Although Canon Camera K. K. had been making quality 35 mm cameras for decades, it had since the late 1950s been overshadowed by their rival Nippon Kokagu K. K. and their Nikon cameras. While Canons easily led in the amateur compact fixed-lens market (where Nikons did not compete), Canon SLRs didn't have the professional features of the top-end Nikon SLRs. Nikon, with its solid reputation for quality of material and workmanship, held a stranglehold on the prestigious professional SLR market that competitors could not break.