Friday, April 20, 2007

The Model 7


...almost in a whisper, the camera shop seller explained the importance of the Powershot G7 among the Canon line of cameras. Other than its overall superiority to other P&S in the market today, he added a brief story about Canon and the number 7 that made me proud of my purchase. "In Canon's history, the model number 7 have always had a significance to it". The name Canon (religious laws), came from a former name "Kwannon" - which is the name of the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy. I assume that the twisty syllabication and its Kana (a form of Japanese writing for foreign words) prompted the change and at the same time made it more appealing to a broader international market. The "Canon" name is still based on a religious term - a set of religious laws.

From this religious aspect, Canon model numbers has been said to be aligned to its significance in numerology as well. In Japanese culture, the number 7 is an important number, there is the 7 Gods of Luck and Happiness, there is the 7 principles of the Bushido, 7 days of mourning, 7 reincarnations, ..so on. EOS 7, EOS Elan 7, Canon T70, Rangefinder 7/s are all worthy of praise and according to my story teller, it is the same with the G7 as Canon would forever protect the integrity of this model number. And why would I believe my sales guy? he is after all selling me something... well, the story was told after I made my purchase and while he was packing the goods. Ah, my first (among many) digital cameras that I intend to cherish and keep.