Communicating through the language of photography

Press, 15 July 1976, Page 22

Communicating through the language of photography

Photographic images are everywhere — on posters and billboards, in magazines, newspapers, and books, and on television and film screens. A day does not pass without photography affecting us in some way. Millions of people around the world now own cameras. They use them not only to record their daily lives but also express their ideas and emotions. Regardless of economic level of ethnic group, people from different countries can speak to each other through the language of photography. In 1935, Canon took the lead by producing the first Japanese 35mm camera with a focal-plane shutter. Then in 1956, they manufactured an Bmm movie camera. Now they produce scores of 35mm still, 8 and 16mm movie cameras. In fact, Canon probably makes more different types of cameras than any other manufacturer in the world. And for a very good reason — there are so many different types of people interested in photography. They range all the ■way from the complete novice who has never taken a picture before, to the seasoned pro .who takes hundreds of photographs each day. A camera for the inexperienced person nas to be simple and foolproof to use. One designed for advanced amateur and professional use must be rugged, reliable, extremely versatile, and offer complete control over every aspect of its operation Canon has two distinct

lines of 35mm still cameras to fulfill both needs. The single-lens-reflex line, including the Canon F-l, FTb, EF, TX, and EX Auto, is designed for the more advanced photographers. An SLR offers the advantages of interchangeable lenses through-the-lens viewing, focusing, and exposure measurements. Two models, the new EF and the budgetpriced E XAuto, offer convenient automatic exposure control. The F-l system, with more than 40 lenses and 200 accessories, is the crowning achievement of over five years of rel- - and development — research into the wants and needs of professional photographers and development of a system to meet these needs. All parts of the system were designed simultaneously to fit and work together perfectly. When the accessory Servo EE finder and the motor drive unit are attached to the F-L motor driven, through-the-lens, automatic exposure photography becomes possible. This is a world first. W'ith the aid of computers, a superb new group of interchangeable lenses, the FD, FL super telephoto, and “special effects” manual series, was developed at the same time. Ranging from a 7.5 mm fish-eye which takes a full 180 degrees to a 1200 mm super telephoto with a two degree angle of view, there is a lens for any purpose. The FD 55mm f/1.2 Aspherical contains a Canon-produced aspherical element which virtually eliminated spherical aberration at maximum aperture. Three fluorite telephoto lenses each contain one or shore fluorite elements to

compensate for chromatic aberration. Canon was the first company in the world to succeed in growing large-sized fluorite crystals. The series also includes a unique TS 35mm f/2,8 lens which

can be tilted and shifted to control both perspective distortion and depth-of-field. Most lenses are coated by multiple layers of Canon’s exclusive process , “super spectra coating.”