Nippon Kogaku had made nearly all of Japan’s optical products during the war, such as binoculars, scopes, gun sights, and had amassed a large workforce of very talented engineers and laborers. Nippon Kogaku, along with some other Japanese companies made large 15×80 and 20×120 binoculars that were used on Japanese naval vessels during WWII. Maintaining a stronghold in the east was still a priority after the war, so the United States had a stake in turning Japan into an ally and rebuilding their economy to help boost US strength in this region. Part of the reason for Japan’s entry into World War II was to stop the US advance of military supremacy in the Philippines, Korea, Guam, and other island nations. Even before the war, the United States saw great potential in Eastern Asia and had established many military bases in and around the far East. General Douglas MacArthur was in charge of operations to assess future Japanese potential for post war prosperity.
Regardless of the number, during the period of American occupation in Japan, all military and weapons related manufacturing was prohibited.
Some sources say that before the war, there were anywhere between 19 and 26 factories in total. For this one, I’ll start with the US occupation of Japan right after the end of World War II.Īfter Japan’s surrender in World War II in August 1945, American forces would shut down nearly all Japanese industry, including most of Nippon Kogaku’s factories that weren’t completely destroyed during the war. If you are interested in a more detailed history about Nippon Kogaku and Nikon cameras, I recommend reading both of those articles. I also cover early Nikon history in an article about David Douglas Duncan which includes information given to me by Nikon historian Robert Rotoloni. I have previously written a comprehensive history on Nippon Kogaku in my review for the Nikon F which goes back all the way to Japan’s earliest days in the photography industry. This section will cover the history of the Nikon M rangefinder which was the successor to the original Nikon rangefinder released in 1948. In my time with this camera, I found it’s poor reputation as a user to be unfounded as this camera was both a joy to use and created images as good as anything Nikon would release in the next decade. Highly sought after by collectors for their rarity and historical significance, Nikon Ms are generally considered poor users as they lack many modern conveniences and refinements of later Nikon rangefinders. These are some of the earliest examples of cameras made by Nippon Kogaku shortly after World War II. A total of 1,649 Nikon Ms were ever made, making them quite rare.
#Nikon s2 rangefinder width professional
The Nikon M followed the original Nikon rangefinder and featured a few changes that Nippon Kogaku had hoped would make the camera more appealing to professional photographers such as a larger exposed image and standard frame spacing.
#Nikon s2 rangefinder width manual
Manual (Similar Model): How these ratings work Viewfinder: Coincident Image Coupled Rangefinder This was still an experimental time for Nippon Kogaku, so there are many subtle variances between different “M” models. The “M” increased the exposed image size to 24mm x 34mm and increased frame spacing to allow for it to be compatible with Kodak slide mounts, but otherwise was the same camera. The Nikon M was the followup to the original Nikon rangefinder from a year earlier and was produced in very limited numbers.
This is a Nikon M 35mm rangefinder made by Nippon Kogaku starting in 1949.