for
                   this lens has already been discontinued.
                   Successor: EF70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
                   (launched in September 2005).

    4              As of September 7, 2016, production for
                   this lens has already been discontinued.
                   Successor: EF400 f/4 DO IS II USM
                   (launched in November 2014).

    5             Among photography lenses.

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 (excluding Mexico) markets. With approximately $31 billion in global revenue, its parent company, Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ), ranks third overall in U.S. patents granted in 2015** and is one of Fortune Magazine's World's Most Admired Companies in 2016. Canon U.S.A. is committed to the highest level of customer satisfaction and loyalty, providing 100 percent U.S.-based consumer service and support for all of the products it distributes. 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 http://www.usa.canon.com/rss and follow us on Twitter @CanonUSA. For media inquiries, please contact pr@cusa.canon.com.

**Based on weekly patent counts issued by United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Canon U.S.A. website:
http://www.usa.canon.com

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

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160119/323578LOGO

SOURCE  Canon U.S.A., Inc.

Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160119/323578LOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160119/323578LOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Canon U.S.A., Inc.

CONTACT: Rob Luckett, Canon U.S.A., Inc.,  631-330-5205, rluckett@cusa.canon.com; Leigh Nofi, Canon U.S.A., Inc., 631-330-3783, lnofi@cusa.canon.com

Web Site: http://www.usa.canon.com

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