A Nikon One camera sold for a record $407,155 at Westlicht Photographica Auction in Vienna earlier last week.
That's more than double its $190,196 estimate.
 This Nikon One is the company's earliest surviving production camera |
The lot is one of two produced in April 1948, making it the earliest surviving production Nikon camera. It's now also the most valuable.
Nikon's parent company, Nikkon Kogaku, was founded in 1917, and originally produced lenses and other optical equipment.
It started research on its first camera in 1946, beginning full production in 1948. It was around this time the company changed its name.
It would become one of the world's most successful camera manufacturers.
The baseplate reads "MADE IN OCCUPIED JAPAN", in reference to the continued American presence in the country post-1945.
A 1958 black Leica M3 belonging to renowned Magnum photographer Herbest List achieved $68,653.
The M3 was Leica's most successful camera, with over 220,000 units sold between its introduction in 1954 and its retirement in 1966.
This was one of 90 pre-series models. It's unknown just how many have survived.
List is a key figure in the history of European photography, renowned for his erotically charged photographs.
The record for any camera at auction is $2.7m, set by an ultra-rare Leica O-Series at Westlicht Photographica in 2012.
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