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104-407: The FM2 originally used an advanced Nikon-design, metal-bladed, bearing-mounted, vertical-travel purely mechanical focal plane shutter with a (then unheard-of) speed range of 1 to 1/4000th second plus Bulb, plus a fast flash X-sync of 1/250th second. (Actually the first models were with a flash X-sync 1/200th second.) It had dimensions of 90 mm (height), 142 mm (width), 60 mm (depth) and

208-576: A Coolpix line which grew as consumer digital photography became increasingly prevalent through the early 2000s. Nikon also never made any phones. Through the mid-2000s, Nikon's line of professional and enthusiast DSLRs and lenses including their back compatible AF-S lens line remained in second place behind Canon in SLR camera sales, and Canon had several years' lead in producing professional DSLRs with light sensors as large as traditional 35 mm film frames. All Nikon DSLRs from 1999 to 2007, by contrast, used

312-639: A 1.7 mm slit). The Nikon FE2 (Japan) had a 3.3 ms (at 7.3 m/s) curtain travel time and an X-sync speed of 1/250 s in 1983. The top speed remained 1/4000 s (with a 1.8 mm slit). The fastest focal-plane shutter ever used in a film camera was the 1.8 ms curtain travel time (at 13.3 m/s) duralumin and carbon fiber bladed one introduced by the Minolta Maxxum 9xi (named Dynax 9xi in Europe, α-9xi in Japan) in 1992. It provided

416-589: A 40 mm slit to allow for variance gives 1/50 s ⅓ stop slow). Some horizontal FP shutters exceeded these limits by narrowing the slit or increasing curtain velocity beyond the norm; however, these tended to be ultra-high-precision models used in expensive professional-level cameras. The first such shutter was to be found in the Konica F , released in February 1960. Called the Hi-Synchro, this shutter reached

520-429: A 46 megapixel Full Frame (FX) format stacked CMOS sensor which is stabilized and has a very fast readout speed, making the mechanical shutter not only unneeded, but also absent from the camera. Along with the sensor, the 3.7 million dot, 760 nit EVF , the 30 fps continuous burst at full resolution with a buffer of 1000+ compressed raw photos, 4K 120 fps ProRes internal recording, the 8K 30 fps internal recording and

624-564: A Memorandum of understanding to form a global strategic alliance in corrective lenses by forming a 50/50 joint venture in Japan to be called Nikon-Essilor Co. Ltd. The main purpose of the joint venture is to further strengthen the corrective lens business of both companies. This will be achieved through the integrated strengths of Nikon's strong brand backed up by advanced optical technology and strong sales network in Japanese market, coupled with

728-516: A fixed slit width. In the Kodak Cirkut (1907, US) and Globus Globuscope (1981, US) cameras, the entire camera and lens revolved as the film was pulled past the slit in the opposite direction. The Globuscope produced a 360° angle of view image in a 24×160 mm frame on 135 film with a 25 mm lens and had an adjustable slit width with a constant rotation speed. Revolving FP shutters produce images with unusual distortion where

832-597: A high speed 10X macro zoom lens. Contrary to other brands, Nikon never attempted to offer projectors or their accessories. Nikon has shifted much of its manufacturing facilities to Thailand , with some production (especially of Coolpix cameras and some low-end lenses) in Indonesia . The company constructed a factory in Ayuthaya north of Bangkok in Thailand in 1991. By 2000, it had 2,000 employees. Steady growth over

936-416: A maximum 1/12,000 s (with 1.1 mm slit) and 1/300 s X-sync. A later version of this shutter, spec'ed for 100,000 actuations, was used in the Minolta Maxxum 9  [ de ] (named Dynax 9 in Europe, α-9 in Japan) in 1998 and Minolta Maxxum 9Ti (named Dynax 9Ti in Europe, α-9Ti in Japan) in 1999. A parallel development to faster speed FP shutters was electronic shutter control. In 1966,

1040-400: A medium-wide lens encapsulated in a drum with a rear vertical slit. As the entire drum is horizontally pivoted on the lens's rear nodal point, the slit wipes an extra-wide-aspect image onto film held against a curved focal plane. The Widelux produced a 140° wide image in a 24×59 mm frame on 135 film with a Lux 26 mm f/2.8 lens and controlled shutter speed by varying rotation speed on

1144-545: A peak of ¥ 75.4 billion (fiscal 2007) to ¥ 18.2 billion for fiscal 2015. Nikon plans to reassign over 1,500 employees resulting in job cuts of 1,000, mainly in semiconductor lithography and camera business, by 2017 as the company shifts focus to medical and industrial devices business for growth. In March 2024, it was announced Nikon had acquired the American camera manufacturer specializing in digital cinematography, Red Digital Cinema . In January 2006, Nikon announced

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1248-565: A reduced resolution of 4 megapixels from 16 MP. Nikon Nikon Corporation ( 株式会社ニコン , Kabushiki-gaisha Nikon ) ( UK : / ˈ n ɪ k ɒ n / , US : / ˈ n aɪ k ɒ n / ; Japanese: [ɲiꜜkoɴ] ) is a Japanese optics and photographic equipment manufacturer. Nikon's products include cameras , camera lenses , binoculars , microscopes , ophthalmic lenses , measurement instruments , rifle scopes , spotting scopes , and equipment related to semiconductor fabrication , such as steppers used in

