Celebrating 90 Years of NIKKOR Lenses

Celebrating 90 Years of Nikkor Lenses

From the secrets of the solar system to precious family moments, Nikon lenses have captured some of the most important images of our time.

The legacy of Nikon is one of constant innovation. As we mark the 90th anniversary of the Nikkor brand, we’re celebrating our history, and looking ahead to the future.

A History in 18 Iconic Lenses

Discover the incredible legacy of Nikon optics. Check back for new stories over the coming weeks.

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NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena (2023)

Stunning wide-aperture performance.

The Plena takes full advantage of the unique dimensions of the mirrorless Nikon Z mount to deliver superb image quality for portraiture and low-light imaging. The Plena takes its name from the Latin word plenum, meaning full or complete. It offers excellent peripheral illumination, which ensures beautiful near-circular bokeh across the frame. The Plena also delivers excellent edge-to-edge sharpness, even wide open at f/1.8.
NIKKOR-P.C 8.5cm f/2 (1948)

The lens that put Nikkor on the map.

The P.C 8.5cm (85mm) f/2 was one of several lenses designed by famed Nikon optical engineer Saburo Murakami in the late 1940s. As well as offering excellent image quality to photographers of the time, it also played an important role in popularizing Nikkor lenses outside of Japan. On a visit to Nikon headquarters in 1950, American photojournalist David Douglas Duncan was shown photographs shot with the NIKKOR-P.C 8.5cm f/2 and was so impressed that he adopted Nikkor lenses for use on his cameras.
AF Zoom-Micro Nikkor ED 70-180mm f/4.5-5.6D (1997)

High-performance macro meets zoom.

The AF Zoom-Micro Nikkor ED 70-180mm f/4.5-5.6D was a combination general-purpose telezoom and dedicated macro lens. It offered macro reproduction at all focal lengths, with a maximum reproduction ratio of 1:1.32 possible at the 180mm end of the zoom. This enabled fans of closeup photography to shoot high-quality images in the macro range while retaining the convenience of zoom for quick reframing. Another benefit of its advanced design compared to traditional macro prime lenses was that the effective maximum aperture didn’t decrease at close distances.
PC-Nikkor 35mm f/3.5 (1962)

A world’s first solution for architectural photographers.

The PC-Nikkor 35mm f/3.5 was the world’s first-ever interchangeable perspective control lens for 35mm film cameras, enabling photographers to correct for converging verticals in-camera. To do this, the optical assembly could be shifted by up to 11 millimeters in 12 positions. The ability to correct perspective distortion in-camera is incredibly useful for applications like architectural photography, especially in the film era, where digital post-processing wasn’t an option.
Micro-NIKKOR Auto 55mm f/3.5 (1963)

A macro lens that stood the test of time.

The development of Micro-NIKKOR lenses was initially requested for the purpose of copying documents onto microfilm. Compared to Roman characters, the fine strokes of Japanese kanji required a particularly high-resolution lens to reproduce them clearly. The Micro-NIKKOR Auto 55mm f/3.5 evolved from a lens originally created for Nikon’s S-series rangefinder cameras, and the resulting F mount version was so successful that its optical design remained virtually unchanged for almost 20 years.
AI NIKKOR 400mm f/3.5S ED-IF (1977)

Designed for action.

Nikon developed the AI Nikkor 400mm f/3.5S ED-IF for the specific needs of professionals, especially sports photographers. It was Nikon’s first internal focus (IF) lens, and included an ED (Extra-low Dispersion) element to reduce chromatic aberration. The development of IF transformed the handling of long telephoto prime Nikkor lenses, and in 1994, the Japan Institute of Invention and Innovation awarded the Chairman’s Prize to designers Soichi Nakamura, Kazuo Arashida, and Kiyoshi Hayashi, who worked on several IF telephoto designs, including the AI Nikkor 400mm f/3.5S ED-IF.
Nikkor Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct (2019)

A landmark lens for mirrorless.

The Nikon Z mirrorless lens mount is the largest and shallowest of any comparable full-frame lens mount. This enables Nikon's optical engineers to design wider aperture lenses than ever before, without the traditional compromises imposed by SLR-era designs. This is exemplified by the manual focus Nikkor Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct. The name Noct comes from the French word nocturne, meaning “night scene.” The Noct has the largest maximum aperture of any Nikkor Z or F mount lens and is specifically optimized for shooting wide open, at or close to f/0.95.
OP Fisheye-Nikkor 10mm f/5.6 (1968)

The first Nikkor lens with an aspherical element.

