Nikon and Canon using same supplier?

Now here's a radical thought -- what if Nikon "G" lenses and Canon's

cheaper lenses were made by the same manufacturer?

 

I was in my local dealer's shop the other day and looked at oen of the

new Nikon "G" lenses. Then I looked at a comparable Canon lens and

noticed that the shape of the lens barrel, the typeface of the

markings, and the overall set of design elements -- color, texture,

materials -- were the same.

 

Has anyone else noticed this?

There's nothing earth-shatterring here. Cosina has been doing contract manufacturing of low-end bodies and lenses for ALL the major camera oems for quite a while.

 

They make the FM-10 for Nikon, as well as several of Nikon's cheaper line lenses.

 

In general, Nikon and Canon (as well as Pentax, & Minolta) make all of their premium line stuff themselves, and they contract out many of the lower-end items.

Its not just Nikon and Canon, its also Nikon and Minolta.

 

Ever compare an AP-2 with the Minolta Panorama Head II? They came from the same factory, aren't/weren't exactly low end. And before I broke down and bought a used AP-2 I had a long discussion with someone in Minolta USA over non-availability of their cataloged equivalent. He confirmed that N and M got their nice panorama heads from the same little machine shop and that production had long since ended.

 

Cheers,

 

Dan

I have, indeed, noticed this too. The Nikon 24-85G and the Canon 24-85 f/3.5-4.5 USM are very similar, down to the 67mm filter thread - what was the last 67mm lens ever sold by Nikon? None ever, to my knowledge. My guess so far has been that Tamron is making the lens, as the lenscap supplied with the 24-85G is unlike anything Nikon has ever supplied but very similar to those sold with at least some Tamron lenses. I don't know of any other manufacturers with that type of lenscap.

Nikon FM10 and Canon T60 are the same body, with different lens mounts. The overall similarity between Nikon and Canon's top end flashes SB-24 to SB-26 and EX540 and EX550 also suggest they originated from the same designer. Canon's 24-85 is also the only Canon lens with 67mm filter just as Nikon's almost identical 24-85G is the only Nikkor lens with 67mm filter.