Nikon (Nippon Kōgaku)

Nippon Kōgaku K.K. (“Japan Optical”) was formed in Tokyo on 25 July 1917 from three optical makers, with backing from the Mitsubishi group. It made binoculars, rangefinders and periscopes, and from 1932 sold its camera lenses under the name Nikkor. One of those lenses went on the first Canon cameras.

Its first camera, the Nikon I, came out in 1948. During the Korean War, photographers working for LIFE found that Nikkor lenses matched or beat the German ones, and the company’s reputation spread. The Nikon F of 1959 made the Japanese single-lens reflex the professional standard. Its F lens mount was used for six decades.