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Companies

Makers

Who built photography's cameras, lenses and film, grouped by country. Each bar runs from a company's founding to today, or to the year it left photography. Dots are its entries on the timeline. Arrows show where one company merged into, was bought by, or handed its business to another; hover or tap any of them for the story.

JapanDenmarkGermanyUSANetherlandsFranceUKSwedenChinaUSSRKonica1873–2003Minolta1928–2003Konica Minolta2003–2006Sony1946–Nikon1917–Panasonic1918–Olympus1919–2021OM Digital Solutions2021–Pentax1919–2007Hoya1941–2011Ricoh1936–Fujifilm1934–Canon1937–Mamiya1940–Phase One1993–Voigtländer1756–1972← 1756Carl Zeiss1846–Leica1849–Agfa1867–2005Ihagee1912–1970Rollei1920–2015Kodak1881–Graflex1887–1973Weston1888–1954Argus1936–1969Apple1976–Polaroid1937–2008The Impossible Project2008–Giroux1799–1885← 1799Lumière1882–1982Ilford1879–2005Harman Technology2005–Hasselblad1941–DJI2006–KMZ1942–stake 2017sold 2011bought 2005merged 2003sold 2006renamed 1982stake 2009sold 2021bought 2007revived 2008stake 1956

Hover a bar, a dot or an arrow for details; on touch, tap once to preview and again to open. The chart scrolls sideways on small screens.

All makers

Japan

  • Konica (Konishi) 1873–2003Merged with Minolta in 2003 to form Konica Minolta.
  • Minolta 1928–2003Merged with Konica in 2003 to form Konica Minolta.
  • Konica Minolta 2003–2006Left cameras and film in 2006; its SLR business went to Sony. It continues in office equipment and medical imaging.
  • Sony 1946–Active. The largest maker of image sensors, inside its own cameras and many other brands' cameras and phones.
  • Nikon (Nippon Kōgaku) 1917–Active. Renamed Nikon Corporation in 1988; makes Z-mount mirrorless cameras.
  • Panasonic 1918–Active: Lumix mirrorless cameras for stills and video.
  • Olympus 1919–2021Moved its camera business into OM Digital Solutions in 2021 and now concentrates on medical equipment.
  • OM Digital Solutions 2021–Active. Makes Micro Four Thirds cameras under the OM System name.
  • Pentax (Asahi Optical) 1919–2007Bought by Hoya in 2007; the camera business went to Ricoh in 2011 and the Pentax name continues there.
  • Hoya 1941–2011Sold the Pentax camera business to Ricoh in 2011; Hoya continues in optical glass and medical optics.
  • Ricoh 1936–Active. Makes GR compacts and, through Ricoh Imaging, Pentax cameras.
  • Fujifilm 1934–Active. Makes X-series and GFX cameras and Instax instant film.
  • Canon 1937–Active. Renamed Canon Inc. in 1969; makes EOS R mirrorless cameras and is one of the largest camera makers.
  • Mamiya 1940–Phase One took a stake in 2009 and later full control; Mamiya-branded medium-format gear continued under it.

Denmark

  • Phase One 1993–Active: digital medium-format backs and cameras, and the Capture One software.

Germany

  • Voigtländer 1756–1972Stopped making cameras in 1972. The name was later used by Rollei and, since 1999, by the Japanese maker Cosina.
  • Carl Zeiss 1846–Active. Makes camera lenses, lenses for phone makers, and scientific optics.
  • Leica (Ernst Leitz Wetzlar) 1849–Active. Leica Camera AG became independent of Leitz's other businesses in the 1980s–90s; still makes M rangefinders in Wetzlar.
  • Agfa 1867–2005Merged with Gevaert in 1964; the consumer film business, spun off as AgfaPhoto in 2004, went bankrupt in 2005.
  • Ihagee 1912–1970Nationalised in East Germany after the war and merged into the Pentacon combine in 1970.
  • Rollei 1920–2015Changed owners several times from 1981; Franke & Heidecke went insolvent in 2009, and its Braunschweig successor DHW Fototechnik closed in 2015.

USA

  • Kodak (Eastman Kodak Company) 1881–Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2012 and emerged in 2013 as a smaller company. Kodak film is still made in Rochester.
  • Graflex 1887–1973Closed in 1973 after the press camera lost out to 35mm.
  • Weston 1888–1954Taken over by Daystrom in 1954; Weston exposure meters were made into the 1960s.
  • Argus 1936–1969Camera making in Ann Arbor wound down in the late 1960s; the brand name was later sold on.
  • Apple 1976–Active: the iPhone is among the most used cameras in the world.
  • Polaroid 1937–2008Stopped making instant film in 2008 after two bankruptcies. The film was revived by the Impossible Project.

Netherlands

France

  • Giroux 1799–1885A Paris shop for fine goods, run by the Giroux family until 1867 and by others until it closed in 1885; its camera business lasted only a few years after 1839.
  • Lumière 1882–1982Taken over by the Swiss chemical group Ciba in the early 1960s; Ciba also came to own Ilford, and in 1982 the Lyon business was renamed Ilford France.

UK

  • Ilford 1879–2005Went into receivership in 2004; a management buyout formed Harman Technology in 2005, which still makes Ilford film.
  • Harman Technology 2005–Active. Makes Ilford and Kentmere black-and-white film and paper, and Harman colour film.

Sweden

  • Hasselblad 1941–Active. DJI has held a majority stake since 2017.

China

  • DJI 2006–Active. The largest maker of consumer drones; majority owner of Hasselblad.

USSR

  • KMZ (Zenit) 1942–Still exists as a Russian optics maker; Zenit cameras made it one of the largest camera producers in the world.