kevin h. y. lui. Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 <p>Hi, it is my first time to post a question in Nikon area. <br />I notice the older SLR lenses are marked "Nippon-Kugaku" instead of Nikon. Are they the same ? Who is much better in terms of uses / collection?And when did the Nippon-Kugaku being replaced?<br /><br />Thank you,<br> Kevin</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcnilssen Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 <p>Nippon Kogaku K.K was formed 1917 as an optical company. In 1932, Nikkor was adopted as brand name for camera lenses. In 1946, Nikon was adopted as brand name for small-sized cameras.</p> <p>Source: www.nikon.com</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starvy Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 <p>the exotic always sounds better. there was a time when even nikon sounded exotic but not anymore! the older lenses, particularly in leica clone rangefinders are often uncoated and can produce a different kind of contrast. some like it. others don't.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith_lubow Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 <p>Basically, Nippon Kogaku was the original name of the company. "Nikkor" was their line of glass. "Nikon" was their line of cameras. It is similar to the way Leica was the name of cameras made by the Ernst Leitz company (Leica = <strong>Lei</strong> tz + <strong>ca</strong> mera), but the company later changed its name to Leica. Nippon Kogaku officially changed its name to Nikon about 20 years ago.</p> <p>As for when the full company name was stopped being marked on the lenses, I am not sure.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe_a2 Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 <p>Kevin... Not sure what you are shooting, but keep in mind the older lenses will only mount to the D40, D40x, D60 and D5000 (no metering). Unless they have been updated, the Nippon Kogaku lenses and the early "pre-AI" Nikkors will not physically mount to the other Nikon dSLRs without damaging the camera. Be careful and ask if you have any questions.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_b.1 Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 You might be interested : http://imaging.nikon.com/products/imaging/technology/cousins/cousins01-e/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Currie Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 <p>Here's another useful link, with dates, specs, etc. </p> <p>http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/specs.html</p> <p> </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roland_vink Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 <p>Nikon changed the engraving on lenses from "Nippon Kogaku Japan" to "Nikon" around 1971 or 1972, maybe to coincide with the new Nikon F2 camera. Except for the different engraving, the lenses are identical.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith_lubow Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 <p>Good to know, Roland. That explains why all my glass is marked Nippon-Kogaku.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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