The Canon EOS System

The Titan Goddess of the Dawn
250px-Canon_EOS_svgEOS, as we all know, was one of the Titans and was the goddess of the dawn. Her brother was Helios, god of the sun, and her sister was Selene, goddess of the moon. She is mentioned several times in the Iliad and appears in ancient Greek art.

Canon seems to be drawn to classical gods and goddesses. The very name Canon derives from Kwan’on, an east Asian deity of mercy and compassion. The first Canon camera produced in 1934 was called the Kwanon.

EOS also stands for “Electro-Optical System” and was the name adopted for Canon’s line of autofocus single lens reflex cameras. The line was introduced in 1987 with the Canon EOS 650. Until October 1996 all EOS cameras used 35mm film. The EOS IX was released using the APS(Advantix/IX) film. That was a short lived experiment.

In 2000 the EOS D30 ushered in the digital era. Since 2005 all newly announced EOS cameras have used digital image sensors rather than film.

With the advent of the EOS cameras the manual focusing FD lens mount has been supplanted by the EF mount and later the EF-S mount.

Marketing of these cameras has caused great confusion in model designations. For reasons apparently known only to the marketing gurus the same camera was often called by different names in North America, Japan and the rest of the world. It can be very confusing but hopefully the following chart can assist:

InternationalNorth AmericaJapanRelease Date
EOS 650EOS 650EOS 650Mar 1987
EOS 620EOS 620EOS 620May 1987
EOS 750EOS 750EOS &50Oct 1988
EOS 850EOS 850EOS 850Oct 1988
EOS 600EOS 630EOS 630 QDApr 1989
EOS 1EOS 1EOS 1Sep 1989
EOS RTEOS RTEOS RTOct 1989
EOS 10EOS 10SEOS 10 QDMar 1990
EOS 700EOS 700EOS 700 QDMar 1990
EOS 1000F QDEOS Rebel/Rebel SEOS 1000 QDOct 1990
EOS 10EOS 10S
60 Million
Commemorative
EOS 10 QDAug 1991
EOS 100EOS ElanEOS 100 QDAug 1991
EOS 1000F QDEOS Rebel S IIEOS 1000S QDMar 1992
EOS 5EOS A2/A2eEOS 5 QDNov 1992
EOS 500EOS Rebel XSEOS KissSep 1993
Rebel XNov 1993
EOS 1N/1N HS/1N DPEOS 1NEOS 1N/1N HS/1N DPNov 1994
EOS 5000EOS 888Jan 1995
EOS 1N RSEOS 1N RSEOS 1N RSMar 1995
EOS 50/50EEOS Elan II/IIEEOS 55Sep 1995
EOS 500NEOS Rebel GEOS New KissSep 1996
EOS IXEOS IXEOS IX EOct 1996
EOS IX 7EOS IX LiteEOS IX 50Mar 1998
EOS 3EOS 3EOS 3Nov 1998
EOS 3000EOS 88Mar 1999
EOS 300EOS Rebel 2000EOS Kiss IIIApr 1999
EOS 33/30EOS Elan 7/7EEOS 7Oct 2000
EOS 3000NEOS Rebel XS NEOS 66Feb 2002
EOS 300VEOS Rebel TiEOS Kiss 5Sep 2002
EOS Rebel G IIMar 2003
EOS 300DEOS Digital RebelEOS Digital KissOct 2003
EOS 3000VEOS Rebel K2EOS Kiss LiteSep 2003
EOS 33V/30VEOS 7N/7NeEOS 7SApr 2004
EOS 350DEOS Digital Rebel XTEOS Kiss Digital NFeb 2005
EOS 400DEOS Digital Rebel XTiEOS Kiss Digital XAug 2006
EOS 450DEOS Digital Rebel XSiEOS Kiss Digital X2Apr 2008
EOS 1000DEOS Digital Rebel XSEOS Kiss Digital FAug 2008
EOS 500DEOS Digital Rebel T1iEOS Kiss Digital X3May 2009
EOS 550DEOS Digital Rebel T2iEOS Kiss Digital X4Feb 2010

This is not a complete list by any means and I will work on expanding it. For the most part, the cameras in a group are identical across marketing regions and only the nameplate is different. In the case of film cameras there can be minor variations across the marketing regions.

Canon LogoThis page is not a review of this Canon equipment but rather a record of an item in my collection. I have no connection with Canon and receive no remuneration nor benefit for this listing. It is for my own use and possibly your enjoyment!.