Birth of the Canon Camera Co., Inc.

The Precision Optical Industry Co., Ltd. after having been restored, introduced the "S II" camera, which combined the viewfinder and coupled rangefinder into a single window in October 1946. In April 1949, the "II B" camera featuring a three-mode optical viewfinder was marketed. These two models contributed to consolidating the solid post-war foundation of the company.

The Precision Optical Industry Co., Ltd., changed its name to Canon Camera Co., Ltd., on September 15, 1947. The decision was made to respond to the comments by camera-loving personnel in the Occupation Forces that it was very confusing to identify Canon for cameras, Serenar for lenses, and Precision Optical Industry Co., Ltd. for the manufacturer of these products. After the change of corporate name, the single unified company name, "Canon" was used for the trademarks of cameras and lenses. This meant the rebirth of the camera manufacturer with the worldwide market in view.

President Mitarai made a trip to the United States in August 1950, three years after the change of corporate name, to observe the international trade fair and the trends in the camera market, as well as to look for the opportunities to establish a sales network in the United States. He visited the Bell and Howell Company, seeking their cooperation in Canon's sales in the United States. Unfortunately, his request was turned down because Canon cameras would not be accepted in the US market, no matter how good the cameras were, as long as they were made in Japan. The second reason for the rejection was that Canon's factories were all wooden buildings that could easily catch fire.

President Mitarai immediately decided to build a new factory by purchasing the plant site of the former Fuji Aviation Instruments Co., Ltd., located in Shimomaruko, Ohta Ward in Tokyo. It was June 1951 when a new factory building was completed, made of non-inflammable materials and with the most modern facilities.

Successive Release of Rangefinder Cameras

In 1951, the company introduced the "Serenar 50mm f/1.8" lens, which was accepted as a masterpiece lens. The lens was designed on the optical theory developed by an engineer, Hiroshi Ito. His theory has been applied to development of many innovative Canon lenses in the succeeding years.

The first half of the 1950s was the years in which many new cameras were released one after another. These include the "III" camera equipped with a fast shutter speed of 1/1000 second, the first in Japan, and the "IV" camera that had a flash rail that enabled using a flash unit directly connected to the camera without a cable. Especially significant during these days was the “IV Sb2” camera, an improved model of "IV Sb" which was released in March 1954. This camera gained 1/15 second shutter speed by the use of a slow governor having the dual-escapement mechanism, and the shutter speed were set in two-fold increments. The "IV Sb2" camera was highly evaluated as being a masterpiece equal to the Leica.