|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| History |
|
|
| Surpasses West Germany to Become the World's No. 1 Camera Giant |
|
| Successful technological innovation after World War II enabled the Japanese precision instruments industry, such as those in the camera, watch and clock sectors, to leap to a top position in the world in next to no time. In the case of cameras, demand triggered by the Korean War, grew among the occupation forces on the one hand, while domestic demand also expanded. While there were 50 camera manufacturers in 1950, it had doubled to nearly 100 companies by 1953. Small enterprises eventually disappeared during the recession that followed after the end of the Korean War, but in the meantime, a camera boom had arrived in Japan through the launch of RICOHFLEX III by Riken Optical Co., Ltd. The camera captured a position as a consumer durable with mass appeal. As cameras were changing from a luxury item to a consumer item for the masses, manufacturers switched from small-lot production, which was dependent on skilled labor, to mass production methods based on mechanization and automation, thus enhancing the industry's international competitiveness. The results of such efforts blossomed during the period of high growth that began in the 1960s. |
|
 |
|
| In the 1950s, Japanese cameras were sold on the export market at about half the price of West German cameras, which had the world's top share at the time. Japanese cameras were purchased as a cheaper alternative. However, the functional performance of Japanese cameras was enhanced in the 1960s. In 1964, Japan surpassed West Germany in the total value of camera exports, and in 1967, also in the volume of camera exports, rising to a position of No. 1 in the world. |
|
| Canon Makes Dramatic Leaps Forward through a Single-lens Reflex Camera Loaded with a Microcomputer |
|
| In the 1970s, the adoption of electronic engineering led to the automation, weight trimming and price-reduction of cameras, resulting in a reorganization of the camera industry. One of the triggers was the marketing of AE-1, a single-lens reflex camera launched by Canon in 1976. For the first time in the world, a microcomputer was installed in a camera to enable autoexposure. The manufacturing of this model also introduced electronically controlled equipment that brought about dramatic automation and a major reduction in the number of workers involved. With the appearance of the AE-1 on the market, other camera manufacturers successively launched new cameras with electronically-controlled functions, and competition intensified. Asahi Optical Co., Ltd., (PENTAX) which had held a superior position in the single-lens reflex camera market until the mid-1970s, as well as Nippon Kogaku K.K. (Nikon), manufacturer of luxury cameras, lost ground while Canon and Olympus continued to grow. Financial difficulties surfaced at those camera manufacturers that did not respond to technological innovation quickly enough. Miranda Camera Co., a foreign affiliate, failed in 1975, followed by the collapse of Petri Camera Co., Inc. in 1977. In 1983, Yashica Co., Ltd. turned to Kyocera Corporation for help which resulted in a merger by absorption. Mamiya Camera Co., Ltd. failed as a backwash of the bankruptcy of J. Osawa & Co., Ltd. and was absorbed by Olympic Co., Ltd. in 1993, and it became Mamiya-OP Co., Ltd. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