1352-460: A round metal plate with a sector cutout in front of the film. In theory, rotary shutters can control their speeds by narrowing or widening the sector cutout (by using two overlapping plates and varying the overlap) and/or by spinning the plate faster or slower. However, most cameras' rotary shutters have fixed cutouts and can be varied in their spinning speed. The Olympus Pen F and Pen FT (1963 and 1966, both from Japan) half-frame 35 mm SLRs spun

1456-437: A rubberised silk cloth curtain (also called a blind ) with one or more width slit cutouts wound around two parallel drums and using springs to pull a slit from one drum to the other. The spring tension and the slit width can be adjusted. In 1883, Ottomar Anschütz (Germany) patented a camera with an internal roller blind shutter mechanism, just in front of the photographic plate. Thus, the focal-plane shutter in its modern form

1560-450: A second drum after a clockwork escapement timed delay (imagine two overlapping window shades) and moving at one speed (technically, the curtains are still accelerating slightly) across the film gate. Faster shutter speeds are provided by timing the second shutter curtain to close sooner after the first curtain opens and narrowing the slit, wiping the film. Dual curtain FP shutters are self-capping;

1664-417: A semicircular titanium plate to 1/500 s. Semicircular rotary shutters have unlimited X-sync speed, but all rotary FP shutters have the bulk required for the plate spin. The Univex Mercury (1938, US) half-frame 35 mm camera had a very large dome protruding out the top of the main body to accommodate its 1/1000 s rotary shutter. They also produce unusual distortion at very high speed because of

1768-452: A slit cutout mounted on rails in front of the camera lens that gravity dropped at a controlled rate. As the slit passed the lens, it "wiped" the exposure onto the photographic plate. With rubber bands to increase the drop speed, a 1/500 or 1/1000 s shutter speed could be reached. Eadweard Muybridge used shutters of this type in his trotting horse studies. By the 1880s, lens front-mounted accessory shutter boxes were available, containing

1872-460: A speed of 1/2000 s and made possible flash synchronization at 1/125 s. In 1960, the Konica F (Japan) 35 mm SLR began a long term incremental increase in maximum shutter speeds with its "High Synchro" FP shutter. This shutter greatly improved efficiency over the typical Leica shutter by using stronger metal blade sheaves that were "fanned" much faster, vertically along the minor axis of

1976-459: A speed range of 1/10 to 1/1000 second. In 1925, the Leica A (Germany) 35 mm camera was introduced with a dual-cloth-curtain, horizontal-travelling-slit, focal-plane shutter. A dual curtain FP shutter does not have precut slits and the spring tension is not adjustable. The exposure slit is formed by drawing open the first curtain onto one drum and then pulling closed the second curtain off

2080-541: A top speed of an unprecedented 1/4000th second, with an X-sync of 1/250th second. This shutter was able to reach such ultra-fast speeds because its shutter blades had a travel time of 3.3 milliseconds, half of typical vertical travel metal-bladed focal plane shutters of the time.(citation) The improved titanium-bladed shutter from the Nikon FE2 was adapted to the FM2 in 1984 and X-sync increased to 1/250th second. The new camera

2184-579: A vertical travel FP shutter with dual brass-slatted roller blinds with adjustable spring tension and slit width and a top speed of 1/1000 s (the Contax II of 1936 had a claimed 1/1250 s top speed). Although the Square shutter improved the FP shutter, it still limited maximum flash X-sync speed to 1/125 s (unless using special long-burn FP flash bulbs that burn throughout the slit wipe, making slit width irrelevant ). Some leaf shutters from

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2288-481: A very small amount of the frame as the rest is covered by either the first or second shutter curtain. Figure 4: The first shutter curtain finishes moving, followed closely by the second curtain which is now covering the frame aperture completely. When the shutter is recocked both shutter curtains are wound back to the right-hand side ready for the next exposure. Most modern 35 mm and digital SLR cameras now use vertical travel metal blade shutters. These work in

2392-409: A weight of 540 g. It was available in two colors: black with chrome trim and all black. The introductory US list price for the chrome body only (no lens) was $ 364. By 1988, it listed for $ 525; in 1995, it plateaued at $ 745 and remained there until discontinued. Note that SLRs are usually sold for 30 to 40 percent below list price. The FM2 is a member of the classic Nikon compact F'x'-series SLRs and

2496-408: Is considered the first FP shutter of any kind. If the lens on a single curtain FP shutter camera has its lens cap off when the shutter is cocked, the film will be double exposed when the blind's cutout re-passes the film gate. A camera-mounted FP shutter can use a very narrow slit to have a 1/1000 second shutter speed—although the available contemporaneous ISO 1 to 3 equivalent speed emulsions limited

2600-550: Is fully open and usable only for flash exposure up to 1/60 s, while vertical FP shutters are usually limited to 1/125 s. At higher speeds, a normal 1 millisecond electronic flash burst would expose only the part open to the slit. In 1986, the Olympus OM-4 T (Japan) introduced a system that could synchronize an Olympus F280 Full Synchro electronic flash to pulse its light at a 20 kilohertz rate for up to 40 ms to illuminate its horizontal FP shutter's slit as it crossed

2704-423: Is on the right side. Figure 2: The first shutter curtain moves fully to the left allowing the exposure to be made. At this point, the flash is made to fire if one is attached and ready to do so. Figure 3: After the required amount of exposure the second shutter curtain moves to the left to cover the frame aperture. When the shutter is recocked the shutter curtains are wound back to the right-hand side ready for

