Fuji to Fujifilm

[Sanford]

<p>Does anyone know or would care to guess why Fuji changed its name to Fujifilm about the time they must have realized film was over?</p>

[Sanford]

<p>2006</p>

[Karim Ghantous]

<p>Instax is their best-selling product. From what I know, they were going to kill it, but just before they did, they noticed a jump in sales. Otherwise, I can't think of a reason. Fujifilm is alliterative, too.</p>

[ilkka_nissila]

Fujifilm was founded in 1934.

[Colin O]

<p>I am sure that Fujifilm branded itself as Fujifilm long before 2006. I'm not sure how reliable this information is, but on <a href="http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Fuji">http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Fuji</a> it says, "Until the late 1970s, many cameras made by Fuji were called Fujica, a contraction of Fuji and camera (cf Leica, Yashica etc.). In the mid 1980's the Fujica name change to simply Fuji, in the mid 1990's this changed yet again to Fujifilm."</p>

[howard_m]

<p>I end up covering the name (old habits die hard) w/ black tape but there is a high level of cognitive dissonance when using a state of the art digital camera (XT2) w/ 'FUJIFILM' slapped across the, er, 'pentaprism' :)</p>

[philg]

<p>http://www.fujifilm.com/about/profile/brand/ shows the evolution of the logo.</p>

[AlanKlein]

<p>Fujifilm has made film for decades. My favorite is Velvia. All kinds of other Fujicolor and Fujichrome films. </p>

[thomas_k.]

<p>Oh, this 1934 Fuji logo should have been used on X-series cameras.</p>

[Richard Williams]

<p>There seem to be at least 8 major companies named after Mt Fuji ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuji ), so I guess it at least makes the brand more distinctive, especially in the home market where there are probably quite a few more. Even on digital, Fuji emphasises its film heritage, with film simulation modes a distinctive feature of their (often retro-styled) cameras. I think 'Fujifilm' works for them, and long may they continue to make film. I like the old logo, though nothing is as cool as another Japanese logo, the original Yamaha phoenix: http://yamahawinds.wordpress.com/tag/black-phoenix-instruments/</p>

[glen_h]

<p>I don't know Japanese trademark law at all, but it looks like it has always been Fujifilm. <br>

The logo changed over the years, though.<br>

Maybe they can't trademark Fuji, or there are complications distinguishing it from the mountain. </p>