I wonder, where do these camera company names came from? I wonder if there is a similar poetry to camera company names? NikonThe most straightforward on this list, and the one closest to home for me, because my photography-loving grandfather swore by this camera company. Minolta was founded in 1928 by Kazuo Tashima under the name Nichi-Doku Shashinki Shōten, which literally translates to Japan-German Camera Company. Ernst Leitz II introduced the first Leica camera prototype in 1913 (the Ur-Leica, designed by Oskar Barnack), and the production model in 1925.