Nikon has produced its 40-millionth Nikkor SLR lens this month. This is counting back from 48 years ago when Nikon introduced the first Nikkor LSR lens with an F mount in 1959.
And it goes back farther than that. Nikon first introduced the Nikkor brand of photo lenses in 1932. At that time, Nikkor lenses were attached not only to Nikon cameras, such as the Nikon I introduced in 1948, but also to Leica cameras, and later to Contax cameras.
In 1959, the F mount, a 44mm large-diameter bayonet mount, was first employed for the Nikon F. Since then, Nikon has maintained the same format for almost half a century, offering unrivaled compatibility with each new Nikon camera up to the latest digital SLR D40X.
At present, Nikkor has a lineup of 57 lenses including DX Nikkors for exclusive use with Nikon digital SLRs, plus fisheyes, ultra-wideangles, telephotos, zooms and micros.
[Site: Nikon.co.jp]