A title Nikon, which dates from either 1946, occurs as merging of Nippon Mōgaku ("Japan Optical") & an imitation of Zeiss Ikon.

Among its notable products come Nikkor camera lenses (notably those designed for the company's have F-mount SLR cameras), Nikonos underwater cameras, the Nikon F-series of professional 135 film SLR cameras, and a Nikon D-series digital SLRs. Nikon has helped lead a transition to digital photography with both a Coolpix line of consumer and prosumer camerwhen as well as body cameras such as a Nikon D100, a additional recent Nikon D70, D70s & a D50, & broker DSLRs including the D1 & D2 series (watch following).

Nikon's independent competitors include Canon, Konica Minolta, Leica, Pentax, and Olympus.

Nikon Corporation was established inside 1917 whenever 2 leading optical manufacturers merged to form the comprehensive, fully integrated optical company called Nippon Kogaku K.K. Above the next Lx years this growing company became a leading manufacturer of optical lenses & preciseness devices utilized in private, binoculars, microscopes & review devices. When you took World War II the company grew to 19 manufacturing plant & 23,000 employees, supplying things like binoculars, lenses, bomb sights & periscopes to the Japanese military machine. When a war it reverted to its civilian product range sustaining one manufacturing plant & 1400 employees. By 1980, a 1st stepper, a NSR-1010G, was produced within Japan. Since so, Nikon has introduced concluded Fifty system of stepper/scanners for the production of semiconductors & liquid crystal displays.

Within 1982, Nikon Precision Inc. was constituted in the United States to sell & service Nikon stepper devices. Fueled by a speedily growing client base, the company quickly expanded. Around 1990, NPI opened its todays Belmont, California headquarters. the facility okay, includes corporate agents, a fully equipped how to training center, & extensive applications, technology, service, sales & marketing departments.

Shareholders
Nikon is employed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange under number 7731.

(when of September 2004) The Master Trust Bank of Japan, Ltd. (8.5%) Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company (5.6%) The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Ltd. (3.3%) Japan Trustee Services Bank, Ltd.(2.9%) Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd. (2.7%) State Street Bank and Trust Company (2.7 %) The Mitsubishi Trust and Banking Corporation (2.5%) Nippon Life Insurance Company (2.4%) The Joyo Bank, Ltd. (1.8%) JP Morgan Chase Oppenheimer Funds (1.7%)

Holdings
A corporations held by Nikon form a [http://www.nikon.co.jp/main/eng/portfolio/affiliates.htm Nikon Group].

Partial list of Nikon products

Cameras
Film 35mm SLR cameras without autofocus
Nikon FM3A Nikon FM10 Nikon FE10 Nikon FA Nikon FE Nikon FE2 Nikon FG Nikon FM Nikon FM2 Nikon F series Nikon F2 series Nikon F3 series Nikkormat series (known in Japan when Nikomat) Nikkorex series Nikon EL2 Nikon EM Nikon F301 (known in North America as the N2000)

Film 35 mm SLR cameras with autofocus
Nikon F50 (known in North America as the N50) Nikon F60 (known in the U.S. as the N60) Nikon F70 (known in North America as the N70) Nikon F401 (known in North America as the N4004) Nikon F401S (known in North America as the N4004s) Nikon F401X (known in North America as the N5005) Nikon F501 (known in North America as the N2020) Nikon F601 (known in North America as the N6006) Nikon F801 (known in North America as the N8008) Nikon F801S (known in North America as the N8008s) Nikon F90 (known in North America as the N90) Nikon F90x (known in North America as the N90s) Nikon F55 (known in the U.S. as the N55) Nikon F65 (known in the U.S. as the N65) Nikon F75 (known in the U.S. as the N75) Nikon F80 (known in the U.S. as the N80) Nikon F100 Nikon F4 Nikon F5 Nikon F6

Film APS SLR cameras
Nikon Pronea S (1988) [http://nikonimaging.com/global/products/filmcamera/slr/1995-1999/pronea_s/index.htm] Nikon Pronea 600i also known as a Pronea 6i (1996) [http://nikonimaging.com/global/products/filmcamera/slr/1995-1999/pronea_600i/index.htm]

Rangefinder cameras
Nikon I personally (1948) Nikon M (1949) Nikon S (1951) Nikon S2 (1954) Nikon SP (1957) Nikon S3 (1958) Nikon S4 (1959) Nikon S3M (1960) Nikonos line of underwater cameras

Digital compact cameras
Nikon Coolpix series

Digital SLR cameras
Nikon D1 Nikon D1H Nikon D1X Nikon D100 Nikon D50 Nikon D70 Nikon D70s Nikon D2H Nikon D2X Nikon D2Hs

Nikon's camera raw format is named NEF. A "DSCN" prefix for image files stands for "Digital Still Camera - Nikon."

