July 27, 2016, TOKYO – Nikon Corporation is pleased to announce that total production of NIKKOR lenses* for Nikon interchangeable lens cameras reached one-hundred million* in June of 2016.
*Interchangeable lenses for Nikon SLR cameras and Nikon 1, Advanced Camera with Interchangeable Lenses
NIKKOR’s history began in 1932 with Nikon’s (then Nippon Kogaku K.K.) registration of the NIKKOR trademark, soon followed in 1933 with the release of Aero-Nikkor aerial photographic lenses. In 1959, Nikon released the Nikon F SLR camera as well as its first NIKKOR lenses for Nikon SLR cameras including the NIKKOR-S Auto 5cm f/2.
NIKKOR is Nikon’s brand of photographic lenses. The NIKKOR name arose from adding “r”—a common practice in the naming of photographic lenses at the time the name was established—to “Nikko”, the Romanized abbreviation for Nippon Kogaku K.K., the original name used when the company was established.
The entire length of the road that leads to the release of new NIKKOR lenses, from initial design and development to production and final inspection, is managed in accordance with Nikon’s exclusive and exacting quality standards, which support high-quality NIKKOR lenses that respond to the strict demands of users.
Nikon’s lineup of NIKKOR lenses currently consists of more than 90 types of lenses, including fixed focal length (prime) lenses covering ultra-wide-angle to super-telephoto angles of view, fisheye lenses, zoom lenses, Micro lenses, and PC-E lenses that support a wide variety of applications, as well as 1 NIKKOR lenses for Advanced Cameras with Interchangeable Lenses.
Nikon has launched the NIKKOR.com global branding site, which spreads the appeal of NIKKOR lenses around the world with a wide variety of captivating contents, including photo and video galleries containing works recorded with NIKKOR lenses, video interviews with lens designers, and much more.
The mount used by Nikon for its SLR cameras and interchangeable lenses in the more than half a century that has passed since Nikon released its first SLR camera in 1959, the Nikon F, has been the Nikon F mount. Since the introduction of the Nikon F mount in 1950, a bayonet mount has been adopted, stainless steel, known for its superior durability and corrosion resistance has been used, and the mount’s basic design foresaw the increase in lens diameters. Throughout its history, the cutting-edge technologies of the time, including aperture control and autofocus, have been adopted for the F mount, and we will continue to do so, ensuring support for the latest digital cameras and lenses.
While developing the latest optical technologies and commercialization of products utilizing these technologies, Nikon continues its work in the research and development of means of evaluating optical performance. In 2013, Nikon began development and deployment of OPTIA*1, a device for measuring all forms of aberration*2 occurring with photographic lenses that was originally developed as a means of measuring aberration in IC steppers and scanners, as well as a dedicated image simulator that is used with OPTIA. OPTIA and the dedicated image simulator are still used to evaluate and verify NIKKOR lens characteristics today.
In addition to resolution, camera lens performance is indicated by such characteristics as blur (as known as “bokeh”), reproduction of textures, and sense of depth. The application of OPTIA’s aberration measurement to Nikon lenses has always had a very high reputation.
The image simulator (software) developed alongside OPTIA enables simulation at the design stage that is equivalent to actual photography with lens prototypes. Consequently lenses can be developed with greater control over not only resolution, but also a wide variety of lens characteristics.
Adoption of the new design concept formulated with the use of OPTIA and the image simulator will enable more effective development of high-performance lenses with unique characteristics, and allow Nikon to provide customers with interchangeable lenses that offer new forms of value never before seen.
One of the lenses designed using OPTIA is the AF-S NIKKOR 105mm f/1.4E ED, released today. This lens embodies the “three-dimensional high-fidelity (superior reproduction characteristics)” design concept that represents Nikon’s ideal with more natural three-dimensional reproduction of three-dimensional objects on the two-dimensional field known as a photograph. It enables photos with a natural sense of depth and in which the primary subject is impressively rendered, while expressing beautiful bokeh characteristics that change gradually as the distance from the focus position increases.
*1Optical Performance and Total Image Analyzer
*2Aberration occurs when light from one point of an object does not converge into a single point after transmission through an optical system, causing image “bleed” or “blur”. Aberration may also cause the image of an object to be formed in a different shape from that of the object.
Nikon will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2017. Nikon will continue to develop high-quality, appealing products that exceed expectations with more advanced technologies and even stricter quality control, and to offer the services our users need.
