It's not that long ago since we had the 40 millionth lens (2008), then at the beginning of this year we had 50 million lenses and now, it's the production of 40 millionth EOS Series SLR camera.

So that's an average of  1.73million cameras per year for the last 23 years (the EOS range was launched in 1987). However, that's not the whole story. The First 10 million took 10 years (1997), the next 10 million took 6 years (2003), the following 10 million came up in another 4 years (2007) and now the next 10 million has taken only 2years and four months. In addition, this milestone also marks the 20 millionth EOS Digital SLR.

I wonder how many we can account for between the members - hit the comments and let me know what you've got....

--Canon USA press release--

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., May 13, 2010 – Canon Inc. announced today the achievement of a new camera-manufacturing milestone as combined production of the company's EOS-series film and digital single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras passed the 40-million mark.

Production of the EOS SLR camera first began in 1987 at Canon Inc.'s Fukushima Plant (now Fukushima Canon Inc.), and then later moved to Canon Inc., Taiwan; Oita Canon Inc.; and most recently Nagasaki Canon Inc. from March of this year. In 1997, the 10th anniversary of the series, production reached 10 million units, and in 2003 passed the 20-million mark. After the rapid spread of digital SLR cameras, Canon went on to reach the 30-million mark during the series' 20-year anniversary in December 2007, followed by the current 40-million-unit production milestone, attained after a short two years and four months. Furthermore, the EOS Digital series also recorded a production milestone of 20 million units.

The EOS series, which stands for "Electro Optical System" and also carries the name of the Greek goddess of the dawn, was first introduced in March 1987 as a new generation of AF SLR cameras that incorporate the world's first electronic mount system, achieving complete electronic control not only between the lens and body but throughout the entire camera system. With the key concepts of high speed and ease-of-use, the EOS-series cameras, including the top-of-the-line EOS-1 professional model, which was first introduced in 1989, and the compact, lightweight EOS Rebel (EOS Kiss or EOS 1000 in other regions), which was released in 1990 and helped to expand Canon's user base, actively incorporated innovative technologies and gained acceptance from a wide range of users. Following the introduction of the EOS D30 in 2000, a time when the spread of digital SLR cameras was in full swing, Canon developed such advanced technologies as its proprietary CMOS sensors and the high-performance DIGIC digital image processor, as well as an extensive lineup of EF lenses in an effort to fulfill the company's new key concepts of high speed, ease-of-use, and high image quality.

Canon further expanded its rich product lineup with the release of the entry-level EOS Rebel T2i (EOS Kiss X4 or EOS 550D) digital SLR camera in February of this year, which features an approximately 18.0-million pixel CMOS sensor and supports an extended ISO range, bringing the total to seven cameras-two professional, three advanced-amateur, and two entry-level models-in the EOS series.

Canon is deeply grateful for all of the support from its customers to make possible this production milestone, and will continue striving to produce innovative and attractive products that deliver all-around customer satisfaction while further endeavoring to create an enjoyable digital photo culture. 

A little while ago, we told you about a new app for iPhones from OnOne software. They'd succeeeded in creating an app that allows you to control your camera from your iPhone. Pretty smart.

At the time, we only had info from them to go on, but now we've managed to have a play with it as well. And, in short, it's pretty impressive. 

Quite simply you need a laptop with a wifi card, a USB cable and your EOS camera. Then, with a free bit of softweare from OnOne, you can turn your laptop into a server. The sever allows the iPhone to communicate wirelessly with the laptop which, via USB, sends data to the phone, and back again. 

This means that you're not only able to trigger the camera from the phone, but you can change settings and get a Live View on the iPhone! Now, you may be thinking it'd be slow. But you'd be wrong. Ok, so it's not a fast as physically being next to the camera, but sometimes that's just not possible. It's fast enough and it seems to be a pretty robust connection. 

The only downside is that I can't find a way of focusing the camera from the iPhone as I could if I was using EOS Utility on the laptop.  But it's not a deal breaker and for the couple of £'s it costs to buy the app, it's well worth having if you have an iPhone.

Has anyone else got hold of it and had a play? What were you using it for?  

IT seems there is some good news coming out of the economic downturn that has gripped Japan and the rest of us - Canon have decided, after a seven month delay, to start work on building a new factory in southern Nagasaki for digital SLR cameras.

The factory had initially been planned to start construction in January with production due in December. Instead it will now begin bulding in July and production is predicted for March or April 2010. 

The news comes on the back of reviews showing that the digital SLR market is not as badly affected as other electronic industries, giving Canon hope that the $180million investment in the new factory will not be wasted.The SLR market has surprisingly remained strong throughout the downturn and is now seeing a slight increase.

It seems that production was delayed twice as Japanese high-tech companies plunged deeper and deeper in to economic crisis. Although Canon has weathered the storms well in comparison to other Japanese tech companies, they too have suffered a large drop in profits and been forced to cut jobs and close factories. It's a sign of the strength of Canon that despite the problems with the economy, they have managed to remain profitable and expect to continue to do so next year as well.

The figures suggest that in fact, global shipments of digital SLRs in April were up 8% compared to the same month last year, but revenues had fallen by 13% because of price cutting by the manufacturers.... I'd like to see these figures because I've only seen prices going up recently!

The new factory will have a capacity of 4 million cameras per year and will employ around 1,000 people - no doubt good news for the people of Japan and Nagasaki particularly. 

So, some good news. Could this be a glimmer of hope that the worst of this global crisis is behind us, or is there more to come? Do you think Canon building a new factory is a good thing and could it lead to a reduction in camera prices next year as they achieve greater efficiency of scale? Or is it even a sign that they expect high demand for their cameras next year? 

Maybe they could divert a factory to producing LP-E6 batteries for the EOS 5D Mark II to overcome the shortage! 

 More info from Reuters and AFP.