Now what I am talking about is a company that manufactures user-friendly products! Canon the camera making company that now gives varied other products and services to the world such as printers, inks and fax machines and copiers!

Canon’s Roots

Canon’s roots were laid in 1933 with very few employees as a precision optical instruments lab. The Laboratory was founded in 1933 in a third-floor apartment of the Takekawaya Building in Roppongi, Azabu Ward, Tokyo. Its objective was to produce high-grade cameras.

A young man named Goro Yoshida, a passionate camera-lover; and his brother-in-law, Saburo Uchida, set up the Laboratory jointly. Their aim was to make cameras that could compete with the German models that were considered the most advanced of the day.

They started by analyzing existing cameras, which were difficult to obtain. Systematically, they studied each camera’s internal workings, examined mechanisms, drew up design diagrams and procured parts. Takeshi Mitarai, a close friend of Uchida provided the funds required for the research. Mitarai later became president of the company and built its foundation.

It then went on to become a renowned camera making company. When it grew and decided to diversify its business plans it had to shed its image of a company that manufactured only cameras, therefore the top brass of the company decided to take on the name Canon Inc in 1969. The year1969 was also the year that canon forayed into business machines and eventually into the printing business.

Product Chronology

To go through a brief chronology of Canon’s printing and copying history – Canon successfully developed the laser beam printer in 1975. In 1982, the PC-10 and PC-20, the world’s first personal copying machines with replaceable cartridges, were introduced. Canon, in collaboration with IBM Japan, Ltd., developed the world’s first notebook PC with an installed printer in 1993.

Bubble Jet Discovery

One of canon’s most interesting discoveries in the field of printing technology was the bubble jet printing technology. Researchers while working on the inkjet printing technology hit upon the discovery when a hot solder gun accidentally touched the tip of an ink-filled needle due to which ink sprayed out! Therefore, the researchers concluded that heat instead of pressure could be used to eject the ink on the media.
The development of this technology gave the world it’s first bubblejet printer in 1981.

Laser Beam Printing

Another important technology in the field of printing by Canon was the development of laser beam printers (LBP). It started research on laser as a means of writing as early as 1962. However it was unable to develop a practical laser source and hence could not acquire the patents it had applied for due to which the research and development was suspended.

In the 1970s when lasers came into practical application fields Canon resumed its research on laser beam printers and developed the LBP’s of today combining their electro photographic technologies with laser technology.

The development of lasers imprinting also gave birth to a number of high-speed copy machines by Canon such as The NP-8500, the world’s first retention-type copying machine in 1978.

The NP-8500 SUPER, an ultrahigh speed-copying machine capable of producing 135 copies per minute 1981; and the PC-10 and PC-20, the world’s first personal copying machines with replaceable cartridges were introduced by Canon in 1982.

In 1984 Canon gave the world its LBP-8/CX, the smallest and lightest laser beam printer.

Today Canon develops technology that couples direct printing options from Cell phones equipped with a digital camera, hence integrating printing technology with photography! One such latest technology is the direct wireless printing from a camera! The printing is achieved using infrared and Bluetooth communication technology embedded in the cell phones or PCs. Being wireless no cables are required, and the image quality parallels that of printouts from PCs using memory cards.

One important feature Canon uses to achieve real true to life image quality on paper is:

Color reproduction: The color range of digital cameras (YCC) is much wider, making it possible to capture a vast amount of color information when shooting. To achieve similar quality Canon added red ink and green ink, which offers high brightness and chromaticity, to the six existing inks in their inkjet printers, raising the saturation of the red and green output range by 1.6 times and 1.2 times respectively. The result is photo image output with improved depth and translucence, and color reproduction comparable to that of prints from photo film.

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The VIXIA HF200 delivers brilliant video and still photos through a Canon exclusive 3.89-megapixel CMOS image sensor and the latest version of our advanced image processor, DIGIC DV III. It is ultra lightweight – our smallest and lightest HD camcorder, and brings the ease and convenience of Flash Memory. This technology, the same used in advanced laptop computers, MP3 players, PDAs and cell phones, allows the VIXIA HF200 to record up to 6 hours of crisp, high definition video (LP Mode) to a removable SDHC card. You have extended available recording space and more flexibility in file transfer and playback.

