Prior to this, the company was officially called Nippon Kogaku K.K. – many people believe the name changed earlier, but it wasn’t until the late 80’s. 1st April 1988, to be precise, Nikon Corporation was officially (re)born.

Of course, they had been using Nikon as a trademarked brand for many years (history suggests the name Nikon was first invented in the mid 1940’s), so why did they eventually decide to switch? Well, this little story direct from Nikon’s website may shed some light.
Then-president Shigetada Fukuoka met with former French President Jacques Chirac. On hearing the name Nippon Kogaku Kogyo, Mr Chirac simply tilted his head in bewilderment. When Mr. Fukuoka said the word “Nikon,” however, the Parisian mayor understood immediately.
President Fukuoka said “From hereon, I don’t want us to be limited by the name Kogaku (“optics”). Let us work toward even greater advancements.”

Nikon didn’t manufacture their first camera until 1948.

Thirty-one years after the company was founded by the merging of three separate optical manufacturers in 1917, Nikon launched their first camera, the Nikon I. Prior to this, Nikon made lenses under the Nikkor brand, along with binoculars and microscopes.

Demand for the camera in Japan was huge, but it wasn’t without it’s problems. A rush to manufacture left the camera somewhat unreliable, with the film advance often failing to work, which led to many customer complaints and forced Nikon into financial difficulties. However, they rebounded with 1949’s Nikon M and 1950’s Nikon S, then the S2, SP and finally the classic Nikon F SLR, quality and reliability improving with each model.

Nikon originally made all of their now arch-rival Canon’s lenses.

Canon’s first cameras were inexpensive Japanese Leica clones, and in 1934 it announced a 35mm rangefinder called the Kwanon. The Kwanon was just a prototype never put into production – it was followed by their first commercial camera, the Hansa Canon, in 1936. Canon had one problem, however – they didn’t have any experience of making lenses, so they contracted Nippon Kogaku Kogyo, already a proven optical designer and manfufacturer, and used Nikkor lenses. The Hansa Canon actually shipped as standard with a Nikkor 50mm f/3.5 lens.

In fact, a large part of the first Canon camera was made by Nikon – Nippon Kogaku was responsible for the lens, the lens mount, the viewfinder, and the complete rangefinder mechanism. Canon did start developing lenses in 1937, but they weren’t available until after WWII, and they didn’t launch their fast 50mm Serenar f/2 until 1947.

When launched in 1959, the Nikon F cost an average of three months salary.

We may think that we have it bad with the price of today’s digital SLRs, but the first Nikon SLR cost 67,000 Yen – three times the salary of a Japanese government employee at the time. They still managed to sell a million of them over the next 15 years!

This was the camera that introduced us to the F mount – the very same mount (albeit with added features, especially in the electronic age) that is still in use today. This mount was revolutionary at the time, having a huge diameter in comparison to it’s rangefinder peers, which allowed Nikkor F lenses to be far more resistant to mechanical vignetting.

Nikon’s first Digital SLR, the D1, was developed from scratch in just two years.

We may take for granted now that a new camera will be digital, but just over 10 years ago this was certainly not the case. Although the first Coolpix (the Coolpix 100) was produced in 1997, Nikon’s classic D1 wasn’t introduced until 1999.

The order to produce a DSLR came from Nikon’s president in 1997, and engineers responded by saying it would take four years, three at a minimum. They were given two.

The result was a 2.7mp DSLR with many features bettered by even today’s entry-level cameras (and also by it’s contemporary digicams; the Coolpix 100 was 3mp), but at the time it was revolutionary. The D1 quickly displaced Kodak from dominance of the DSLR market, and sales exceeded the target of 100,000 bodies per year even at it’s US$5500 asking price. With the D1, Nikon’s market share eclipsed that of Canon. Strangely, the camera used the NTSC colorspace, not the SRGB or AdobeRGB we use today.

Article originally published at NikonHQ – the web’s premier site for Nikon photographers.

We are often asked for information about how long to stay on safari in the Kruger National Park. We recommend usually between 2 – 4 nights as this really gives you a chance to see a wide scope of animals as well as having some time to relax and enjoy the beautiful facilities at the camps.

Safari Seasons:

(With thanks to Singita Lodges for use of this information)

November through to December The summer months are hot and humid with either continual rains or very typically afternoon thundershowers which generally clear before the game drives depart.. Lots of young animals are born during this time notably the impala lambs, which are beautiful but vulnerable to predators.