2808-478: Is operable without batteries, and only needs the two S76 or A76 batteries, or one 1/3N battery to power the light meter , which consisted of an internal 60/40 percent centerweighted system linked to a center-the-LED exposure control system. The exposure control system used vertically arranged +/o/– light emitting diodes (LEDs) on the right side of the viewfinder to indicate the readings of the meter versus actual camera settings. This metering system can be traced back to

2912-459: Is positioned immediately in front of the focal plane of the camera, that is, right in front of the photographic film or image sensor . The traditional type of focal-plane shutter in 35 mm cameras, pioneered by Leitz for use in its Leica cameras , uses two shutter curtains, made of opaque rubberised fabric, that run horizontally across the film plane. For slower shutter speeds, the first curtain opens (usually) from right to left, and after

3016-540: Is pre-tensioned to traverse the 36 millimeter wide film gate in 18 milliseconds (at 2 meters per second) and supports slit widths for a speed range of 1 to 1/1000 s. A minimum 2 mm wide slit produces a maximum 1/1000 s effective shutter speed. The dual curtain FP shutter has the same fast-speed distortion problems as the single curtain type. FP shutters were also common in medium-format 120 roll film cameras. Horizontal cloth FP shutters are normally limited to 1/1000 s maximum speed because of

3120-588: Is to inspect the shutter—the early FM2n had honeycombed shutter blades and the late FM2n had smooth blades. In 1993, a special ultra-durable version of the FM2n called the FM2/T was released and sold in parallel with the regular FM2n. The "T" stood for titanium, which was the material used for the top and bottom plates along with the camera back. The Nikon FM2/T listed for $ 1120 and was discontinued in 1997. The 1970s and 1980s were an era of intense competition between

3224-482: The Rolling shutter article. A large relative difference between a slow wipe speed and a narrow curtain slit results in distortion because one side of the frame is exposed at a noticeably later instant than the other and the object's interim movement is imaged. For a horizontal Leica-type FP shutter, the image is stretched if the object moves in the same direction as the shutter curtains, and compressed if travelling in

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3328-586: The D600 , a prosumer FX camera, are produced in Thailand, while their professional and semi-professional Nikon FX format (full frame) cameras ( D700 , D3 , D3S , D3X , D4 , D800 and the retro-styled Df ) are built in Japan, in the city of Sendai . The Thai facility also produces most of Nikon's digital "DX" zoom lenses, as well as numerous other lenses in the Nikkor line. In 1999, Nikon and Essilor have signed

3432-605: The D780 , or the D6 in 2020. In reaction to the growing market for Mirrorless cameras, Nikon released their first Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Cameras and also a new lens mount in 2011. The lens mount was called Nikon 1 , and the first bodies in it were the Nikon 1 J1 and the V1 . The system was built around a 1 inch (or CX) format image sensor , with a 2.7x crop factor . This format

3536-493: The Mitsubishi group of companies ( keiretsu ). On March 7, 2024, Nikon announced its acquisition of Red Digital Cinema . The 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 Kōgaku Tōkyō K.K. Over the next sixty years, this growing company became a manufacturer of optical lenses (including those for

3640-513: The Nikkormat FT (aka Nikomat FT) of 1965 and its center-the-needle system. The viewfinder also had Nikon's standard interchangeable focus screen with various focusing options. The major improvements in the FM2 compared to the FM were limited automatic dedicated electronic flash control and a mechanically timed vertical metal shutter (bearing mounted for reduced friction and extended life) reaching

3744-563: The Nikon D1 digital SLR . The D1 used electronic assist from its sensor for the 1/16,000 s speed and its 15.6×23.7 mm "APS-size" sensor was smaller than 35 mm film and therefore easier to cross quickly for 1/500 s X-sync. However, with very limited need for such extremely fast speeds, FP shutters retreated to 1/8000 s in 2003 (and 1/250 s X-sync in 2006)—even in professional level cameras. In addition, since no specialised timers are needed for extremely slow speeds,

3848-520: The Nikon D1 SLR under its own name in 1999. Although it used an APS-C -size light sensor only 2/3 the size of a 35 mm film frame (later called a " DX sensor"), the D1 was among the first digital cameras to have sufficient image quality and a low enough price for some professionals (particularly photojournalists and sports photographers) to use it as a replacement for a film SLR. The company also has

3952-459: The Nikonos series of underwater film cameras. Nikon's main competitors in camera and lens manufacturing include Canon , Sony , Fujifilm , Panasonic , Pentax , and Olympus . Founded on July 25, 1917 as Nippon Kōgaku Kōgyō Kabushikigaisha ( 日本光学工業株式会社 " Japan Optical Industries Co., Ltd. "), the company was renamed to Nikon Corporation, after its cameras, in 1988. Nikon is a member of

4056-573: The Olympus OM-4 (both Japan) reached 240 s in 1983. The Pentax LX (Japan, 1980) and Canon New F-1 (Japan, 1981) had hybrid electromechanical FP shutters that timed their fast speeds mechanically, but used electronics only to extend the slow speed range; the LX to 125 s and the F-1N to 8 s. Electronics are also responsible for pushing the focal-plane shutter's X-sync speed beyond its mechanical limits. A horizontal FP shutter for 35 mm cameras

4160-558: The Skylab and later again on it in 1981. Nikon popularized many features in professional SLR photography, such as the modular camera system with interchangeable lenses, viewfinders, motor drives, and data backs; integrated light metering and lens indexing; electronic strobe flashguns instead of expendable flashbulbs; electronic shutter control; evaluative multi-zone "matrix" metering; and built-in motorized film advance. However, as auto focus SLRs became available from Minolta and others in

