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The
First Prototype...#6091 "Mother One"
by Yuki Kawai, R Rotoloni
Reprinted from NHS-60 June 30, 1998
And finally... Yuki Kawai was given a photo to bring with him from
Tokyo to the 98 NHS Convention especially for our enjoyment and
edification. Recently a very special Nikon was discovered in the
archives and Nikon has graciously provided us with a photograph.
So with both the courtesy and permission of Nikon I present to you
"Mother One"!
This is the ORIGINAL PROTOTYPE OF THE NIKON!!!!
A note from the webmaster:
When Yuki first showed me this photo in NYC, I was sworn to secrecy
and promised not to publish it until the NHS had permission to publish
it in the Journal. I scanned it, and kept it on my Mac for the future.
This the first time this photo has appeared on the web, and it is
in the original color (the photo published in the NHS Journal is
black and white)
The last two NHS Journals have contained two really amazing historical
pieces, the black M in NHS-59 and now the first "One".
More
Nikon One Photos!
After the above article appeared in the Nikon Journal, Mikio Itoh
of the Nikon Corporation PR Department sent the Society the following
new information on the Nikon One, and two new photos where the serial
number is shown very clearly.
Nikon
Camera #6091
I discovered this camera in the Nikon Archives this year.
Most of the mechanism was lost, only the top plate and body remained.
This camera was a prototype. There are some different points from
the model that was manufactured.
- "Nikon"
logo is engraved with a thiner typeface.
- Size
of "Nikon" logo is smaller.
- The
"NIPPON KOGAKU" logo is not present.
- Position
of screw holes are different.
The
First Prototype Nikon Camera #6091
Note the thickness of the frames around the rangefinder windows.
The "Nikon" logo is much smaller than later production models. Note
also the placement of the screw holes in the front plate in the
angled edge area, rather than on the front. There is also no provision
for a the focus wheel lock release (for wide angle lenses) as found
on production models.
Note the extra hole under the shutter speed dial. This lettering
is the same as found in early advertisements for the Nikon in Japan,
rather than the logo found on production cameras.
Detail of shutter speed dial, showing what appear to be working
speed calibration marks.
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