DG
02:29 PM 2/19/03 -0600, you wrote:
> I agree. The japanese are usually expert in those anonymous letter + number
> names. I really hate those Canon F-1, AE-1, AT-1 and A-1 names. Why not remove
> the number 1 when there never was a No.2? Also, MZ-5, 7, 60, 30 etc. Awful
> stuff.
> Toyota even manages to name cars IS2000 or GS300; it sounds like hoovers.
> I wonder if the spotmatic had been sound a classic if it was named MD-23?
Pål,
The really annoying thing about the "anonymous alphanumeric" names is that
they don't use them to adequately distinguish the models. I mean, the whole
point of calling something the "13" is that you call the next one the "14."
However, as often as not, camera manufacturers manage to make things
confusing rather than clear. Different cameras are called by the same name
(Canon F-1, Canon new F-1), or the same camera is called by different names
(Maxxum, Dynax), or the same camera changes significantly throughout its
production lifespan with no way to tell (K1000), or manufacturers leave it
up to consumers to distinguish between successive models (35mm
Summicron-M--four versions before the official name changed), or different
manufacturers use nearly the same name for competing products (Nikon D1,
Canon 1D).
At the very least, the letters should stand for something (EOS =
Electro-Optical System, RTS = Real Time System) and the numbers ought to
distinguish between models in a lineup and subsequent models over time. But
frankly, I like it when they throw all that crap out the window and go ahead
and give something a name. "*ist" is strange, but maybe it'll grow on us.
--Mike
