Total Production of NIKKOR Lenses for Interchangeable Lens Cameras Reaches 80 Million

June 13, 2013

TOKYO - Nikon Corporation is pleased to announce that total production of NIKKOR lenses* for Nikon interchangeable lens cameras reached eighty million in mid June 2013.

*Interchangeable lenses for Nikon SLR cameras and Nikon 1, Advanced Cameras with Interchangeable Lenses

In 1959, Nikon (then Nippon Kogaku K.K.) released the Nikon F as well as its first NIKKOR lens for Nikon SLR cameras, the NIKKOR-S Auto 5cm f/2. The NIKKOR tradition has continued over the many years since that first lens was released. What's more, Nikon continues to expand its lineup of interchangeable lenses for Nikon 1 cameras, the first of which was released in October 2011, and bringing total lens production to eighty million.

At the beginning of November 2012, total production of NIKKOR lenses for Nikon SLR cameras reached seventy-five million. Since then, Nikon has continued to actively release new NIKKOR lenses.

In January 2013, Nikon announced the AF-S NIKKOR 800mm f/5.6E FL ED VR, a super-telephoto 800mm lens compatible with the Nikon FX format and offering the longest focal length in the history of NIKKOR autofocus (AF) lenses, and the approximately 385-gram compact and lightweight, approximately 1.9x zoom AF-S NIKKOR 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5G ED ultra wide-angle zoom lens, also compatible with the Nikon FX format. Further, in March of this year, the 5x telephoto-zoom, FX-format compatible AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR, offering one of the fastest AF speeds in its class, was also announced.

In January 2013, Nikon announced two new lenses for Nikon 1, Advanced Cameras with Interchangeable Lenses—the 1 NIKKOR VR 10-100mm f/4-5.6 10x zoom lens, a single lens that covers focal lengths ranging from wide-angle to telephoto, and the ultra wide-angle zoom 1 NIKKOR VR 6.7-13mm f/3.5-5.6, offering the widest angle of view in the 1 NIKKOR lineup at 100°. In addition, the fastest lens in the 1 NIKKOR lineup, the 1 NIKKOR 32mm f/1.2, a mid-telephoto fixed focal length lens with a maximum aperture of f/1.2, was announced in May of this year. The current lineup of interchangeable lenses for Nikon 1 cameras consists of nine lenses, and Nikon will continue to expand and enrich this lineup.

The 80th Anniversary of the NIKKOR Lens

NIKKOR is Nikon's brand of photographic lenses. This year, the NIKKOR camera lens celebrates its 80th anniversary since the first lens was introduced in 1933. The NIKKOR name arose from adding "r"—a common practice in the naming of photographic lenses at the time the name was established—to "Nikko", the Romanized abbreviation for Nippon Kogaku K.K., the original name used when the company was established.

Nikon's own high-quality standards are applied to all stages from initial design and development to final product release for design that responds to user needs, and production system and inspections that ensure the superior quality of NIKKOR lenses.

Nikon's lineup of lenses for cameras with interchangeable lenses currently consists of more than 80 types of lenses, including ultra wide-angle to super-telephoto lenses, fisheye lenses, zoom lenses, micro lenses, and PC-E lenses that support a wide variety of applications, as well as 1 NIKKOR lenses for advanced cameras with interchangeable lenses. Nikon will continue to develop and release high-quality products that appeal to users the world over.