A Japanese multinational corporation specializing in optics and imaging products, particularly cameras and camera lenses. Often used to refer to their camera products specifically.
Shortened from 'Nippon Kogaku' meaning 'Japan Optics' in Japanese. Founded in 1917, the company adopted the Nikon brand name in 1946 for international marketing.
Nikon's lenses were so superior that even their main rival Canon used Nikon lenses on some cameras in the 1930s and 1940s. The company's precision manufacturing, originally developed for military periscopes and rifle scopes, revolutionized photography by making professional-quality optics accessible to amateurs.
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