4264-452: The Z fc and the Z 9 . The Nikon Z fc is the second Z-series APS-C (DX) mirrorless camera in the line up, designed to evoke the company's famous FM2 SLR from the '80s. It offers manual controls, including dedicated dials for shutter speed, exposure compensation and ISO. The Z 9 became Nikon's new flagship product succeeding the D6, marking the start of a new era of Nikon cameras. It includes

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4368-481: The photolithography steps of such manufacturing. Nikon is the world's second largest manufacturer of such equipment. Since July 2024, Nikon has been headquartered in Nishi-Ōi, Shinagawa, Tokyo where the plant has been located since 1918. The company is the eighth-largest chip equipment maker as reported in 2017. Also, it has diversified into new areas like 3D printing and regenerative medicine to compensate for

4472-456: The 1/500 second of the typical leaf shutter . While the concept of a travelling slit shutter is simple, a modern FP shutter is a computerised microsecond accurate timer, governing sub-gram masses of exotic materials, subjected to hundreds of gs acceleration, moving with micron precision, choreographed with other camera systems for 100,000+ cycles. This is why FP shutters are seldom seen in compact or point-and-shoot cameras. In addition,

4576-678: The 120 hz subject recognition AF system make it one of the most advanced cameras on the market with its main rivals being the Canon EOS R3 and the Sony α1 . (As of February 2022) Before the introduction of the Z-series, on February 23, 2016 Nikon announced its DL range of fixed-lens compact cameras. The series comprised three 20 megapixel 1"-type CMOS sensor cameras with Expeed 6A image processing engines: DL18-50 f/1.8-2.8, DL24-85 f/1.8-2.8 black and silver and DL24-500 f/2.8-5.6. Nikon described

4680-574: The 1960s could achieve at least 1/500 s flash sync. Copal collaborated with Nippon Kogaku to change the Compact Square shutter for the Nikon FM2 (Japan) of 1982 to using a honeycomb pattern-etched titanium foil for its blade sheaves. This permitted cutting shutter-curtain travel time by nearly half to 3.6 ms (at 6.7 m/s) and allowed 1/200 s flash X-sync speed. It also has a distortionless top speed of up to 1/4000 s (with

4784-762: The 1970s. The most notable were the Copal Compact Shutter (CCS), introduced by the Konica Autoreflex TC in 1976, and the Seiko Metal Focal-Plane Compact (MFC), first used in the Pentax ME in 1977. The Leica Camera (originally E. Leitz) switched to a vertical metal FP shutter in 2006 for its first digital rangefinder (RF) camera, the Leica M8 (Germany). The Contax (Germany) 35 mm RF camera of 1932 had

4888-401: The 1980s had not only left the market, but become inoperable. Time has proven the FM2 to be very tough and reliable and it is regarded as one of the best-built and rugged mechanical 35 mm cameras of all time. Many professional photographers continue to use the FM2 as a backup camera, both because of its ruggedness and because it is capable of full mechanical operation with all features except

4992-427: The 19th century, as one increased-sensitivity process replaced another and larger aperture lenses became available, exposure times shortened to seconds and then to fractions of a second. Exposure timing control mechanisms became a necessary accessory and then a standard camera feature. The earliest manufactured shutter was the drop shutter of the 1870s. This was an accessory guillotine -like device—a wooden panel with

5096-470: The 24×36 mm frame. As perfected in 1965 by Copal, the Copal Square's slit traversed the 24 mm high film gate in 7 ms (3.4 m/s). This doubled the flash X-sync speed to 1/125 s. In addition, a minimum 1.7 mm wide slit would double the top shutter speed to a maximum of 1/2000 s. Most Squares were derated to 1/1000 s in the interest of reliability. Squares came from

5200-764: The Automatic Indexing (AI) feature introduced in 1977. The Nikon-made AI lenses of this type are the AF-S Nikkor, AF-I Nikkor, AF Nikkor D, AF Nikkor, Nikkor AI-S, Nikkor AI and Nikon Series E types. Nikon's most recent 35 mm film SLR lenses, the AF Nikkor G type (introduced in 2000) and the AF Nikkor DX type (2003) will mount but will not function properly. IX Nikkor lenses (1996), for Nikon's Advanced Photo System (APS) film SLRs, must not be mounted, as their rear elements will intrude far enough into

5304-535: The Canon system through the 1990s. Once Nikon introduced affordable consumer-level DSLRs such as the Nikon D70 in the mid-2000s, sales of its consumer and professional film cameras fell rapidly, following the general trend in the industry. In January 2006, Nikon announced it would stop making most of its film camera models and all of its large format lenses, and focus on digital models. Nevertheless, Nikon remained

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5408-609: The FM2 included the Nikon MD-12 motor drive (automatic film advance up to 3.2 frames per second), the Nikon MF-16 databack (sequential numbering, time or date stamping on the film), and the Nikon SB-15 (guide number 82/25 (feet/meters) at ASA/ISO 100) and Nikon SB-16B (guide number 105/32 (feet/meters) at ASA/ISO 100) electronic flashes. The FM2 is a mechanically controlled manual focus SLR with manual exposure control. It

