Olympus Corporation
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| Olympus Corporation オリンパス株式会社 |
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| Type | Corporation TYO: 7733 |
| Founded | 1919 |
| Founder | Takeshi Yamashita[1] |
| Headquarters | Tokyo, Japan |
| Key people | Tsuyoshi Kikukawa, Representative Director & President |
| Industry | Imaging |
| Products | Precision machineries and instruments, Cameras, Voice recorders, Medical endoscopes and other medical devices |
| Revenue | ▲ 813 billion Yen (Fiscal year ended March 2005) |
| Employees | 2,907 (as of April 1, 2005; non-consolidated Olympus Corp. only) |
| Website | Olympus Global |
Olympus Corporation (オリンパス株式会社 Orinpasu Kabushiki-gaisha?) (TYO: 7733) is a Japanese company specializing in optics and imaging. Olympus was established on October 12, 1919, initially specialized in microscope and thermometer businesses[2]. It is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, while its United States' operations are based in Center Valley, Pennsylvania, and European operations are based in Hamburg, Germany.
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[edit] Company name
The company is named after Mount Olympus, the home of the gods in Greek mythology[1].
Since its foundation in 1919, the company has gone through a few name changes. Below is a table of the corporate names by which Olympus was known since it was founded[1].
| Date | Notes |
|---|---|
| October 12, 1919 | Established as Takachiho Seisakusho |
| May 28, 1942 | Renamed Takachiho Optical Co., Ltd |
| January 1, 1949 | Renamed Olympus Optical Co., Ltd |
| October 1, 2003 | Renamed Olympus Corporation |
[edit] Products
Olympus has a long history in camera and lens design. In 1936, Olympus introduced its first camera, the Semi-Olympus I. The first truly innovative camera series from Olympus was the PEN models, launched in 1959. Half-frame format, allowing 72 pictures of 18 × 24 mm format on a standard 36 exposure roll of film, made PEN cameras compact and portable for their time.
The PEN system design team, led by Yoshihisa Maitani, later created the OM system, a full frame professional 35 mm SLR system designed to compete with Nikon and Canon's bestsellers. The OM system introduced a new trend towards more compact cameras and lenses, being much smaller than its competitors and presenting innovative design features such as through-the-lens flash automation. Eventually the system included 14 different bodies and approximately 60 Zuiko-branded lenses.
However, Olympus did not move into the autofocus market in the way their competitors did, ultimately leading to their decline as a maker of professional film camera systems[citation needed].
The company is a leading manufacturer of digital cameras, with a large range of compact digital cameras. Olympus is the designer of the Four Thirds System standard for Digital single-lens reflex camera design and development. Since 2003, Olympus has introduced eight E-system cameras. The Olympus E-410 and E-510 were among the first consumer-grade digital SLRs to feature live preview.
In 1983, Olympus, along with Canon, branded a range of video recording equipment manufactured by JVC[citation needed], and called it "Olympus Video Photography", even employing renowned photographer Terance Donovan to promote the range[citation needed]. A second version of the system was available the year after, but this was Olympus' last foray into the world of consumer video equipment until digital cameras became popular[citation needed].
Since the beginning, the company has also been a manufacturer of microscopes and optics for specialised needs, such as medical use. The first microscope manufactured at Olympus was called the Asahi[3]. Nowadays Olympus is a world-wide renowned manufacturer of microscopes. Olympus offers a complete range of microscopes, which covers applications from education and routine studies up to state of the art research imaging systems both in life science and materials science.
Olympus also invented the Microcassette[citation needed]. The Olympus Pearlcorder L400, released in the 1980s, was the smallest and lightest Microcassette Voice recorder ever offered for sale, 2.9 in. (L) x 0.8 in. (H) x 2.0 in. (W) / 73 mm (L) x 20 mm (H) x 52 mm (W) 3.2 oz[4].
[edit] Olympus Diagnostics
Olympus also manufactures and provides client support for its fully automated random access automated analysers for clinical chemistry, immuno chemistry, and blood grouping. Two prominent clinical chemistry analyzers are models AU400 and AU640. These analyzers are used in medical laboratories by medical technologists. Other Olympus products used in the clinical laboratory are microscopes utilized by the microbiology and hematology departments. Many Olympus imaging products are used in hospital endoscopy departments.
[edit] See also
- List of digital camera brands
- List of Olympus products
- Four Thirds System
- xD-Picture Card and SmartMedia
[edit] Notes and references
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2007) |
- ^ a b c Olympus History: Origin of Our Name. Retrieved on 2007-01-16.
- ^ History of Olympus: Founding. Retrieved on 2007-01-16.
- ^ Olympus History: The Asahi Microscope. Olympus Corporation. Retrieved on 2007-02-21.
- ^ Thomas, Ralph D. (2006). Ultra Compact Pearlcorder L400 Micro, 1980's. Thomas Investigative Publications, Inc. Retrieved on 2007-03-03.
[edit] External links
- Olympus Global Official Web Site.
- Olympus Corporation at the Open Directory Project
- Olympus at Camerapedia.org
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