Total Production of NIKKOR Lenses for Interchangeable Lens Cameras Reaches 75 Million

November 16, 2012. Tokyo - Nikon Corporation is pleased to announce that the total production of NIKKOR lenses* has reached seventy-five million in the beginning of November 2012.

*Interchangeable lenses for Nikon SLR cameras and Nikon 1 advanced cameras 

Nikon (then Nippon Kogaku K.K.) first released its NIKKOR lens for Nikon SLR cameras, the NIKKOR-S Auto 5cm f/2, in 1959 along with its first SLR camera, the Nikon F. Since releasing the first lens and establishing the tradition of quality, Nikon has expanded its interchangeable lens lineup, recently adding a line of interchangeable lenses for Nikon 1 cameras and bringing the total production to seventy-five million.

At the end of May 2012, the total production of NIKKOR lenses for Nikon SLR cameras reached seventy million. Since then, Nikon has continued to release new NIKKOR lenses.

In June 2012, Nikon released the compact and lightweight AF-S NIKKOR 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G ED VR, a normal zoom lens compatible with the Nikon FX format. It offers a frequently-used range of angles and support for a wide variety of shooting scenarios. It also launched the AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, an ultra high-power zoom lens compatible with the Nikon DX format that offers a 16.7× zoom ratio.

Recently, Nikon has released new lenses for Nikon 1, an advanced camera with interchangeable lens.  In November 2011, the 1 NIKKOR 18.5mm f/1.8, an extremely light fixed focal length lens with the fastest maximum aperture of f/1.8, was launched. In September 2012, the 1 NIKKOR 11-27.5mm f/3.5-5.6 2.5× normal zoom lens was also released. Since the October 2011 introduction of the Nikon 1 system, Nikon has released six 1 NIKKOR lenses, including a low-profile fixed focal length lens, a normal zoom lens and a high-power zoom lens.

NIKKOR lenses are extremely popular with a wide variety of users, from beginners to professional photographers.  The lineup currently consists of more than 80 types of lenses, including zoom lenses, ultra wide-angle lenses, super telephoto lenses, fisheye, Micro, and PC-E lenses for SLR cameras, as well as 1 NIKKOR lenses for NIKON 1 cameras. Nikon will continue to actively develop and release high-performance, highly functional products that meet and exceed user expectations.

The NIKKOR brand
NIKKOR is Nikon's brand of photographic lenses. The NIKKOR name comes from adding "R"—a common practice in the naming of photographic lenses at the time the name was established—to "Nikko", the Romanised abbreviation for Nippon Kogaku K.K. In 1933, the large-format lens for aerial photography was introduced with the name Aero-Nikkor.

NIKKOR lenses incorporate optical technologies that are always ahead of the times. The OP Fisheye-Nikkor 10mm f/5.6 fisheye lens for SLR cameras, released in 1968, was the world's first lens to incorporate aspherical lens elements. The Ultra Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8, released in 1962, served as the template for projection lenses employed in Nikon IC steppers and scanners that currently boast some of the highest resolutions in the world. What's more, NIKKOR lenses for the latest SLR cameras utilise a number of cutting-edge technologies that originated with the development of IC steppers and scanners, including Nano Crystal Coat, which virtually eliminates internal lens element reflections across a broad range of wavelengths.

From the initial design to final packaging, production and quality are controlled in accordance with Nikon's strict standards. The highest quality designs and manufacturing, as well as strict final inspections ensure superior quality to which satisfy users.