Less than two years after the completion of blueprints in September of 1946, the first Nikon camera, the Nikon Model I, was launched in March of 1948. This camera contained original inventions such as small radial ball bearings used for the shutter release, and was the result of overcoming many tough challenges, from research through to marketing.

The Nikon Model I was highly anticipated after being advertised in magazines and via other channels before its release. At the time, supply could not keep up with the strong demand for domestically produced cameras, but the real battle began the moment the camera went on sale. Designers had to field complaint after complaint, and find effective solutions on a daily basis. Nevertheless, they overcame issues one by one and made improvements leading to the Nikon M model of 1949 and the Nikon S of 1950. After that, the camera continued to evolve into the S2, SP, and to the single-lens reflex Nikon F. Nikon cameras advanced continually until their robustness and sophistication went on to attract renown, making Nikon a global brand.

Having been highly acclaimed and relied on by Life Magazine photographers, NIKKOR lenses became a favorite of prominent photographers around the world. While interest in Nikon and NIKKOR was also growing among amateurs, the Nikkor Club was founded as an international association for friendly exchange among keen users of NIKKOR lenses.

Founding members included international photographers from Life Magazine and Magnum Photos, top photographers from Japan, novelists, scholars and film actors.

The signature and legendary Nikon SP was a flagship of rangefinder cameras made in Japan.

The most important feature of this camera, a built-in universal viewfinder that supports six interchangeable lenses (focal lengths 2.8, 3.5, 5, 8.5, 10.5, 13.5cm) was highly acclaimed by professional photographers. These cameras were prized for their whisper-quiet curtain shutters, rear curtain accelerator and silent braking to absorb shock (with coiled axial clamping), as they were designed to produce extremely low operating noise and shock. These technologies began to develop into a system camera with a motor drive unit (capable of 3 frames per second), finder frame illumination for dark locations, and a flash sync connection in the accessory shoe, all directly connectable without a cord. Nikon's first self-timer was also built in.

The Nikon SP, together with the NIKKOR lens and optical glass, won the grand prix at the 1958 World Expo held in Brussels.

Bringing together Nikon's optical and precision technology, the Nikon F drew a major reaction from around the world, and was in production for 15 years up to 1973, effectively solidifying the Nikon and NIKKOR brands.

Newly developed were main components such as the mirror box, pentaprism and bayonet, while the rest could be said to be the same as the SP. However, major technical hurdles had to be surmounted in developing the mirror box and pentaprism mechanism, such as the need for the mirror and lens aperture to automatically return to the wide-open state instantly after shooting.

The bayonet mount was made of stainless steel to sufficiently withstand the weight of a telephoto lens. Looking ahead to the future, a 44mmø (34mmø for the Nikon S) internal diameter was also adopted to enable use of larger aperture lenses. This was the "Nikon F mount" which is also used with new digital single-lens reflex cameras – a technology that has been handed down for more than half a century. This system is the world's longest used lens mount originally designed for 35mm SLR cameras.

The Nikon F takes full advantage of the SLR characteristic of being able to actually project onto the film what the user sees in the viewfinder by making the finder's field of view 100%. Titanium (0.02mm thick) was adopted for the shutter curtain. In addition to shutter speed, a complete coupling system combining aperture with the Nikon exposure meter was achieved.

After the war, Japan had deployed an American micro-file system for saving bulk documentation on microfilm, but because many more strokes are required for writing Japanese characters than the alphabet, the lens resolution of the system was insufficient. Hence, the company developed the high-resolution "Micro-NIKKOR" lens in 1956, which resulted in a flood of inquiries from printing companies and electronics manufacturers about high-resolution lenses. There were also demands for higher-resolution lenses to be used for creating the printed circuit boards required for the manufacture of electronic components.

Thus, in August of 1962, the Ultra Micro-NIKKOR was developed. Two years later, the company succeeded in developing a lens boasting the highest resolution of any in the world. With this resolution it was possible to distinguish some 1,260 paired black and white stripes per millimeter. A 330-page English novel was successfully compressed onto a microfilm just 12.6 x 13.2mm in size – the Ultra Micro-NIKKOR took both the Japanese and global markets by storm.

Subsequently, the technological legacy of the Ultra Micro-NIKKOR would be inherited as the core technology of semiconductor lithography systems, which would be called "the most precise machinery in history."

In January 1971, Nikon agreed a contract in response to a request from the American National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA). This was to supply cameras to record the Apollo 15 mission to the lunar surface to be launched that year, and for the Apollo 17 mission planned for the following year. The 1968 Nikon Photomic FT_N was selected as the base for the development.

NASA had designated specifications to ensure that these cameras would function correctly in the extreme environments of space. These included use of NASA-specified materials such as lubricants and high shock absorption characteristics, and to prevent possible problems due to the reflection of sunlight, the exterior of the devices were to be matte black. 55mm F1.2 lenses were mounted, also finished in matte black. By June, all of these criteria had been satisfied and the company supplied NASA with nine cameras. These products were headed for the moon the following month with the launch of Apollo 15. The NASA-specification Nikon Photomic FT_N was also later adopted as a special camera system used in Skylab, a mission during in which three astronauts lived in space over a prolonged period. The cameras were designed to photograph the Earth's ozone layer and Auroras.

Naomi Uemura was one of Japan's leading adventurers. Among his many accomplishments, he was the first Japanese to reach the summit of Everest, first in the world to climb the highest peaks on five continents, circumnavigate the Arctic Circle and reach the North Pole solo by dog sled, for which he was awarded the People's Honor Award in 1984.

On arriving in Alaska on his 12,000-km solo dog sled trip around the Arctic Circle in May 1976, Uemura was greeted by news photographers. Nearly all the cameras pointed at Uemura were Nikons. In such a harsh environment many other brands of cameras failed and were not able to record the moment.

In June 1977, Uemura expressed his desire to Nikon for a camera to take on his solo dog sled trip to the North Pole. Such a camera would have to withstand heavy shock and the extremely low polar temperatures. For this reason, the drive system was lubricated with special cold-resistant oil, and the shutter speed was adjusted to function properly in temperatures around minus 50°C. The camera was retrofit with titanium for the top, bottom, penta and front cover parts. At the time, Nikon was the only company able to manufacture titanium camera parts. A prototype was put in the trunk Uemura used on his dog sled, and tested for shock by rolling it down some stairs at the company's Oi plant.

This resulted in the world's first titanium-exterior SLR camera in December 1977, called the Nikon F2 Titanium Uemura Special, of which three units were completed. The following year, Uemura headed across Greenland on his solo dog sled trek toward the North Pole with two cameras, and shot 180 rolls of film of the six month adventure.

In 1982, the Nikon F3 Titanium Uemura Special, based on the Nikon F3, was manufactured for his 3,000-km Antarctic dog sled trek and scaling of the Vinson Massif, the highest peak on the Antarctic continent. But due to the Falklands war in March of that year the trip was canceled and the cameras were not used on an expedition.

(With the cooperation of the Uemura Museum Tokyo and Uemura Naomi Memorial Museum)