Spread the love
Canon has always found new ways to innovate itself. From optical craftsmanship to the creation of powerful cameras, the company has found ways to improve its performance every other year. It now appears that Canon is keen to reshape how it manufactures its products, one of which will have an impact on the entire industry: automation. Per its latest annual report for 2024, the company aims to have an automated production setup for its imaging division, including cameras and lenses.
Per the report, Canon has shown positive growth in the imaging sector. “The sales of interchangeable lenses also increased due to sales growth in high-value-added cameras, which led to net sales growth in the camera category overall.” This includes the latest launch of Canon EOS R5 II and EOS R1. The company states that they have increased its sales “by 8.8% to 937.4 billion yen” in 2024, in comparison to the 861.6 billion yen in 2023. They also added that the company will “offer a lineup that satisfies both demand for still image photography from professional photographers and camera enthusiasts, and for diverse video recording from social media users.”
However, one of the ways to achieve this is Canon’s automation and in-house production strategy:
Canon aims to achieve further production efficiency by leveraging technologies cultivated in different businesses regardless of divisions and by collaboration among design, production engineering, and manufacturing sites, to refine its automation and in-house production technologies. In addition to key devices and components, we are also actively pursuing in-house production of production equipment and molding dies. Following toner cartridges, we have rolled out automated production lines for cameras and interchangeable lenses to further enhance productivity.
Canon Inc., Annual Report 2024
In other words, Canon is looking to increase production while reducing its costs with automation, which will also help the company produce cameras and lenses in bulk. However, this does not mean human labour will be entirely eradicated. Canon states that they still rely on “master craftsmen and meisters,” who will “contribute to the advancement of manufacturing with their wide-ranging skills and knowledge of mainly assembly and component processing.”
Come to think of it, Canon is doing better when it comes to providing cameras and lenses to millions of buyers around the world. And they are doing so by eliminating any dependency on human labor and third-party machinery manufacturers. It also means Canon will have absolute control over quality, innovation, a better demand and supply chain, and perhaps, find ways to cut costs despite Donald Trump’s tariffs. As they said: “Canon promotes cost reduction initiatives across the Canon Group through in-house production and automation of assembly processes, which integrate the three functions of design, production technology, and manufacturing. Canon will continue to actively take these measures to improve Canon’s gross profit to net sales ratio.”
In addition, Canon may no longer have to depend on other camera manufacturers for its sensors or optical glass — not that they did this very much to begin with. Much of what Canon does is all in-house. Companies like Sony are pushing their technology with the integration of AI, and Canon, too, aims to get there. In addition to automation, they are also going to introduce AI to their imaging lineup, which includes cameras for photographers and security devices.
However, while this plan seems like the ultimate way to get more control over the industry, one must remember that another challenge is also the procurement of materials. Camera manufacturers have been dependent on magnesium, which is now facing a high demand and a low supply. Due to this, Canon is dependent on China for the material, and if they are unable to get that on time, no amount of automation can be helpful. At the same time, it raises concerns about the number of cameras being made today and whether it is even feasible to have a new model launch every year. If you have already purchased the Canon R5, it is very unlikely you will switch to a new model, unless it performs too poorly. However, if Canon can seriously undercut competitors on price points, for instance, by matching the prices of newer cameras with those of five-year-old models, then they can truly have an upper hand.