5512-574: The Nikon DSLR cameras, which is friendly for those who are switching from them. This shows that Nikon is putting their focus more on their MILC line. In 2020 Nikon updated both the Z 6 and the Z 7. The updated models are called the Z 6 II and the Z 7 II . The improvements over the original models include the new EXPEED 6 processor, an added card slot, improved video and AF features, higher burst rates, battery grip support and USB-C power delivery . In 2021, Nikon released 2 mirrorless cameras,

5616-451: The Nikon F in particular was therefore labeled ' Nikkor '. The Nikkor brand was introduced in 1932, a westernised rendering of an earlier version Nikkō ( 日光 ), an abbreviation of the company's original full name ( Nikkō also means "sunlight" and is the name of a famous Japanese onsen town .). Nikkor is the Nikon brand name for its lenses. Another early brand used on microscopes

5720-1052: The VEB Pentacon Praktica electronic (East Germany) was the first SLR with an electronically controlled FP shutter. It used electronic circuitry to time its shutter instead of the traditional spring/gear/lever clockwork mechanisms. In 1971, the Asahi Pentax Electro Spotmatic (Japan; name shortened to Asahi Pentax ES in 1972; called Honeywell Pentax ES in US) tied its electronically controlled shutter to its exposure control light meter to provide electronic aperture-priority autoexposure. The traditional 1/1000 s and 1/2000 s top speeds of horizontal and vertical FP shutters are often 1 ⁄ 4 stop too slow, even in ultra-high-quality models. Spring powered geartrains reliably time any higher accelerations and shocks. For example, some highly tensioned FP shutters could suffer from "shutter curtain bounce". If

5824-572: The angular sweep of the exposure wipe. Bulk can be reduced by substituting blade sheaves for the plate, but then the rotary FP shutter essentially becomes a regular bladed FP shutter. The revolving drum is an unusual FP shutter that has been used in several specialised panoramic cameras such as the Panon Widelux (1959, Japan) and KMZ Horizont (1968, Soviet Union). Instead of using an extremely short focal length ( wide-angle ) lens to achieve an extra-wide field of view , these cameras have

5928-673: The centre field. Founded in 1917 as Nippon Kōgaku Kōgyō Kabushikigaisha ( 日本光学工業株式会社 "Japan Optical Industries Corporation"), the company was renamed Nikon Corporation , after its cameras, in 1988. The name Nikon , which dates from 1946, was originally intended only for its small-camera line, spelled as "Nikkon", with an addition of the "n" to the "Nikko" brand name. The similarity to the Carl Zeiss AG brand "ikon", would cause some early problems in Germany as Zeiss complained that Nikon violated its trademarked camera. From 1963 to 1968

6032-456: The curtains are designed to overlap as the shutter is cocked to prevent double exposure. Although self-capping dual curtain FP shutters date back to the late 19th century, the Leica design made them popular and virtually all FP shutters introduced since 1925 are dual curtain models. As revised in the 1954 Leica M3 (West Germany), a typical Leica-type horizontal FP shutter for 35 mm cameras

6136-460: The curtains are not properly braked after crossing the film gate, they might crash and bounce; reopening the shutter and causing double exposure ghosting bands on the image edge. Even the Nikon F2 's ultra-high precision shutter suffered from this as an early production teething problem. At first, electromagnets controlled by analogue resistor/capacitor timers were used to govern the release of

6240-404: The difficulties in precisely timing extremely narrow slits and the unacceptable distortion resulting from a relatively slow wipe speed. Their maximum flash synchronization speed is also limited because the slit is fully open only to the film gate (36 mm wide or wider) and able to be flash exposed up to 1/60 s X-synchronization (nominal; 18 ms = 1/55 s actual maximum; in reality,

6344-659: The discontinuation of all but two models of its film cameras, focusing its efforts on the digital camera market. It continues to sell the fully manual FM10 , and still offers the high-end fully automatic F6 . Nikon has also committed to service all the film cameras for a period of ten years after production ceases. High-end (Professional – Intended for professional use, heavy duty and weather resistance) Midrange Midrange with electronic features Entry-level (Consumer) High-end (Professional – Intended for professional use, heavy duty and weather resistance) High-end (Prosumer – Intended for pro-consumers who want

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6448-636: The entire film gate—in effect, simulating long-burn FP flashbulbs —allowing flash exposure at shutter speeds as fast as 1/2000 s. There is a concomitant loss of flash range. Extended "FP flash" sync speeds began appearing in many high-end 35 mm SLRs in the mid-1990s, and reached 1/12,000 s in the Minolta Maxxum 9  [ de ] (Japan; called Dynax 9 in Europe, Alpha 9 in Japan) of 1998. They are still offered in some digital SLRs to 1/8000 s. Leaf shutter cameras are not affected by this issue. Focal-plane shutter top speed peaked at 1/16,000 s (and 1/500 s X-sync) in 1999 with

6552-424: The film. Faster shutter speeds simply require a narrower slit, as the speed of travel of the shutter curtains is not normally varied. Figure 1: The black rectangle represents the frame aperture through which the exposure is made. It is currently covered by the first shutter curtain, shown in red. The second shutter curtain shown in green is on the right side. Figure 2: The first shutter curtain begins to move to

6656-421: The first Canon cameras) and equipment used in cameras, binoculars, microscopes and inspection equipment. During World War II the company operated thirty factories with 2,000 employees, manufacturing binoculars, lenses, bomb sights, and periscopes for the Japanese military. After the war Nippon Kōgaku reverted to producing its civilian product range in a single factory. In 1948, the first Nikon-branded camera

