Cosina is the successor to Nikō, a company set up as a lens processing factory in February 1959, which was a pioneer in optical polishing and lens grinding in Japan. In 1966, it also started to manufacture 35 mm compact cameras and 8 mm cine cameras, and a year later started the manufacture of 35mm film SLR cameras; in 1968 it started a glass melting factory. Nikō changed its name to Cosina in 1973. The name Cosina has previously appeared on compact and SLR cameras for 135 film. The CS-2 and CS-3 SLRs were introduced in 1978, followed in 1980 by the CT-1, CT-7, CT-10 and CT-20, the CT-1G in 1982 and the CT-9 in 1986. Cosina SLR cameras used either the M42 lens mount or the Pentax K lens mount. However, Cosina is probably better known as a manufacturer of cameras and camera components for other brands. During the late 1970s, Cosina made a name for itself in 35 mm rangefinder cameras with a well-built, high quality fixed-lens camera using an aluminum body and a simple shutter-priority autoexposure system. This rangefinder camera was adopted as the basic chassis for several excellent camera models, including the Minolta 7SII, Revue 400 SE, Prinz 35 ER, and Vivitar 35 ES. In 1982, Cosina began to manufacture lenses in a variety of SLR manufacturers' lens mounts. In 1991, it started to produce glass molded aspheric lenses, and in 1996 plastic molded aspherical lenses. Cosina began producing digital cameras in 1997.
At about this time, plans were started to produce a new high-quality rangefinder 35 mm film camera, complete with wide and ultrawide lenses for the Leica screw mount, and also a standard 35 mm film camera for the amateur film photography sector — similar to a rangefinder camera, but without a rangefinder or viewfinder — for mounting these lenses. In 1999, Cosina secured partial rights to the German, once Austrian, classic camera brand "Voigtländer", acquired from RINGFOTO GmbH & Co. ALFO Marketing KG in Germany, to produce the Classic Collection. Cosina first introduced the Voigtländer 15 mm f/4.5 and 25 mm f/4 lens and the Voigtländer Bessa-L standard camera body. It quickly followed with a wider range of Voigtländer cameras, and a set of lenses, including the Heliar 12 mm f/5.6 lens, which on its introduction was the widest rectilinear lens ever marketed for still photography. On April 26, 2010, Cosina joined the Micro Four Thirds System Standard Group.
Voigtländer
Cosina's "Voigtländer" products are sometimes referred to as Cosina Voigtländer. The Cosina Voigtländer cameras and lenses have been of great personal interest to Kobayashi Hirofumi 小林博文, the President of Cosina since the death in 1988 of his father Kobayashi Bunjirō, the founder. The name Cosina now appears on lenses for various SLR mounts, and less conspicuously on a widening range of cameras and lenses with the Voigtländer brand. Cosina manufactured the rangefinder camera Rollei 35 RF for Rollei Fototechnic, and is acknowledged to have manufactured the Epsondigital rangefinder camera R-D1 as well. Its manufacture of a new Zeiss Ikon rangefinder camera with Leica M-mount, and Zeiss lenses in Leicabayonet mount, was announced in October 2004, and it is already producing these. All these cameras use film, showing Cosina's unique position in the market of filling the gap in demand for high quality film cameras and support for technology that is still evolving.
