What's in a Name?

Did you know that for the initials of a name, as in the name of an idea or company, to be a true acronym, it has to spell a word. For example; S.W.A.T. Therefore abbreviations such as EOS would simply be an initial-ism.

What does EOS mean anyway? The question came to mind because I've been shopping for my first SLR camera. The agonizing choice hasn't narrowed much over the past 4 days of intense research. Canon or Nikon. That's all I know.

Canon’s line of autofocus-capable SLR cameras is sold under the name EOS. It stands for “electro-optical system”. Ready for the cool part? The name is also meant to be a reference to Eos, the Greek goddess of the dawn! Some people pronounce it like the goddess (ee-oss) and others as separate letters (ee-oh-ess).

The company itself in its very early days it was named Kwanon, after the Buddhist goddess of Mercy. However the company soon changed to Canon (a general law or principle).

The name alone causes me to lean towards Canon... not to mention I LOVE my point-and-shoot Digital Elph 550 SD!

Prepondering Preference

Assessing the M.F.A. in photography - evaluation of the Master of Fine Arts programs as ranked in US News and World Report's America's Best Graduate Schools

Afterimage, July-August, 1997, by Michael Starenko

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