January to March

These are normally drier months with very hot days. There are lots of beautiful migratory birds during the summer periods. Early morning drives with early returns to escape the heat are typical.

April

The vegetation starts changing from thick lush green bush to a slightly sparser browning bush during this Autumn period. The temperatures start cooling down at night but daytime is still warm. Potential scattered thundershowers can be experienced in the afternoons.

May to June

Cold temperatures are experienced at night and at dawn during the winter months. Warm clothing is recommended such as gloves, scarves, beanies and insulated jackets. Large herds of elephant are very mobile. The vegetation becomes totally brown and trees start losing leaves. Visibility during drives is enhanced due to sparser vegetation.

July to September

This period is very dry in the bush with very cold night temperatures and therefore chilly during the early morning and late afternoon game drives. Game viewing is generally fantastic and the visibility is good and the game is concentrated around any water source.

September to October Spring to is the height of the dry season boasting hot dry winds and colourless, sparse vegetation. Because the rivers and dams are low high concentrations of game can be viewed at these areas and game viewing in general is very good. The first rains may start towards the end of October and the sings of spring and a new wet season are evident.

Items to Pack:

Since we want your safari experience to be perfect and completely comfortable we recommend a few items that we believe you should remember to bring along !

From October to April, bring casual summer clothes. A warm jersey sweater would be useful for the cooler morning and evening temperatures

From May to September bring casual light clothing, but remember to bring very warm insulated jacket for the very cold mornings and nights. A scarf and gloves are very useful too – we usually find the most seasoned safari goers are those that look as if they are going on a skiing holiday !

Cotton clothing in neutral colours is recommended for gamedrives and walks and keep whites to a minimum, as white attracts certain bugs at night.

Comfortable walking shoes, track shoes or boots for the bush walk makes life so much easier

Sandals to wear at meals and within the lodge area

Shorts for the walks and warm midday periods

Swimming Costume

Sunblock, sun hat, sunglasses and lip balm

Extra pair of glasses

Contact lenses and solution and extra spares of lenses

Cameras, binoculars and your favourite film. Most of the lodges do stock a good selection of film so if you run out it is not serious

Video Camera and spare batteries

The device operates standard off the shelf batteries, do not rely on the rechargeable batteries and is used in any kind of weather conditions with the help of which we can understand that the device is harsh enough to be used in rugged conditions too and can withstand the harsh conditions and weather. Very affordable and it comes in multiple configurations for diverse applications such as tactical hand held mini thermal imaging viewing or precise thermal FLIR weapon sight scope. It is specially designed to meet the user’s specific and critical requirements. The camera also has a floating reticule which compensates for any environmental conditions, as well as numeric target temperature measurement for calibrated thermal imaging.

Author- 7bInfrared Products The company is into thermal Infrared products and night vision equipment like night vision goggle, night vision binocular.infrared camera.

One very popular digital camera accessory is a tripod. Whether they’re made to stand on the ground, or on a table top, tripods ensure that any video captured will be steady rather than jerky, and it makes it handier to shoot longer videos, since the videographer doesn’t have to hold the camera in place for long times. Tripods range in price from $10 to over $100, so you can find one in just about any price range. Check out Gorillapod tripods, too. They have bendable arms that can secure your camera to most anything.

One of the most useful digital camera accessories is an extra battery. Having a battery run down at a critical point in a video shoot can be a hassle, unless there are back-up batteries available. You’ll have to buy one to fit the exact model of video camera, because they all require different batteries. By giving batteries to the video photographer in your life, you’re really giving the gift of time savings. It’s a great accessory to treat yourself to as well.

Extra memory cards are also extremely useful digital camera accessories. Some cameras can take more than one kind, but you should check the model number to be sure. If you, or the person you’re buying for don’t have a built in computer card reader, you can buy card readers that attach to the USB port. These are incredibly handy for transferring video to other people’s computers, where there might or might not be a card reader built in.

For around $20 you can get a power adapter for the hugely popular Flip video cameras. These will charge up a flip camera in 2 to 3.5 hours, plus they’re compact and fold up even more compactly so they’ll have no trouble fitting in a pocket, purse, or camera case.

