Entering the 8mm Film Cinecamera Field

Canon's first 8mm film cinecamera the "Canon Cine 8T," was introduced in November l956. The development of the cinecamera began in 1955 based on the knowledge acquired during the 1953 observation tour by President Mitarai to the United States and Europe to survey the camera markets in these countries. During this tour, Mitarai discovered that the "Kodak Brownie," an 8mm film cinecamera of the Eastman Kodak was enjoying great popularity.

Canon obtained some used cinecameras left behind by the Allied Occupation Forces as well as the products of leading cinecamera manufacturers abroad and studied the film drive and exposure mechanisms through repeated disassembly and testing. Special emphasis was placed on the viewfinder technology. Since the 8mm film cinecamera was required to reproduce the image of subject in the exactly same format as shown in the viewfinder, it was necessary to use the "Porro prism" system, in which two or three right angle prisms were combined with the variable magnification viewfinder mechanism of the "IV Sb." With this innovation, Canon succeeded in developing a revolutionary viewfinder that was bright and clear, and produced a real image.