6760-414: The flash will also interfere. These cameras are often used for photographing large groups of people (e.g., the 'school' photograph). The subjects may be arranged in a shortened semicircle with the camera at the centre such that all the subjects are the same distance from the camera and facing the camera. Once the exposure is made and processed, the panoramic print shows everyone in a straight line facing in

6864-575: The high productivity and worldwide marketing and sales network of Essilor, the world leader in this industry. Nikon-Essilor Co. Ltd. started its business in January 2000, responsible for research, development, production and sales mainly for ophthalmic optics. Revenue from Nikon's camera business has dropped 30% in three years prior to fiscal 2015. In 2013, it forecast the first drop in sales from interchangeable lens cameras since Nikon's first digital SLR in 1999. The company's net profit has fallen from

6968-474: The high-end professional and semi-professional market to the growing consumer market. The latter desired an affordable, yet full-featured 35 mm camera, but were intimidated by the need to learn the intricacies of operating a traditional SLR. Against this backdrop, the FM2 may have seemed an anachronism, yet it sold well. It was a reliable, durable mechanical camera in a time of ever-increasing electronic automation, and often, less durable construction. The FM2

7072-410: The image center seems to bulge toward the viewer, while the periphery appears to curve away because the lens's field of view changes as it swivels. This distortion will disappear if the photograph is mounted on a circularly curved support and viewed with the eye at the center. Revolving shutters that do not rotate smoothly may create uneven exposure that will result in vertical banding in the image. Using

7176-596: The image sensor, replacing the traditional mechanical leaf shutter with delicate moving parts that can wear out, used by film-based point-and-shoot units. Something similar is also occurring with digital cameras that, in the past, would have used focal-plane shutters. For example, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 (2011, Japan) interchangeable lens digital camera has an FP shutter, but in its 20 frames per second SH Burst mode, it locks its mechanical shutter open and electronically scans its digital sensor, although with

7280-462: The integrated circuit for image processing) and profitability as main issues causing the cancellation. Although few models were introduced, Nikon made movie cameras as well. The R10 and R8 SUPER ZOOM Super 8 models (introduced in 1973) were the top of the line and last attempt for the amateur movie field. The cameras had a special gate and claw system to improve image steadiness and overcome a major drawback of Super 8 cartridge design. The R10 model has

7384-468: The late 1980s. Minimizing mechanical moving parts also helped to prevent inertial shock vibration problems. A spring-wound clockwork escapement must completely unwind fairly quickly and limit the longest speed—generally to one full second, although the Kine Exakta (Germany) offered 12 s in 1936. The Olympus OM-2 's electronically timed horizontal FP shutter could reach 60 s in 1975 and

7488-415: The left allowing the exposure to be made. Because the exposure requires a very fast shutter speed, the second curtain begins to move across at a set distance from the first one. Figure 3: The first shutter curtain continues to travel across the frame aperture followed by the second curtain. It would be pointless to use an electronic flash with this shutter speed as the short duration flash would expose only

7592-402: The light meter, even without a battery. Nikkorex F / Nikkor J Autofocus Camera | APS-format | Nikkorex with Leaf Shutter | Nikomat/Nikkormat | All Other Cameras | Manual Focus with electronic features (A mode) See also: Nikon DSLR cameras Focal plane shutter In camera design, a focal-plane shutter ( FPS ) is a type of photographic shutter that

7696-725: The main mechanic/electronic features of the professional line but don't need the same heavy duty/weather resistance) Mid-range (Consumer) Entry-level (Consumer) Between 1983 and the early 2000s a broad range of compact cameras were made by Nikon. Nikon first started by naming the cameras with a series name (like the L35/L135-series, the RF/RD-series, the W35-series, the EF or the AW-series). In later production cycles,

7800-480: The major SLR brands: Nikon , Canon , Minolta , Pentax and Olympus . Between circa 1975 to 1985, there was a dramatic shift away from heavy all-metal manual mechanical camera bodies to much more compact bodies with integrated circuit (IC) electronic automation. In addition, because of rapid advances in electronics, the brands continually leapfrogged each other with models that had new or more automatic features. SLR camera manufacturers were attempting to expand from

7904-610: The mid-1980s, Nikon's line of manual-focus cameras began to seem out of date. Despite introducing one of the first autofocus models, the slow and bulky F3AF, the company's determination to maintain lens compatibility with its F-mount prevented rapid advances in autofocus technology. Canon introduced a new type of lens-camera interface with its entirely electronic Canon EOS cameras and Canon EF lens mount in 1987. The much faster lens performance permitted by Canon's electronic focusing and aperture control prompted many professional photographers (especially in sports and news) to switch to

8008-430: The mirror box to cause damage. During the early 1980s, Nippon Kogaku manufactured approximately 70 different types of manual focus Nikkor AI-S and Nikon Series E branded lenses. They ranged from a Fisheye-Nikkor 6 mm f/2.8 220° circular fisheye to a Reflex-Nikkor 2000 mm f/11 super telephoto. The AF-S Nikkor, AF-I Nikkor, AF Nikkor D and AF Nikkor autofocus lenses will work for manual focus only. Accessories for

8112-422: The next exposure. This is a graphical representation only; the actual mechanisms are much more complex. For example, the shutter curtains actually roll on and off spools at either side of the frame aperture so as to use as little space as possible. Faster shutter speeds are achieved by the second curtain closing before the first one has fully opened; this results in a vertical slit that travels horizontally across

