Since 1953, GOKO has been a pioneer in developing and manufacturing breakthrough productsーoften the world's first or only of their kind. Through unique ideas in product development and meticulous rationalization of manufacturing, we have twice dominated the global market in two product categories: 8 mm film editors and 35 mm compact cameras.
GOKO was the first to create a dual-standard 8 mm film editor compatible with both Double 8 and Super/Single 8 formats. Our G-2002 became the representative model of the series and won immense popularity, ultimately capturing over 85% of the global market.
In the mid-1970s, GOKO’s 8 mm film editors dominated the top three positions in Consumer Reports, a leading American product review magazine.
In the early days, 8 mm film cameras had no sound-recording function, and the films they captured were silent. At the time, 8 mm film editors were primarily hand-cranked, but this was not a drawback for editing. Operators could manually turn the crank to quickly advance the film to the desired section, making the editing process efficient. Additionally, rapid hand-cranking helped reduce flicker, which was typically caused by the standard 4-facet prism when operated at normal speed.
Later, the introduction of "sound cameras"ーmovie cameras capable of recording audio synchronized with visual footageーmarked a significant shift. These new devices required a constant film feed rate of 18 frames per second to maintain audio-video synchronization during editing. However, the 4-facet prisms used in editors at the time produced severe flicker when running at a steady speed, making the footage difficult to view. To achieve smooth visuals at constant speed, at least a 16-facet prism was necessary. Unfortunately, these prisms were difficult to manufacture. Even when outsourced to specialty subcontractors, the prisms were expensive (approximately 5,000-6,000 yen) and often lacked the necessary precision.
After much effort, we succeeded in developing a proprietary polishing machine specifically for 16-facet prisms. This breakthrough allowed us to mass-produce high-precision prismsーaccurate to the arc minuteーfor only about 300 yen. As no other manufacturer was capable of producing 16-facet prisms in-house, this innovation made GOKO the only company able to produce 8 mm film editors that offered flicker-free performance. We quickly rose to become the unrivaled leader in the global market, supplying not only our own brand of editors but also fulfilling increasing OEM requests from major domestic and international manufacturers.
Building on this success, we developed the RM-8008 as our flagship model. It enabled users to edit both visual footage and synchronized sound effects or narrationーan unprecedented feature at the time. This “world-first” and “one-and-only” capability was made possible by our original 24-facet prism, which we produced using our proprietary polishing machine. The RM-8008 earned widespread acclaim among 8 mm users around the worldーso much so that we continue to receive inquiries and requests for this model even today, both from Japan and overseas. Our 8 mm editor series ultimately achieved a 100% global market share.
In recognition of this achievement, GOKO was featured in the 1980 New Year’s issue of Weekly Diamond as one of the “Top 72 Japanese Companies That Monopolized Global Markets,” alongside many other leading corporations.
To this dayーdecades after discontinuationーwe continue to receive global repair requests for our editors. While many parts are no longer replaceable, we deeply appreciate our customers' long-standing support and are happy to offer free repairs whenever a repair is technically possible.
"Japanese cameras are high-end and therefore expensive. The market is centered on developed countries, which represent just 13% of the global population. In other words, no one is making cameras for the remaining 87%, despite Japan's reputation as a camera powerhouse. Let's create cameras for the other 87%."
This conviction, voiced by Tadashi Gotoーthe founder, former Presidentーwas the catalyst for our entry into the compact camera business. At the time, the industry was considered mature and saturated, but we boldly took on the challenge.
Goto’s vision was later quoted alongside those of prominent business leaders such as Konosuke Matsushita and Soichiro Honda in A Collection of the Sayings of Great Managers, published by Nikkei BP.
In developing compact cameras, we adhered to three core principles: (i) the camera must take pictures of sufficient quality for general use, (ii) it must be affordable, and (iii) it must be durable. We successfully developed the globally patented “Universal Focus” technology, which allowed sharp focus at both near and far distances using a fixed-focus lens. To dispel the inferiority complex often associated with budget cameras, we also integrated a motor driveーa feature previously reserved for high-end or mid-range models.
Initially, the UF-2 was launched under our own brand. However, a major Japanese camera manufacturer soon approached us with an OEM request, recognizing the UF-2 as an “excellent tool.” This marked the first time that the company had ever sourced an OEM product under its own brand, and the model became one of their bestsellers. Our reputation quickly spread throughout the camera industry.
Following this breakthrough, nearly all major Japanese camera manufacturers requested OEM production, praising our advanced technology and highly rationalized, cost-effective manufacturing. As reported in the August 5 and 12, 1991 issues of Nikkei Business, we became the world's top producer of compact camerasーmanufacturing 450,000 units per month and 4.2 million units annually.
During this period, we also established parallel production in eight developing countries. Notably, we became the first to form a joint venture with the Chinese government to transfer complete compact camera production technologyーshortly after the Cultural Revolution, and well before many other companies shifted production to China. For his leadership in enabling local manufacturing across these countries, Tadashi Goto was honored with the Distinguished Manager-International Contributor Award by Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun newspaper.
We developed and manufactured the world’s first compact film camera series, MacromaX, capable of focusing from infinity all the way down to an ultra close-up distance of just 10 cm (4 inches). At the time, it was widely believed that close-up photography was limited to a minimum of 50-60 cmーeven with special close-up lenses. The MacromaX series shattered this perception.
These groundbreaking cameras featured a unique optical mechanism equivalent to an ultra-high shutter speed of approximately 1/1000 of a second. This allowed anyone to easily capture sharp close-up images at 10 cmーeven of fast-moving subjectsーas if they were perfectly still.
We are proud that the MacromaX series became one of our best-selling product lines, gaining a broad and loyal following. Its versatility appealed to a wide range of usersーfrom those photographing flowers swaying in the wind or jumping fish, to police investigators needing to document critical evidence with super close-up clarity on film.
In recognition of its technical and historical significance, the Japanese Camera Industry Institute (JCII) selected our FR-2200 model as one of its “Historical Japanese Cameras” in 1997.
We developed a compact film camera series that combined automatic 3x zoom with our proprietary MacromaX technology, enabling focus from infinity down to an ultra-close 10 cm. This also made it possible to capture fast-moving subjects as if they were completely still.
This series was the world’s firstーand only at the timeーto offer both "10 cm close-up shooting" and "3x optical zoom" in a single camera body without any attachments. No SLR or compact camera had achieved this functionality before.
Our Z3200 earned high acclaim in Tsuhan Seikatsu, a prominent Japanese mail-order magazine published by CATALOGHOUSE, where it was selected as the "Pikaichi (Brilliant No. 1)" in the compact camera category.
In recognition of its technical and historical significance, the Z3000 was selected by the Japanese Camera Industry Institute (JCII) as one of their “Historical Japanese Cameras” for the year 2000.
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