Canon VIXIA HF200 camcorder highlights
What’s more, the VIXIA HF200 allows you to record at up to 24Mbps, the highest bitrate in AVCHD format, for the highest quality image. The VIXIA HF200’s Canon Exclusive features – such as the Genuine Canon 15x HD video lens, Genuine Canon Face Detection capability, SuperRange Optical Image Stabilization and a host of new control and creative options – makes our Flash Memory camcorder unmistakably Canon.

Visit here to check price and detail about New Canon VIXIA HF200 HD Flash Memory Camcorder

Indeed, one of the best ways to capture your memories forever is thru photos and what better to do it than with a Sony digital camera. Photos are used to remember or when we reminisce of the wonderful times of our lives. And only vivid and detailed photos can help us bring back all those memories. And quality photos are exactly what a Sony digital camera offers to its consumers.

Equipped with the best optics and imaging technology available, the Sony digital camera line ensures its consumers that a Sony digital camera will only capture more detail, more color and more brightness imaginable.

Every Sony digital camera has an exclusive Sony technology that enhances photo capturing experience. Armed with the Real Imaging Processor (RIMP), any Sony digital camera allows high digital processing that reduces picture noise and delivers smoother and more detailed images. The RIMP is an intelligent Sony digital camera technology that allows faster shooting time, swifter burst shooting and almost simultaneous processing of your images (enables immediate display of your image) for your Sony digital camera.

All Sony digital cameras are furnished with Carl Zeiss lens. Carl Zeiss lenses are world renowned for their quality brilliance, outstanding accuracy of colors and enhanced definition with almost zero distortion. With a Carl Zeiss lens, flawless imaging is truly embracing perfection with a Sony digital camera.

Sony has its own Cyber-shot line of digital camera for all photo fanatics out there. One of the lower ends of their Cyber-shot series of the Sony digital camera is the DSC-L1. The L1is a 4.1 mega pixel camera with a 3x optical zoom and plays MPEG Movie Vx. It is also supplied with a Vario Tessar lens from the Carl Zeiss line.

A higher version of the L1 is the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P200. Almost same in all respect with the L1 expect this baby is a 7.2 mega pixel Sony digital camera.

For those who are serious in their craft, the right Sony digital camera for you id the Cyber-shot DSC-F828. Designed for professional photographers, the F828 has a 28-200mm equivalent of a Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar lens, which makes it excellent for action and low-light shots. An 6 mega pixel Sony digital camera, it is outfitted with 7x optical zoom and a 1.8 inch LCD screen where you can review the pictures that you just took. The DSC F828 has a four color system that includes RGB+emrald colors and enables night shot/night framing system. The F828 even allows manual exposure, zoom and manual focus controls for your customization needs.

For the younger and trendier generation, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-M1 is the right Sony digital camera for you. The M1 is a digital camera and a camcorder in one. It can record either up to five seconds MPEG 4 playback or unlimited video recording, depending on your preferred setting. Shooting with 30 frames per second, it is 5.1 mega pixel camera with a 640 x 480 maximum pixel resolution. It has 3x optical zoom and 2x digital zoom.

Very lightweight at only 6.5 oz. the M1 is very portable and is only 2×1.1×4.5 inches (dimensions). A USB 2.0 compatible and with PictBridge support, the M1 makes file transferring from your Sony digital camera to your computer as easy as taking pictures.

Available with accessories such as wrist strap, docking station and a 32MB memory Stick Duo, the M1 comes with an expansion slot that lets you upgrade up to 512MB of memory for further picture taking or video playback. It even has a built in features such as stereo surround, built-in mic and a 2.5inch TFT active matrix LCD display.

Check out Sony’s website at www.sony.com to look for other available Sony digital camera models that will fit you and your lifestyle.