8216-640: The next few years and an increase of floor space from the original 19,400 square meters (209,000 square feet) to 46,200 square meters (497,000 square feet) enabled the factory to produce a wider range of Nikon products. By 2004, it had more than 8,000 workers. The range of the products produced at Nikon Thailand include plastic molding, optical parts, painting , printing , metal processing, plating , spherical lens process, aspherical lens process, prism process, electrical and electronic mounting process, silent wave motor and autofocus unit production. As of 2009, all of Nikon's Nikon DX format DSLR cameras and

8320-502: The only major camera manufacturer still making film SLR cameras for a long time. The high-end Nikon F6 and the entry-level FM10 remained in production all the way up until October 2020. Nikon created some of the first digital SLRs (DSLRs, Nikon NASA F4 ) for NASA , used in the Space Shuttle since 1991. After a 1990s partnership with Kodak to produce digital SLR cameras based on existing Nikon film bodies, Nikon released

8424-404: The opportunities to use the high speeds. Folmer and Schwing (US) were the most famous proponents of single curtain FP shutters, with their large format sheet film Graflex single-lens reflex and Graphic press cameras using them from 1905 to 1973. Their most common 4×5 inch shutters had four slit widths ranging from 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 to 1 ⁄ 8 inch and up to six spring tensions for

8528-521: The opposite direction of them. For a downward-firing vertical Square-type FP shutter, the top of the image leans forward. The use of leaning to give the impression of speed in illustration is a caricature of the distortion caused by the slow-wiping vertical FP shutters of large format cameras from the first half of the 20th century. Instead of using relatively slow-moving mechanical shutter curtains, electro-optic devices such as Pockels cells can be employed as shutters. While not commonly used, they avoid

8632-401: The problems associated with travelling-curtain shutters such as flash synchronisation limitations and image distortions when the object is moving. Besides the horizontal Leica and vertical Square FP shutters, other types of FP shutters exist. The most prominent is the rotary or sector FP shutter. The rotary disc shutter is common in film and movie cameras, but rare in still cameras. These spin

8736-400: The range as a premium line of compact cameras, which combines the high performance of Nikkor lenses with always-on smart device connectivity. All three cameras were showcased at CP+ 2016. One year after the initial announcement, on February 13, 2017, Nikon officially cancelled the release and sale of DL-series, which was originally planned for a June 2016 release. They cited design issues (with

8840-432: The required time with the shutter open, the second curtain closes the aperture in the same direction. When the shutter is cocked again the shutter curtains are moved back to their starting positions, ready to be released. Figure 1: The black rectangle represents the frame aperture through which the exposure is made. It is currently covered by the first shutter curtain, shown in red. The second shutter curtain shown in green

8944-630: The same as those found in the Nikon N8008), while the mirror/shutter mechanism rides on self-lubricating bearings. The mirror linkage uses the same mechanism found on Nikon's professional F2, with some modern improvements, such as additional foam dampeners, designed to further reduce effects of vibration and mirror bounce. The FM2 also features Nikon's close tolerance assembly and minimal space lubrication, meaning that it will reliably operate in temperature extremes of −40 °C to +50 °C. The FM2 accepts all Nikon F bayonet mount lenses that support

9048-437: The same direction. The distortion present in the background betrays the technique. The earliest daguerreotype , invented in 1839, did not have shutters, because the lack of sensitivity of the process and the small apertures of available lenses meant that exposure times were measured in many minutes. A photographer could easily control exposure time by removing and returning the camera lens' lens cap or plug. However, during

9152-421: The same way as the horizontal shutters, with a shorter distance for the shutter blades to travel, only 24 mm as opposed to 36 mm. Focal-plane shutters can be built into the body of a camera that accepts interchangeable lenses, eliminating the need for each lens to have a central shutter built into it. Their fastest speeds are either 1/4000 second, 1/8000 second, or 1/12000 second; much higher than

9256-596: The second shutter curtain (though still operated by spring power). In 1979, the Yashica Contax 139 Quartz (Japan) introduced digital piezoelectric quartz (shortly followed by ceramic) oscillator circuits (ultimately under digital microprocessor control) to time and sequence its entire exposure cycle, including its vertical FP shutter. Electric "coreless" micromotors, with near instantaneous on/off capability and relatively high power for their size, would drive both curtains and other camera systems replacing springs in

9360-401: The series were the Z 6 and the Z 7 , both with a Full Frame (FX) sensor format, In-Body Image Stabilization and a built-in electronic viewfinder . The Z-mount is not only for FX cameras though, as in 2019 Nikon introduced the Z 50 with a DX format sensor, without IBIS but with the compatibility to every Z-mount lens. The handling, the ergonomics and the button layout are similar to

9464-594: The shrinking digital camera market. Among Nikon's many notable product lines are Nikkor imaging lenses (for F-mount cameras, large format photography, photographic enlargers , and other applications), the Nikon F -series of 35 mm film SLR cameras, the Nikon D-series of digital SLR cameras, the Nikon Z-series of digital mirrorless cameras, the Coolpix series of compact digital cameras, and

9568-428: The slowest speed setting is usually 30 s. Instead, over the last twenty years, most effort has gone into improving durability and reliability. Whereas the best mechanically controlled shutters were rated for 150,000 cycles and had an accuracy of ±¼ stop from nominal value (more typically 50,000 cycles at ±½ stop). In the last few years, digital point-and-shoot cameras have been using timed electronic sampling of

