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Canon Celebrates 30 Years of the Mighty EOS System

- 8 years ago

Today marks the 30th anniversary of Canon’s phenomenal EOS System

The EOS System made its first appearance on 1st March 1987 with the launch of the EOS 650 SLR camera and EF lenses

The EOS system came to life in 87′ after Canon announced its aim to develop a refined AF SLR model and moved away from its FD system to create the world’s first fully electronic mount system. This was at the time when visiting your local pharmacy or high street photo store [remember when they were on every high street?] to develop your camera film was the norm.

‘A total of 98 EOS models have been produced since 1987 (35 film cameras and 63 digital)’

Thirty years on and the world has changed immeasurably, but the EOS system remains a principal in the world of photography and filmmaking, and technology featured in the EOS system has served to inspire and facilitate huge shifts in the way people take photos and shoot video.

‘The EOS 5D Mark II was a camera that basically changed everything and introduced a brand new sector, introducing the convergence of photography and filmmaking  and making it accessible for anyone’

Since the launch in 1987, the EOS range has introduced the first affordable consumer DSLR camera, the EOS 300D, which demonstrated the pathway for digital photography in 2003. Five years on, in 2008, the EOS 5D Mark II basically revolutionised filmmaking by offering Full HD movie recording on a DSLR for the first time. This was a camera that basically changed everything and introduced a brand new sector, introducing the convergence of photography and filmmaking and making it accessible for anyone.

‘EOS is an acronym of “Electro Optical System” and is also fittingly the name of the Greek goddess of dawn’

The EOS System now incorporates the Cinema EOS System and comprises of 24 cameras with a huge selection of 97 EF lens models, making it one of the most recognised systems, globally.

’80 million EOS cameras have been produced (as of November 2015) and 120 million EF lenses have been produced (as of August 2016)’

To mark this significant anniversary, Canon is displaying a range of cameras and lenses from the EOS archive on its stand at The Photography Show, including the EOS 650 and the EF 1200mm f/5.6L USM, the longest focal length and largest aperture lens in the world!

Canon’s groundbreaking EOS 650

You can visit Canon at the show, on stand D141/E131 between the 18th to the 21st March at the NEC, Birmingham.  

About the author

Read Canon Celebrates 30 Years of the Mighty EOS System

Simon Skinner

Co-founder // Editor

Having spent many years working in various pockets of the music industry, and always with a camera in hand, Simon has worked with organisations such as Warner/Chappell, Food Records and ultimately, co-founding the innovative independent record label, Izumi Records before moving fully into the world of publishing in 2007. Amongst numerous other projects in the last decade, he has been responsible for a number of specialist photo trade magazines and journals for the filmmaking and photography communities, along with a coffee table book entitled, "Great Britons of Photography' which he produced with Peter Dench and Leica. Now heading up PhotoBite, Simon and the team have set themselves a task of delivering informative and inspirational content for photographers of all levels, from the beginner, shooting with smartphones, to the seasoned photographer and filmmaker.