Lenses
Lens Acronyms
Nikon Lenses own intended acronyms utilized in their list (e.g., a lens AF-S 18-70mm f/3.Five-Four.5G DX ED Whenever). These aid consumers understand what features a lens has. A few most common designations come employed beneath sustaining a descriptions of both.

AF - Autofocus. AF-S - Autofocus-Silent. Utilizes SWM, Silent Wave Motor, to focus quietly & sooner; similar to Canon's USM, Ultrasonic Motor technology. ED - Additional-on line Dispersion glass. Reduces chromatic aberration. In case - Internal Focus. Focusing moves simply internal lenses, meaning that a lens doesn't vary inside length when you took focussing. DX - Lens designed for Nikon's DX format sensing element; a image circle is reduced inside size by Unity.Pentad× to healthy a little sensing element within Nikon's digital SLRs. The round image is produced whenever utilized using the 35mm camera. VR - Vibration Reduction. Utilizes favorite VR lens unit to reduce camera shake evident in photo. A select few VR lenses too trend lines panning shot mode, detecting a horizontal movement of a lens & minimizing the vertical vibration. Same to Canon's IS (Image Stabilizer) & Minolta's When (Anti-dislodge, although this is embedded into a body of a camera). D - Distance/Dimension. Indicated fallowing a f-prevent total. It means that a lens is capable utilizing of Nikon's RGB Matrix Metering. A lens carries a information of a few feet away between the camera & the subject. G - Indicated when a f-number, and tells that a lens doesn't keep around an aperture ring, however instead that aperture value is controlled per immune system. Since a immune system needs to control a lens aperture, these nature and severity lenses single function by using automatic bodies. It has a equivalent characteristics by using a Five hundred lens. Micro - Indicates that a lens is capable of macro photography - photographing small cases at short distances. IX - Lenses optimised for utilize by using a Pronea Advanced Photo System SLR. These lenses come 100% car focus zoom lenses & are non compatible by having more bodies. [http://nikonimaging.com/global/products/lens/ix/archives.htm]

AF Prime Lenses
14mm f/2.8D ED AF 16mm f/2.8D AF Fisheye 18mm f/2.8D AF 20mm f/2.8D AF 24mm f/2.8D AF 28mm f/1.4D AF 28mm f/2.8D AF 35mm f/2D AF 50mm f/1.4D AF 50mm f/1.8D AF 85mm f/1.4D AF 85mm f/1.8D AF 105mm f/2D AF DC 135mm f/2D AF DC 180mm f/2.8D ED-Whenever AF 200mm f/2G ED-In case AF-S VR 300mm f/2.8G ED-In case AF-S VR 300mm f/2.8D ED-Whenever AF-S II 300mm f/4D ED-Whenever AF-S 400mm f/2.8D ED-Whenever AF-S II 500mm f/4D ED-In case AF-S II 600mm f/4D ED-Whenever AF-S II

Consumer AF Zoom Lenses
18-35mm f/3.Five-Four.5D ED-In case AF 2 dozen-85mm f/2.8-4D Whenever AF Two dozen-85mm f/3.Five-Four.5G ED-In case AF-S Two dozen-120mm f/3.Five-Five.6G ED-In case AF-S VR 28-80mm f/3.3-5.6G AF 28-100mm f/3.Five-Five.6G AF 28-105mm f/3.Five-Four.5D AF 28-200mm f/3.Five-Five.6G ED-Whenever AF 70-300mm f/4.Five-Five.6D ED AF 70-300mm f/4.Five-Five.6G AF

Professional AF Zoom Lenses
17-35mm f/2.Viii ED-In case AF-S 28-70mm f/2.8D ED-In case AF-S 35-70mm f/2.8D AF 70-200mm f/2.8G ED-In case AF-S VR 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF 80-400mm f/4.Five-Five.6D ED AF VR 200-400mm f/4G ED-Whenever AF-S VR

Digital-Only AF Lenses
X.5mm f/2.8G ED AF DX 12-24mm f/4G ED-In case AF-S DX 17-55mm f/2.8G ED-In case AF-S DX 18-70mm f3.Five-Four.5G ED-In case AF-S DX 18-55mm f/3.Five-Five.6G ED AF-S DX 5Five-200mm f/4-5.6G ED AF-S DX

Micro AF Lenses (also known as Macro)
60mm f/2.8D AF Micro 105mm f/2.8D AF Micro 200mm f/4D ED-In case AF Micro

Lenses for rangefinder cameras
Lenses for Nikon S-series cameras Screwmount lenses for Leica cameras

Lenses for medium-format cameras
Lenses for Bronica cameras Lens for Plaubel Makina camera