9672-530: The smaller DX size sensor. Then, 2005 management changes at Nikon led to new camera designs such as the full-frame Nikon D3 in late 2007, the Nikon D700 a few months later, and mid-range SLRs. Nikon regained much of its reputation among professional and amateur enthusiast photographers as a leading innovator in the field, especially because of the speed, ergonomics, and low-light performance of its latest models. The mid-range Nikon D90 , introduced in 2008,

9776-436: The supplier as complete drop-in modules. Square-type FP shutters were originally bulky in size and noisy in operation, limiting their popularity in the 1960s. Although Konica and Nikkormat and Topcon (D-1) were major users of the Copal Square. It moved from three-axis to four-axis designs (one control axis for each curtain drum axis instead of one control for both drums). New compact and quieter Square designs were introduced in

9880-635: The typical focal-plane shutter has flash synchronization speeds that are slower than the typical leaf shutter's 1/500 s, because the first curtain has to open fully and the second curtain must not start to close until the flash has fired. In other words, the very narrow slits of fast speeds will not be properly flash exposed. The fastest X-sync speed on a 35 mm camera is traditionally 1/60 s for horizontal Leica-type FP shutters and 1/125 s for vertical Square-type FP shutters. Focal-plane shutters may also produce image distortion of very fast-moving objects or when panned rapidly, as described in

9984-399: Was Joico , an abbreviation of "Japan Optical Industries Co". Expeed is the brand Nikon uses for its image processors since 2007. The Nikon SP and other 1950s and 1960s rangefinder cameras competed directly with models from Leica and Zeiss. However, the company quickly ceased developing its rangefinder line to focus its efforts on the Nikon F single-lens reflex line of cameras, which

10088-626: Was also the first SLR camera to record video. Since then video mode has been introduced to many more of the Nikon and non-Nikon DSLR cameras including the Nikon D3S , Nikon D3100 , Nikon D3200 , Nikon D5100 , and Nikon D7000 . More recently, Nikon has released a photograph and video editing suite called ViewNX to browse, edit, merge and share images and videos. Despite the market growth of Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Cameras , Nikon did not neglect their F-mount Single Lens Reflex cameras and have released some professional DSLRs like

10192-897: Was built using the same material—copper-aluminium-silicon (copper- silumin ) alloy—as the earlier Nikon FM (introduced in 1977) and FE (1978) cameras. The Nikon FE2 and FA of 1983 also had this silumin alloy construction, along with the limited production Nikon FM3A of 2001, although the design of the housing differs from model to model. Like its predecessor, the FM , the FM2n has a long-standing reputation for reliability and durability. It has an extremely strong body of copper-aluminum-silicon ( silumin ) alloy. The FM2's film transport consists of high-strength hardened metal gears and moving parts, mounted on clusters of ball bearings. The camera's precision-tapered, high-strength vertical metal shutter blades were fabricated originally of lightweight titanium (later production FM2 shutter blades were made of aluminum,

10296-484: Was created. Goerz manufactured the Anschütz Camera as the first production FP shutter camera in 1890. Francis Blake invented a type of focal plane shutter camera in 1889 that achieved shutter speeds of 1/2000 second, and exhibited numerous stop-action photographs. A drop shutter-like mechanism with an adjustable slit was used at the focal plane of an apparently one-off William England camera in 1861 and this

10400-503: Was not designed for budget-minded snapshooters who would never bother to learn to use shutter-speeds and aperture settings, but rather was intended to appeal to serious photographers who demanded a tough, rugged camera. Nippon Kogaku believed that advanced photographers were not interested in every possible automated bell and whistle, but rather in high quality and precision workmanship. The FM2 remained in limited production until 2001, long after many other more complex electronic designs from

10504-439: Was pretty small compared to their competitors. This resulted in a loss of image quality, dynamic range and fewer possibilities for restricting depth of field depth of field range . In 2018, Nikon officially discontinued the 1 series, after three years without a new camera body. (The last one was the Nikon 1 J5 ). Also in 2018, Nikon introduced a new mirrorless system in their lineup: the Nikon Z system . The first cameras in

10608-797: Was released, the Nikon I . Nikon lenses were popularised by the American photojournalist David Douglas Duncan . Duncan was working in Tokyo when the Korean War began. Duncan had met a young Japanese photographer, Jun Miki , who introduced Duncan to Nikon lenses. From July 1950 to January 1951, Duncan covered the Korean War. Fitting Nikon optics (especially the NIKKOR-P.C 1:2 f=8,5 cm) to his Leica rangefinder cameras allowed him to produce high contrast negatives with very sharp resolution at

10712-479: Was renamed the Nikon FM2n (New FM2 in the Japanese market), but remained marked FM2. The only external differences were the red 250 setting on the shutter speed dial and the N serial number prefix. Advances in metallurgy proved the suitability of high-strength aluminum as a substitute for the expensive titanium used in the shutter, and was adopted for the FM2n in 1989. The only way to identify the different versions

10816-580: Was successful upon its introduction in 1959. For nearly 30 years, Nikon's F-series SLRs were the most widely used small-format cameras among professional photographers, as well as by some U.S. space program, the first in 1971 on Apollo 15 (as lighter and smaller alternative to the Hasselblad , used in the Mercury , Gemini and Apollo programs, 12 of which are still on the Moon) and later once in 1973 on

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