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History of Nikon

Nikon's excellent reputation and quality products are due to the century-long history of the creation and development of this corporation. Few people can imagine how difficult and thorny this path was. The successful history of Nikon began more than a hundred years ago.

In 1918, a factory was opened in Okha, which became the center of the company's activities until 2014. The same year 1918 marked the beginning of improvements in mineral optical glass, and in 1923, the plant launched the production of optical glass. This allowed the company to use its own glass and ensure consistently high quality of its products. The factory in Okha manufactured optical products for military needs: telescopes, lenses for aerial photography, binoculars, microscopes, telescopes, optical instruments and even periscopes for submarines. This range of products became the basis of the company's philosophy, which is still famous for its high quality and conservative approach. The company has always set high quality standards, and even being a small organization with two hundred employees, it successfully coped with the tasks set, growing and developing production. In 1925, the company began producing products for civilian use, including the Joico family of microscopes, the Anytar lens in 1931, and photographic lenses under the Nikon brand in 1932, which are still produced today.

History of the Nikon brand and its logo

"Nikon" is a legendary company that has had a significant impact not only on the development of photographic equipment, but also on the development of spectacle lenses. The brand name "Nikon" was invented along with the company's first cameras in 1948. Initially, many options were considered, such as nicca, nikka, nikoret, niko, nikkorette, pannet, bentax. However, the option "Nikon" was chosen, which was a derivative of the company name "Nippon kogaku". It was this name that became pleasant to the ear and easy to pronounce for both Japanese and foreigners. The growing popularity of the company's products "Nippon kogaku kk", the release of new camera models and active sales growth made the world know the name "Nikon", gradually displacing the name of the company itself. And finally as says in user guide, in 1988, the company changed its name to "Nikon corporation".

Yoshihira Wada took over the management of the company, it was he who, forming the traditions and ideology of the company, developed its development strategy at the initial stage. The Japanese were very attentive to intellectual investments, so the company's management invited a highly qualified specialist Heinrich Acht from Germany, who designed the first photographic lenses used in the production of various devices, as well as for specific aerial photography.

In 1929, Japanese engineer Sunayama Kakuno significantly modernized the first lens of the German model, giving it the name Trimar. The first lens for "peaceful" use was developed by Nikon back in 1931, and in 1933 it was launched into mass production under the name Nikkor and was used for professional format cameras.

Nikon developed in the shadow of its older brother, Canon. Currently, Canon representatives deny any early interaction with Nikon, but it is reliably known that from the 30s to the 50s, Nippon Kogaku produced its lenses for all cameras without exception under the Hansa Canon brand. In 1948, Nippon Kogaku released its universal camera Nikon 1 and the production of lenses for the competing company Canon ceased. This camera combined many undeniable advantages and innovations: a reliable body with stylish corners and rangefinder mechanics. The company's first camera gave its name to the world-famous Nikon brand.

In general, in the early 1940s, the successful Nippon Kogaku corporation produced high-quality optics for cameras and was already fully prepared to launch mass production of its cameras. However, development had to be curtailed due to the sudden outbreak of World War II, as a result of which the enterprise found itself overloaded with military orders from the state.

After the end of the world war, a consistent reorganization of the former Nikon company was carried out, and it completely restructured itself to produce exclusively peaceful products, steadily conquering the world market.

The year 1959 was marked by the release of Nikon's first SLR camera, which earned the company millions and an image of a leader in the field of production of equipment for artistic and professional photography. This camera enjoyed a dizzying success for almost forty years.

In the 60s, Nikon began to produce the widest possible angle and super-fast professional lenses using aspherical lenses for the first time. The subsequent history of Nikon is filled with inexhaustible inventions and innovations without losing even the slightest bit of quality.

For example according Nikon manuals, in 1969 a lens with an automatic flash system was released, in 1975 a lens with automatic perspective correction was invented, and 1977 was marked by the release of three new SLR cameras.

The company's color logo, black and yellow, symbolizes, on the one hand, quality and reliability, on the other, a creative spirit and an optimistic outlook on the future.

by Andrea Wilkinson on 2025-09-01 10:11:23