Originally developed for scientific applications, the OP (Orthographic Projection) 10mm f/5.6 had more distortion than conventional fisheye designs, making it popular for some types of creative as well as technical photography. To achieve the desired image quality, it featured a large, aspherical front element—the world’s first in an interchangeable lens. Aspherical elements help control spherical aberration, ensuring that light rays converge at the same point. Nowadays, many high-performance Nikkor lenses use one or multiple aspherical elements in their designs, including the ultra-wide-angle zoom Nikkor Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S (which has three!)
Nikkor-N Auto 35mm f/1.4 (1971)

A world’s first wide-angle prime lens for SLR.

When it was released, the Nikkor-N Auto 35mm f/1.4 was the world's fastest wide-angle lens for a single-lens reflex system. A favorite of film-era Nikon photographers, the fast, bright 35mm f/1.4 was the first Nikkor lens to feature multicoating for better contrast and superior control over internal reflections. The 35mm f/1.4 offered excellent sharpness at all apertures, making it a versatile lens in various shooting situations, including low light.
Nikkor 13mm f/5.6 (1976)

The lens they said was impossible.

Achieving “rectilinear” (undistorted) images from ultra-wide-angle lenses is among the most challenging tasks in optics. Reportedly, some within Nikon considered the specifications of the Nikkor 13mm f/5.6 to be impossible, but famed designer Ikuo Mori presented a working prototype in 1973. The finished lens became available to photographers as a special-order item three years later, offering a field of view previously only possible with fisheye optics—a position it held for more than 20 years. The Nikkor 13mm f/5.6 features a large 4.5-in (115mm) diameter front element and was manufactured in very small numbers, making it highly collectible today.
AF DC-Nikkor 135mm f/2 (1991)

A portrait photographer’s dream.

Portrait photographers love the 135mm focal length because of its flattering perspective, but the AF DC-Nikkor 135mm f/2 took things to the next level. As well as being a high-performance prime lens for general use, it incorporated a portraiture-oriented “Defocus Control” feature, accessed from a dedicated dial around the lens barrel. Defocus Control works by adjusting the amount of spherical aberration at a given shooting aperture, which changes the quality of the bokeh either in front (F) or to the rear (R) of a subject. This world’s first feature was also included in the later AF DC-Nikkor 105mm f/2.
Nikkor Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S (2022)

A high-performance telephoto for the mirrorless era.

The Nikkor Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S incorporates a 1.4X teleconverter and is the first Nikkor lens to use Meso Amorphous Coat, which achieves the highest-ever anti-reflection performance of any Nikkor lens coating. In addition to its stunning image quality, it is 20% lighter than its F mount equivalent and offers up to 5.5 stops of Vibration Reduction image stabilization, setting a new standard for performance and usability.
NIKKOR-H C 5cm f/2 (1937)

The original “standard” Nikkor lens for rangefinder cameras.

The 5cm (50mm) f/2 was among the first Nikkor lenses to be produced for L and S mount rangefinder cameras when Nikon pivoted to consumer imaging in the late 1940s. Its elegant optical design, consisting of six elements in three groups, helped deliver very good sharpness and contrast in an era before advanced lens coatings were possible. The NIKKOR-H C 5cm f/2 became a standout lens of the immediate post-war era and a mainstay of the early Nikkor lineup.
Zoom-NIKKOR Auto 43-86mm f/3.5 (1963)

The original Nikkor standard zoom.

The Zoom Nikkor Auto 43-86mm f/3.5 was Nikon’s first zoom lens to offer a focal length range suited to everyday photography and portraiture. Astonishingly small and lightweight for its time, the 43-86mm was developed to give Nikon photographers an affordable and convenient “do it all” lens option. Despite being built with budget-conscious photographers in mind, the 43-86mm offered an excellent combination of performance and price and helped to popularize the now-common concept of a “standard zoom.”
AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED (2007)

A new standard for wide-angle zoom lenses.

The AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED was the world’s fastest ultra-wide zoom lens when it was released in 2007, alongside the D3, Nikon’s first-ever full-frame DSLR. It was designed for a new era of high-resolution digital imaging and offered exceptional image quality across its focal length range. Among other technological advancements, the 14-24mm was among the first Nikkor lenses to feature Nano Crystal Coat to reduce internal reflections.
AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED (2005)

A convention-defying “do it all” zoom.

Traditionally, wide zoom ranges come with compromises regarding image quality. The AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED turned conventional wisdom on its head, offering very good image quality across its huge zoom range, equivalent to 28-300mm on a DX-format Nikon DSLR. The first Nikkor high-power zoom to feature Vibration Reduction image stabilization, it was a hit with Nikon DSLR photographers.
AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4E PF ED VR (2015)

A lightweight, portable telephoto.

The first Nikkor lens to include a Phase Fresnel (PF) element to control chromatic aberration. Thanks to Phase Fresnel technology, fewer elements are required to maintain image quality compared to a traditional telephoto prime lens. As a result, the AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4E PF ED VR has a form factor closer to that of a typical medium telephoto lens and weighs 1.5lbs (700g) less than its non-PF predecessor.
UW-Nikkor 28mm f/3.5 (1965)

Nikkor goes underwater.

Nikon helped popularize modern underwater photography with the iconic “Nikonos” series of fully sealed cameras, which were developed in collaboration with professional divers. The UW-Nikkor 28mm f/3.5 was the first wide-angle Nikkor lens to be corrected for the diffractive index of water, exclusively for underwater use. It offered a wider angle of view and superior resolution than the earlier “amphibious” W-Nikkor 35mm f/2.5 and was a favorite of underwater photographers in the 1960s and 70s.

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Milestones

Explore the history of Nikon lenses
from 1933 to the present day.
1933

The first Aero-Nikkor lenses are released, marking the birth of the Nikkor brand.
1948

The Nikkor P.C 8.5cm f/2 impresses American photojournalist David Douglas Duncan, who becomes a passionate evangelist for Nikkor optics, bringing Nikon lenses to international attention.
1956

Nikon introduces the fastest wide-angle interchangeable lens in the world, the W-NIKKOR 3.5cm f/1.8.
1959

The F mount Auto-NIKKOR Telephoto-Zoom 8.5-25cm (85-250mm) f/4-4.5 becomes the world’s first telephoto zoom lens for still cameras.
1971

The Nikkor-H 300mm f/2.8 ED is the world’s first photographic lens to use extra-low dispersion (ED) glass to reduce chromatic aberrations and increase contrast.
1972

The Fisheye-NIKKOR 6mm f/2.8 has a viewing angle of 220 degrees, meaning that it can actually see behind itself. The 11.5 lb (5.2 kg) lens has its own built-in tripod mount.
1977

The iconic Noct-NIKKOR 58mm f/1.2 is designed specifically for open-aperture photography in extreme low light conditions. The optical design of the “Noct” includes an aspherical front element.
1988

The first use of rear focusing elements (RF) appears in the AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.8D to make autofocusing operation smoother and faster.
1991

The AF DC-NIKKOR 135mm f/2 introduces photographers to “Defocus Control,” enabling precise control over spherical aberration for optimal background and foreground blur.
2004

Nano Crystal Coat is introduced in the AF-S VR Nikkor 300mm f/2.8G IF-ED to reduce internal and external flare and increase contrast.
2007

Nikon releases the AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED, which offers the convenience of a zoom with the optical quality of a high-end prime lens.
2015

The AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4E PF ED VR is the first Nikkor lens to feature a PF (Phase Fresnel) lens element, making it (at the time) the world’s lightest 300mm lens of its type.
2019

Nikon unveils the Nikkor Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct, designed to take full advantage of the Z mount’s unique dimensions. Nikon’s fastest-ever lens, the Noct is a flagship lens for a new era of imaging.
2023

Nikon releases the Nikkor Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena. The Plena offers unrivaled peripheral illumination for beautiful, circular bokeh across the frame.

A World-class Lineup

Discover the huge range of Nikkor lenses for Nikon Z series mirrorless cameras and DSLRs.

Mirrorless Z Lenses

High-performance optics designed for a new mirrorless era.

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DSLR Lenses

Lenses for every shooting situation, from ultra-wide fish-eye to extreme telephoto.

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