Decoding Lens Design: What makes NIKON so good?

[Fons Baerken]

For many years, Haruo Sato and Koichi Ohshita have been contributing to NIKKOR: The Thousand and One Nights which is a blog on Nikon's website. Both are important lens designers for Nikon and have designed many wonderful lenses for the company over their careers.

The blog goes through the history of Nikkor lenses and gives important information about their designs including the many designers who contributed to the Nikon design language. I was given a rare opportunity to do an interview with them and this video is the result.

I believe their blog is one of the most important public resources in lens design today. Every manufacturer should encourage this, but they don't. Nikon is the only one.

Special thanks to Nikon for providing live translation and allowing me to do this. Also special thanks to Suguru Nishioka who assisted me with translation on my end. Sug also has an amazing channel you should check out

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LinEzenQmgI

[KarlMera]

The voice sounds like ai

[Hugh_3170]

Fons, many thanks for posting this YT interview.

The pride and and enthusiasm of Haruo Sato San and Koichi Ohshita San is quite evident.  Nice to see who is behind the 1001 nights as well as to hear their narratives on particular lenses and the evolution of how Nikkor lenses have been designed and manufactured over the years.

[ARTUROARTISTA]

It's the story of an era. I bought a few lenses after reading their genesis on the blog: Arabian Nights.

[Akira]

Thank you, Fons, for the note.  Nice to hear directly from the authers of "1001 Nights".

The voice sounds like ai

You are listening to the English translation by AI.  The Nikon designers are speaking in Japanese.

[Ann]

What a wonderful interview this was.
I enjoyed watching it enormously and realise that I have merely used Nikkor lenses for all these years without giving a thought to the genius which lies behind those amazing optics.

[RobOK]

When i play it, i hear the original language — is there a setting to get the translation?

[Birna Rørslett]

? I just clicked the link and got the English translation plastered all over the video frame

[pluton]

The version I saw is the same--they speak Japanese and the English is superimposed as subtitles. It's better than having Sato-san and Oshita-san dubbed into another language, right?  The interview was conducted with a translator who's voice is edited out. 

[John Geerts]

? I just clicked the link and got the English translation plastered all over the video frame

I also have this version 

[Fons Baerken]

What did they say? 

[pluton]

There was nothing in the interview that explains or communicates "what makes Nikon so good" but it was interesting to see the designers speak nonetheless.

[KarlMera]

There was nothing in the interview that explains or communicates "what makes Nikon so good"

Yes!! And what makes Leica and Canon and Sony so good? Which manufacturer makes true apo-lenses?

[pluton]

Yes!! And what makes Leica and Canon and Sony so good? Which manufacturer makes true apo-lenses?

Exactly.  I never worked with them, but I think there were some true Apo lenses for view/plate cameras but they were usually limited to a specific reproduction ratio or working distance.  Lenses for process work.  My view: On our high-end consumer electronic cameras and lenses, "Apo" means good but not total correction for chromatic aberrations. 

[KarlMera]

My view: I do not use Nikon lenses, only cameras.