Nikon: NIKKOR — The Thousand and One Nights

Nikon describes NIKKOR — The Thousand and One Nights as a serial history of NIKKOR lens design and manufacture. Its current English series index contains 98 tales, ranging from famous production lenses to enlarging optics, compact-camera lenses, accessories, and unusual experiments.

Nikon does not display a publication date on the current index or individual English tale pages. Consequently, no dates have been inferred here. The list follows Nikon's numbered publication sequence, newest tale first.

SequenceLens, product, or subject — official taleSurface & Stop
No. 98Ai Nikkor 24mm F2Ai Nikkor 24mm F2
No. 97New Nikkor 50mm F1.4S—
No. 96Nikkor-H Auto 85mm F1.8—
No. 95Micro-NIKKOR C 5cm F3.5—
No. 94Nikon Mini AF600QD / Lite-Touch AF—
No. 93Ai AF Zoom Nikkor 24–50mm F3.3–4.5S—
No. 92Ai Zoom Nikkor ED 50–300mm F4.5—
No. 91Nikon Series E Zoom 36–72mm f/3.5—
No. 90AF-P DX NIKKOR 10–20mm f/4.5–5.6G VRAF-P DX 10–20mm
No. 89AI Nikkor 85mm f/1.4SAI Nikkor 85mm f/1.4S
No. 88AF-S DX Micro NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8G—
No. 87New Nikkor 200mm f/4—
No. 86AI Nikkor 24mm f/2.8—
No. 85Micro-Nikkor Auto 55mm f/3.5—
No. 84AI Nikkor 35mm f/2SAI Nikkor 35mm f/2
No. 83IX-Nikkor 30–60mm f/4–5.6—
No. 82AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 18–200mm f/3.5–5.6G IF-ED—
No. 81GN Auto NIKKOR 45mm f/2.8—
No. 80Nikon Series E 100mm f/2.8Series E 100mm f/2.8
No. 79W-Nikkor·C 2.8cm f/3.5—
No. 78AI Nikkor 45mm f/2.8PAI Nikkor 45mm f/2.8P
No. 77Nikkor-S 50mm f/1.4—
No. 76Nikon Series E 135mm f/2.8Series E 135mm f/2.8
No. 75IX-Nikkor 20–60mm f/3.5–5.6—
No. 74AI AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8S—
No. 73Nikon Teleconverter TC-1 2×—
No. 72AI AF Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8SAI Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8S
No. 71AI Zoom-Nikkor 35–105mm f/3.5–4.5SAI Zoom-Nikkor 35–105mm
No. 70AI Nikkor 300mm f/4.5S—
No. 69Medical-Nikkor 120mm f/4 IF—
No. 68AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 12–24mm f/4G IF-EDAF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 12–24mm
No. 67AI AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 80–200mm f/2.8D IF-EDAI AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 80–200mm
No. 66AI Nikkor 400mm f/3.5 IF-ED—
No. 65AF Zoom-Nikkor 28–200mm f/3.5–5.6G IF-EDAF Zoom-Nikkor 28–200mm
No. 64EL-Nikkor 80mm f/5.6N—
No. 63AF Zoom-Nikkor 28–80mm f/3.3–5.6GAF Zoom-Nikkor 28–80mm
No. 62Zoom-Nikkor Auto 50–300mm f/4.5—
No. 61AI Zoom-NIKKOR 50–135mm f/3.5SAI Zoom-Nikkor 50–135mm
No. 60AI NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8S—
No. 59AI Nikkor 105mm f/1.8S—
No. 58AI AF Zoom-Nikkor 24–120mm f/3.5–5.6D (IF)AI AF Zoom-Nikkor 24–120mm
No. 57AI Nikkor 28mm f/2.8SAI Nikkor 28mm f/2.8S
No. 56Auto NIKKOR WIDE-ZOOM 3.5–8.5cm f/2.8–4—
No. 55AI Nikkor 18mm f/4—
No. 54Nikon Fun Fun LensSet, part 2: Gyogyotto 20 and Dodotto 400Gyogyotto 20 · Dodotto 400
No. 53Ai AF Fisheye-Nikkor 16mm f/2.8D—
No. 52Nikon Fun Fun LensSet, part 1: Gugutto Macro and Fuwatto SoftGugutto Macro · Fuwatto Soft
No. 51Nikon Soft Focus Filters Soft 1 and Soft 2—
No. 50Focusing Unit and NIKKOR-Q Auto 400mm F4.5—
No. 49Nikkor-S Auto 55mm F1.2—
No. 48Nikkor-Q Auto 200mm f/4—
