Nikon Corporation

Nikon Corporation (Nikon, Nikon Corp.) is a Japanese company specializing in optics and imaging. Its products include cameras, binoculars, microscopes, and measurement instruments. It was founded in 1917. As of 2002, it has approximately 14,000 employees. Nikon is one of the Mitsubishi companies.

The name Nikon is a merging of Nippon Kogaku, which was the original name before world war II.

Among its famous products are the Nikkor camera lenses (compatible with all F-mount SLR cameras), the Nikonos underwater cameras and the Nikon F-series of professional 35mm SLR cameras. Nikon has keenly followed the transition to digital photography, with both snapshot cameras as well as system cameras like the Digital AFSLR Nikon D100 and the more recent Nikon D70.

Nikon's main competitors include Canon, Minolta, Leica, Pentax, and the Olympus company.

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