However, it would be several decades until it released its first Nikon camera, 1948’s Nikon, which would ultimately become known as the Nikon I. Get the Digital Camera World Newsletter The best camera deals, reviews, product advice, and unmissable photography news, direct to your inbox! Some incredible launches such as the retro Nikon Zf, Nikon Z8, Nikon Z50 II and more would follow, but 109 years on from Nippon Kōgaku’s inception, the Z9 era is where we find ourselves. I could have waxed lyrical about the Noct, an eye-wateringly expensive Nikon fisheye, and how the inventor of the DeLorean ended up designing Nikon cameras. I bought the only film camera I’ll ever need: the Nikon FM is an SLR in its purest form.