No. 47Ai Zoom Nikkor 35–200mm f/3.5–4.5SAI Zoom-Nikkor 35–200mm
No. 46Ai Zoom Nikkor 25–50mm f/4AI Zoom-Nikkor 25–50mm
No. 45NIKKOR-P.C 10.5cm f/2.5—
No. 44Nikkor-S Auto 50mm F1.4Nikkor-S Auto 50mm F1.4
No. 43NIKKOR-Q.C 13.5cm f/4—
No. 42Nikon Series E 75–150mm f/3.5—
No. 41Ai AF Nikkor 85mm F1.4D (IF)AF Nikkor 85mm F1.4D
No. 40Nikkor-S Auto 5.8cm F1.4Nikkor-S Auto 5.8cm F1.4
No. 39Ai AF Zoom-Nikkor 35–70mm F2.8SAF Zoom-Nikkor 35–70mm
No. 38From Nikkor-S Auto 35mm f/2.8 to New Nikkor 35mm f/2.8—
No. 37W-Nikkor 3.5cm F2.5—
No. 36Nikkor P·C 8.5cm F2—
No. 35Ai AF VR Zoom-Nikkor 80–400mm f/4.5–5.6D EDAI AF VR Zoom-Nikkor 80–400mm
No. 34NIKKOR-H·C 5cm F2—
No. 33"Pikaichi" L35AF 35mm f/2.8L35AF 35mm f/2.8
No. 32Ai AF DC Nikkor 135mm F2S—
No. 31Ai Nikkor ED 200mm F2S (IF)—
No. 30Ai Nikkor 135mm F2AI Nikkor 135mm F2
No. 29W-Nikkor·C 2.5cm F4—
No. 28Ai AF Nikkor 28mm F1.4DAF Nikkor 28mm F1.4D
No. 27Ai Nikkor 35mm F1.4SAI Nikkor 35mm F1.4S
No. 26Ai Micro Nikkor 55mm f/2.8, latter part—
No. 25Ai Micro Nikkor 55mm F2.8, first part—
No. 24Converter lenses for COOLPIX 4300—
No. 23AI AF Nikkor 80mm F2.8S—
No. 22COOLPIX 4300—
No. 21Nikkor-T 10.5cm F4—
No. 20Nikkor Auto 20mm f/4 from New Nikkor-UD Auto 20mm f/3.5—
No. 19Nikkor-S·C 8.5cm F1.5—
No. 18AF Zoom-Micro Nikkor ED 70–180mm F4.5–5.6DAF Zoom-Micro 70–180mm
No. 17New PC-Nikkor 28mm F4—
No. 16AI Noct Nikkor 58mm F1.2—
No. 15New Zoom Nikkor 28–45mm F4.5—
No. 14NIKKOR-N Auto 24mm F2.8NIKKOR-N Auto 24mm F2.8
No. 13New Reflex-Nikkor 500mm F8New Reflex-Nikkor 500mm F8
No. 12NIKKOR-H Auto 2.8cm F3.5NIKKOR-H Auto 2.8cm F3.5
No. 11NIKKOR-H 300mm F2.8—
No. 10AI Nikkor ED 180mm F2.8SAI Nikkor ED 180mm F2.8
No. 9NIKKOR 13mm F5.6—
No. 8W Nikkor 35mm F2.5—
No. 7NIKKOR-N 5cm F1.1NIKKOR-N 5cm F1.1
No. 6OP Fisheye-NIKKOR 10mm F5.6—
No. 5AI Nikkor 105mm F2.5—
No. 4Zoom-NIKKOR Auto 43–86mm F3.5—
No. 3W-Nikkor 3.5cm F1.8W-Nikkor 3.5cm F1.8
No. 2AI Nikkor 50mm F2—
No. 1NIKKOR-O 2.1cm F4NIKKOR-O 2.1cm F4

Nikon Research Reports

Nikon's corporate Research Report series includes three detailed papers devoted to the development of NIKKOR Z lenses. These complement the more narrative Thousand and One Nights tales with discussions of optical targets, mechanisms, manufacturing, and evaluation.

LensOfficial reportSurface & Stop
NIKKOR Z 28–135mm f/4 PZDevelopment of the NIKKOR Z 28–135mm f/4 PZ—
NIKKOR Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S and 600mm f/4 TC VR SDevelopment of the NIKKOR Z 400mm and 600mm TC lenses—
NIKKOR Z 58mm f/0.95 S NoctDevelopment of the NIKKOR Z 58mm f/0.95 S NoctNIKKOR Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct

Additional NIKKOR Technology and Design Stories

Two other Nikon corporate features document how lenses are evaluated and how the Z system's industrial design was developed.

Lenses or subjectOfficial articleSurface & Stop
OPTIA evaluation and image simulation; examples include the NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.8 SAnalyzing NIKKOR lens characteristicsNIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.8 S
NIKKOR Z system design and the 58mm f/0.95 S NoctEnhancing Optical Performance with a New Dimension of Craftsmanship: NIKKOR Z LensNIKKOR Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct