Lens Manufacturers

Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 48. Chapters: Olympus Corporation, Leica Camera, Nikon, Carl Zeiss AG, Schneider Kreuznach, Canon, Tamron, Pentax, Rodenstock GmbH, Sigma Corporation, Cosina, Cooke Optics, Meopta, Tokina, Pentacon, Charles Frank Ltd, Voigtländer, Topcon, Soligor, Wray, DOCTER, K. G. Corfield Ltd, Goerz, Ross, Leidolf, Electro-Optix, Huvitz, Century Precision Optics. Excerpt: Nikon Corporation Kabushiki-gaisha Nikon)·) (TYO: 7731), also known as just Nikon, is a multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in optics and imaging. Its products include cameras, binoculars, microscopes, measurement instruments, and the steppers used in the photolithography steps of semiconductor fabrication, of which it is the world's second largest manufacturer. The companies held by Nikon form the Nikon Group. Among its products are Nikkor imaging lenses (for F-mount cameras, large format photography, photographic enlargers, and other applications), the Nikon F-series of 135 film SLR cameras, the Nikon D-series of digital SLR cameras, the Coolpix series of compact digital cameras, and the Nikonos series of underwater film cameras. Nikon's main competitors in camera and lens manufacturing include Canon, Casio, Kodak, Sony, Pentax, Panasonic, Fujifilm and Olympus. Founded in 25 July 1917 as Nippon K¿gaku K¿gy¿ Kabushikigaisha (¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿ "Japan Optical Industries Co., Ltd."), the company was renamed Nikon Corporation, after its cameras, in 1988. Nikon is one of the companies of the Mitsubishi Group. Nikon Corporation was established on 25 July 1917 when three leading optical manufacturers merged to form a comprehensive, fully integrated optical company known as Nippon K¿gaku T¿ky¿ K.K. Over the next sixty years, this growing company became a manufacturer of optical lenses (including those for the first Canon cameras) and equipment used in cameras, binoculars, microscopes and inspection equipment. During World War II the company grew to nineteen factories and 23,000 employees, supplying items such as binoculars, lenses, bomb sights, and periscopes to the Japanese military. After the war Nippon K¿gaku reverted to producing its civilian product range in a single factory. In 1948, the first Nikon-branded camera was released, the Nikon I. Nikon lenses were popularised by the American photojournalist David Douglas Duncan's use at the time