Another terrific little item is the Nikon 7072 Lens Pen Cleaning System. It’s a pen shaped device that can be used to clean lenses on cameras, telescopes, or binoculars. It contains a soft, retractable brush, plus a non-liquid cleaning compound on a tip made of chamois. It’s perfect for getting fingerprints, dust, and debris off a lens and costs about $10.

Attachable LCD shades are great digital video camera accessories. They come in sizes to fit 2.5 and 3 inch LCD screens and can be had for under $20. They make shooting video outdoors in bright conditions much easier on the eyes by shading the LCD screen so that it shows up better.

Digital video camera accessories are more than fun little add-ons. They can genuinely make it more convenient to use a digital camcorder, and are welcomed by all digital video enthusiasts. Digital video camera accessories range in cost from under $10 to over $100, so you’re certain to find something in your preferred price range. They make great gifts, even if the recipient is you!

What You Get

There are plenty of homes and offices that are using simply because the owners understand the advantages of having one in the area:

1. You can mount it. Unlike monoculars, binoculars, and goggles that have to be worn or supported by hand while you are using them, it can be mounted or installed in a covert area. You can let it function without your own personal help. If you want to go for something hi-tech, you can opt to connect the camera to an electronic control system, which can easily change the direction of its focus. You can also connect it to your computer, so you can monitor the images it is getting without having to go outside. Moreover, if you know how to network your systems or have an Internet connection, you can actually create a live surveillance broadcast online.

2. It can be hidden. You can rarely see night vision cameras that are large in size. Most of them are very small. Nevertheless, even if they are moderately sized, you can still hide them and get the results that you want. If you can choose your own, you can end up having one that has the ability to amplify light source or magnify images. Of course, it possesses the ability to see images even if there is no available ambient light.

3. You can install it in your car. You can also make use for your car. Brand-new and highly priced luxury cars are always temptations to robbers, who’d like to sell them in the black market. You can follow the same setup for your night vision camera used in your own home. The only difference is that what you’re monitoring is your own car.

You can also see it’s attached to cars of police officers.  Because of a its capabilities, they can see the model, maker, and even the license plate number of a vehicle.

Is it possible to come up with your own camera?

The answer is actually yes. You may simply need a camera adapter that you would attach to your household camera. You can also adjust your own webcam, so you can enhance its capability during nighttime. Most definitely, if you don’t want the hassle that goes with coming up with your own, you better buy a complete product.

How technological is it?

It really depends on the manufacturer. If you know how to research properly, you can find that quickly changes to infrared mode even without your help. There are also others that can provide you with detailed recordings despite the changes of lighting conditions or the absence of a light in the area.

The best night vision camera would be equipped with Flir thermal imaging technology. This allows the camera to capture suspects without really having to see their actual images. It depends on the heat registered by humans, animals, and even objects.

This device doesn’t have heat sensors but rather infrared sensors that image emitted by all objects day or night. In this way we can also see the surroundings clearly. Even in the pitch black moonless night the target can be spotted. They might think they are in hiding but what they don’t know is that no one can hide from IR-235. It is also sensitive enough to get a lot of information which are invisible to an eye. For example the hand print left on the wall only after seconds contact. This happens because of the transfer of infrared energy from the hand to the wall. This device also shows you the areas of heating or cooling loss, moisture damage and mold infestation. It is simple and accurate.

It is very easy to use. As it is easy to use, the training cost reduces and so does the period of training. The agents can be out in the field immediately with the device. It does not take much time to learn unlike the other devices which are complicated. If the cost reduces that means that the nation is saved with a lot of money. This makes it affordable. You don’t have any buttons to push and no setting to remember about, all you have to do is point and shoot.

Applications:

• Energy audits.

• Mold detection.

• Building studies.

• Law enforcement.

• Military.

• Security.

• Surveillance.

• Facility maintenance.

• Condition monitoring.

• Roofing surveys.

• Mechanical & electrical analysis.

• Weapons inspections.

• Tank level integrity.

The start up time is 30 Seconds (Typical). It has got a Rechargeable Camcorder Battery (6VDC) – 4 included, with a Power Consumption of 5W. The dimensions are 7”L x 4”W x 4”H and weigh 2.3 pounds without a battery. The charging is done with an AC fast charger. The operating time after charging is for more than 3 hrs.

Author- 7bInfrared Products The company is into thermal Infrared products and night vision equipment like night vision goggle, night vision binocular.infrared camera.