[Nikon] I / M / S | Film Cameras | March 1948 / 1949 / 1951
The Nikon was the first camera introduced by the optical manufacturer Nippon Kogaku KK. It is a 35mm rangefinder camera, retrospectively known as the Nikon I. The original design was approved in September 1946, and the camera was released in March 1948. Initially, it was sold locally, and it did not come to the attention of the western media until 1950, when photographers from Life magazine were shown photographs taken with these cameras. The lenses, particularly the Nikkor-P.C 1:2 f=8.5cm, drew special attention. A demand to fit Nikkors to the reporters' Leicas was immediately met at the factory in Tokyo, and soon word spread about these Japanese lenses, which were just as good as, or possibly better than, their German counterparts. The camera design was strongly inspired by German Contax and Leica cameras. After careful studies of these, Nippon Kogaku decided to base their camera on the Contax but substituted the complicated shutter design for the cloth focal plane shutter of the Leica, which were considered the best features from either camera.
The original Nikon I, as introduced in 1948, had no flash synchronization but was otherwise a fully-fledged up-to-date rangefinder camera. The designers chose the 24 × 32 mm frame size pioneered by the Minolta 35, launched a year earlier by Chiyoda Kogaku, known as the Nippon format, which yielded more frames per length of film and matched more closely to common paper sizes. However, the camera never caught on because the US administration in Tokyo did not permit export to the US due to the non-standard format, which was incompatible with Kodak slide mounts.
Consequently, the Nikon M was introduced in the autumn of 1949. This model is recognized by the M preceding the body number. Nippon Kogaku settled for an intermediate frame format of 24 × 34 mm, hoping to find acceptance in the export market. The reason Nippon Kogaku was reluctant to go all the way to the widely accepted standard size is not fully understood; the camera itself seems prepared to accommodate the full frame size for the vast majority of situations. In fact, a new improved model was planned, retaining the non-standard frame format.
The Nikon S, long overdue, was made available in early 1951; it is a Nikon M with flash sync contacts, featuring two sockets at the upper left-hand edge of the body. All cameras sold with this feature are considered a Nikon S by the factory, even if marked M, though collectors distinguish these as more valuable than the S. The Nikon S sold well and became the first Nikon imported to the US market. Several Nikon S cameras have an additional digit in their serial number, known as the 8-digit Nikon S. When reaching 6099999, the engraver continued at 60910000, but it was soon realized that the long serial number was impractical, and after about 1200 cameras, the numbering reverted to 6100000. The 609 prefix in the serial number refers to the date the design was approved in September 1946.
Several further Nikon rangefinder models were introduced throughout the 1950s: the S2, S3, S4, and SP. The latter three were built on the same frame with different features; the Nikon F SLR shares the basic body configuration of the latest rangefinder models.
