London: The oldest surviving Nikon camera in the world was sold for a whopping 384,000 Euros at an auction in Austria.
Dating back to 1948, the camera was sold at twice the estimated price.
Nikon One – the third actual camera built by the famous Japanese company – is the oldest one known to still be around in this era.
Nikon began manufacturing its first cameras in 1948, starting with the One, of which less than a thousand were made.
Nikon One is an interchangeable-lens rangefinder, and the lens included is also an old one – the 11th Nikon ever made that collapses back into the body.
It comes with a great old double-strap leather case.It used a non-standard film size that limited its appeal, something Nikon fixed in following models.
Engraved on the bottom of the camera is “Made in occupied Japan,” a rather chilling reminder of the times in which this camera was made, ‘Tech Crunch’ reported.
The starting price for this historic camera was 90,000 Euros and it was estimated to go as high as 180,000 Euros.
The camera eventually sold for about 384,000 Euros, which includes the fees and premiums.
The sale took place at the WestLicht Photographica auction that brought together a collection of over 600 antique cameras, lenses and photography accessories.
PTI