“Nikon” was first used as the name for small-size cameras made by Nippon Kogaku K.K. Today, it is the name by which the company is known worldwide. It achieved prosperity thanks to the historical Nikon cameras mentioned below, along with high-quality Nikkor lenses.

1917

• Nippon Kogaku K.K. (Nikon Corporation) was established.

1948

• The Nikon camera story begins with the release of the Nikon I

1949

• The Nikon M and the Nikon S were released.

1954

• Preceding the SP was the Nikon S2. As with the Nikon M and S before it, the S2 earned high praise for its lens performance and overall superior quality.
  But the S2 also featured an operational ease that surpassed its predecessors.

1955

• Nippon Kogaku started in earnest to develop the Nikon SP, a camera that would be the world’s best, to succeed the Nikon S2. This new camera, Nippon Kogaku believed, would be superior to the Leica M3.

1957

• Development of the Nikon SP had been concluded. In February of that year, Nippon Kogaku began concentrating all its energies on developing the F.

1959

• The S4 was released.
  The Nikon F also known as the Nikkor F was first introduced and it was recognized as the most advanced single lens reflex (SLR) camera to date and also came with a range of interchangeable lenses. It was marketed as having these features
  1. Unsurpassed quality
  2. Easy operation with many functions
  3. Automatic operation

  And was later found to also feature;

  1. A wide variety of high-performance Nikkor lenses
  2. Excellent durability
  3. Defects particular to SLR cameras were corrected and minimized to provide easy operation
  4. Advanced picture-taking capability with a wide variety of high-performance accessories including a motor drive

1960

• The S3M was released and so was the NIKKOREX 35

1962

• NIKKOREX 35/2 successor to the NIKKOREX 35 is released and so is the NIKKOREX F (NIKKOR J)

1963

• Engineers began work on prototypes of next-generation cameras.
  NIKKOREX ZOOM 35 successor to the NIKKOREX 35/2 is released as is the NIKONOS (Calypso/NIKKOR)Nikon’s first underwater (all weather) camera

1964

• Nikon AUTO35 (NIKKOREX AUTO35) Nikons’ first ever AE camera hits the market.

1965

• Nikomat (Nikkormat) FT along with the simplified version the Nikomat (Nikkormat) FS and the Nikon F Photomic T are all released to the public.

1967

• Nikon release the Nikon F Photomic TN as well as the Nikomat (Nikkormat) FTN

1968

• Saw the release of the Nikon Photomic FTN and the NIKONOS II.

1971

• The F2 was released and enjoyed a degree of success rivaling that of its predecessor, even though some weren’t happy with the level of improvement.
  A modified version of the F camera and some modified interchangeable lenses were provided to NASA for the Apollo 15 mission.

1973

• Development of the F3 begins.
  A modified version of the F camera with a motor drive and modified lens were supplied for use aboard Skylab.

1976

• Due to the technological challenge brought about by the need to move the TTL metering and the AE circuit to the camera body from the viewfinder area, a high-density mounting became necessary and development began. Finally, after many challenges and battles, a test model was finally completed and the pin-hole mirror F3 was finally ready to be shown to the public.

1979

• The Nikon F2 Titan (Black) models, with black matte leather-look covers, were manufactured and marketed on a limited basis. Later, Nippon Kogaku introduced the F2 titanium body with “Titan” engraved in the cover.

1980

• The F3 was released.

1982

• The Nikon FM2 was released. It offered a flash sync speed (that is, the shutter speed possible when used with a Speedlight) of 1 / 200 sec. This surpassed the previous 20-year standard of 1 / 125 sec. and was made possible by Nikon’s superb titanium (Ti) technology.
  1982 also saw the release of the Nikon F3 High Eyepoint which enabled users to see the entire viewfield of the finder.

1983

• Nikons’ high-speed shutter technology was further improved and used in the Nikon FE2 to achieve shutter speeds of 1 / 250 sec. This feature was a big hit with professionals and advanced amateurs, as it offered all the features needed in a high-grade SLR camera. The high end alternative at that time was the F3, which unfortunately only had a flash sync speed of just 1/80 sec.
  Nikon also released the innovative FA. This camera featured something that had been under development for some time — a matrix metering system.
  The Nikon F3AF, was released featured new technology which promised to deliver excellent performance even in continuous photography of moving subjects — which is difficult to do manually.

1988

• Nikon announced the debut of the Nikon F4 and the F801

1989

• Nikon delivered the modified F4 to NASA. There were only a few small differences between the modified F4 and mass-consumption F4 models.

1991

• Sees the release of Nikon F-401X/F-401X QD and also the upgrade to the Nikon F-801, the Nikon F-801S.

1992

• NIKONOS RS, the world’s first underwater SLR camera is released.

1995

• Nikon release the E2/E2S SLR-type digital still camera with Nikon F-mount.

1996

• The Nikon F5 was introduced and the step up from the E2/E2S, the Nikon E2N/E2NS D-SLR was released.

1997

• Nikon FE10 was released.

1999

• Nikon D1 Professional, high-performance digital SLR

2007

• Both the Nikon D3 and the Nikon D300 are released as well as the Nikon D40 and the Nikon D40X.

2008

• Sees the release of the Nikon D90, Nikon D3X, Nikon D700 and the Nikon D60.

2009

• Nikon D5000 is released along side the Nikon D300S and the Nikon D3000.

2010

• We finish up so far with the D7000 and the D3100.

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