Celebrating 25 years since the introduction of Canon’s first EOS Rebel SLR camera, Canon U.S.A., Inc launched a campaign, “Rebel With a Cause” which kicked off featuring American daredevil Nik Wallenda.
In 1990, the iconic “Image is Everything” campaign introduced the Canon EOS Rebel, an SLR camera born with a cause — to put the power of pro photography into the hands of the public and level the playing field forever. 25 years later, Canon launches “Rebel With A Cause,” embarking on a journey to follow modern day rebels who challenge convention in their own unique way, capturing their causes through the eye of a Canon EOS Rebel DSLR. “Rebel With A Cause” will invite people into their worlds, celebrating the imagery that makes their causes shine and motivating others to join their movements.
For the first video from the campaign, Nik Wallenda, best known as a member of The Flying Wallenda Family, and the first and only person to walk a tightrope across Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon, encourages an unexpected group of people, senior citizens, to check items off of their personal bucket lists. After visiting a senior center in Sarasota, FL, the man who’s conquered every feat he’s ever dreamed of, sent one senior citizen into the sky and one to the racetrack to inspire them to finally conquer theirs. The campaign was shot entirely on Canon EOS Rebel T6i DSLR cameras.
“I’m honored to be selected as a Rebel with a Cause as part of Canon’s campaign, as I’ve spent my entire life pushing boundaries and encouraging others to do the same,” said Nik Wallenda. “Partnering with Canon to tell my story and continuing to pursue my mission to never give up, has been an incredibly rewarding experience, and I hope this inspires others to live their lives to the fullest.”
“Canon has always made it a priority to make what was once thought to be impossible possible, and it’s one of the reasons we created the EOS Rebel cameras,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, president and COO, Canon U.S.A., Inc. “The heart of this campaign is about showcasing modern day rebels entirely through the eyes of a Canon EOS Rebel camera, encouraging people to take their creativity to the next level and to tell their own unique stories.”
“Rebel With A Cause” will continue with hip-hop artist and multi-platinum record producer Swizz Beatz, who has recently become a major force in the art world. However, instead of focusing on his own art, he’s focused on finding the next great, unknown artist – and into 2016 with a range of high profile individuals each embracing their own cause. Every rebel has their own unique story, and the campaign will encourage everyone to find the rebels within themselves.
Canon announced the first ever EOS Rebel SLR camera 25 years ago in August 1990, changing the game in the SLR camera category. At the time it was Canon’s smallest and lightest 35mm autofocus single-lens reflex (SLR) camera in the EOS line of autofocus SLRs. The EOS Rebel line has been continuously known to pack advanced features and imaging technologies into affordable high-quality consumer-level camera bodies.
Through its first 14 years, Canon introduced 13 EOS Rebel film SLR models and in 2003, the Canon EOS Rebel DSLR was born, marking the beginning of the modern-day EOS Rebel DSLR camera. From 2003 to 2015, there have been 15 models in the EOS Rebel DSLR camera line including the latest models introduced this year featuring built-in Wi-Fi and NFC capability — the EOS Rebel T6i and T6s DSLR cameras.
The EOS Rebel camera line has been used by creative consumers to express themselves through still images for decades as well as Full HD video since the introduction of the EOS Rebel T1i in 2009. The EOS Rebel 3Ti, launched in 2011, is, still today, one of the most popular models, although its title as the best and cheapest DSLR for video is challenged today by newer models. But this model was the only one which had, at the time and for a long period, a unique feature that made it quite interesting: the ability to triple the focal length of a lens without sacrificing quality. At the time Canon indicated that “when filming Full HD footage with the EOS 600D, Movie Digital Zoom can be used to magnify the centre of the sensor by 3x-10x while maintaining Full HD quality.”
Also known for their compact size and superb feature set EOS Rebel cameras have enticed many consumers to make this their first entry into Canon’s EOS interchangeable lens camera family. All Canon EOS Rebel cameras are compatible with Canon’s entire line of EF and EF-S lenses. The sales success and longevity of the EOS Rebel camera line is why the cameras are a household name across generations making it one of the most popular lines in SLR cameras.
The “Rebel With a Cause” campaign, entirely shot with the new Canon EOS Rebel T6i DSLR cameras, continues to show that as a filming tool, these models are more than enough for the needs of most people. They only need to know how to tell their stories.