Kwanon
In 1933 Goro Yoshida and Saburo Ushida started Seiki Kogaku Kenkujo, company we now know as Canon. They set otu to produce the first 35mm camera made in japan[1]. The early models were known as Kwanon and are not attested after WWII but for magazine ads. They may never have left prototype level and were never marketed by Seiki Kogaku. One notable example survives in Canon's camera collection in Tokyo. A good source on Canon Rangefinders is Peter Decherts book, Canon rangefinder cameras 1933-1968, as you will note from the references.
Contents
Kwanon Model A
Kwanon Model B
Kwanon Model C
Kwanon Model D
Kwanon Model X
The Kwanon-X is the earliest surviving Canon camera and may have been produced as early as 1933. This Leica II-inspired camera was not very well made and was sold in 1937. Canon bought it back from a consumer on an Osaka Trade show in the late 1950's[2]. This may be the last surviving example of a series of cameras made between 1937and 1940 or it may be a prototype only. It has a KasyaPa 5cm lens with a maximum aperture of f/3.5.
