WHAT’S IN A NAME
MINOLTA
Formed in 1928 under the name of the Japan-Germany Camera Company by Kazuo Tashima, the name was changed to Molta in 1931 from the German tiltle Mechanismus Optik und Linsen von Tashima. The company name was changed to Minolta in 1962 from the full name of Mechanical INstruments and OpticaL by TAshima.
FUJI
The name of Fuji is simply taken from the name of the highest mountain in Japan, Mount Fuji.
LEICA
Ernst Leitz started making lenses for microscopes and telescopes in 1849, and it wasn’t until 1911 when Oskar Barnack joined the Leitz firm that it made its first camera. It was going to be called LECA, until someone suggested that LEICA (LEItz CAmera) sounded better. The name stuck.
KONICA
The firm of Konishiroku Kogaku have been involved in making photographic and lithographic materials for over 200 years. It adopted the name Konica when it started making cameras in the 1940’s.
NIKON
The original name for Nikon was Nippon Kogaku, meaning “Japanese Optical”. The company was formed in 1917 and its name was changed to Nikon in 1946 by taking the “Ni” from Nippon and the “Ko” from Kogaku and adding an “n”.
MAMIYA
The name was simply taken from the surname of the inventor and designer of the camera, Seiichi Mamiya.
CANON
The original name for CANON cameras was “Kwanon”, the Buddhist god of mercy. The first Kwanon camera was built in a small Tokyo workshop in 1934. The name was changed to CANON in 1935 to avoid offending religious groups.
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