John Geyer wrote:
I heard Nikkor was chosen as all their lenses were choromatically balanced and saw color the same way. No other brand had this distinction. Told this when I was a Nikon dealer in 80's and 90's. Nikon used to have a brochure about Nikkor lenses that said the same thing.
Utter marketing B.S.
Most major lens brands in those days had a "reference lens"... usually one of their better quality "normals".... that served as a guide for color rendition expected from most of their lenses (might have omitted some "entry level" models).
For example, the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM was the reference lens for the Canon system in the 1990s. The FD 50mm f/1.4 served the same purpose, prior to that.
Even today Leica calls their modern 50mm f/1.4 ASPH Summilux-SL a full frame reference lens and their SUMMILUX-TL 35 mm f/1.4 ASPH a reference for APS-C format.
Some years ago, Konica (or Konishiroku) actually provided the lenses used to test and evaluate all other brands of lenses being produced by Japanese manufacturers. Konica was the supplier to the Japanese Camera Inspecting and Testing Institute (JCII). In all likelihood... the Nikkors with JCII stickers on them you were selling in the 1980s had been tested and certified by Konica lenses!
When NASA went looking for 35mm film cameras, they considered Nikon and Canon due to the extensive selection of lenses and accessories they offered. They ultimately ruled out Canon because of concerns that fluorite elements used in a lot of Canon telephoto lenses would be damaged by vibrations and forces commonly occurring during rocket launches.
When NASA transitioned from film to digital, they stuck with Nikon (and, initially, Kodak using Nikon mount), in order to be able to use a large number of lenses and other accessories already in inventory or on the ISS (or earlier space stations)
But Nikon and Hasselblad also weren't the the only brands of camera NASA has used.
Cameras used by NASA (according to their Gateway to Astronaut Photography website) :
Code Brand film/sensor image size
HB Hasselblad 70mm 55mm x 55mm
LH Linhof 127mm 105mm x 120mm
MA Maurer 70mm 55mm x 55mm
MS Maurer 70mm 55mm x 55mm
AA Ansco Autoset 35mm 36mm x 24mm
NK Nikon 35mm 36mm x 24mm
RX Rolleiflex 70mm 55mm x 55mm
SA Skylab S190A 70mm 57mm x 57mm
SB Skylab S190B 127mm 115mm x 115mm
DV Sony HDW-700 High-Definition Television Camera 1920px x 1035px
E1 Black & White experimental Electronic Still Camera 1024px x 1024px
E2 Kodak DCS460 Electronic Still Camera 27.6mm w/3060px x 18.5mm w/2036px, RGBG array
E3 Kodak DCS660 Electronic Still Camera 27.6mm w/3060px x 18.5mm w/2036px, RGBG array
E4 Kodak DCS760 Electronic Still Camera 27.6mm w/3060px x 18.5mm w/2036px, RGBG array
N1 Nikon D1 23.6mm w/2000px x 15.5mm w/1312px, RGBG imager color filter
N2 Nikon D2Xs 23.7mm w/4288px x 15.7mm w/2848px, RGBG imager color filter
N3 Nikon D3 36.0mm w/4256px x 23.9mm w/2832px
N4 Nikon D3X 35.9mm w/6048px) x 24.0mm w/4032px
N5 Nikon D3S 36.0mm w/4256px x 23.9mm w/2832px
N6 Nikon D4 36.0mm w/4928px x 23.9mm w/3280px
N7 Nikon D800E 35.9mm w/7360px x 24.0mm w/4912px
N8 Nikon D5 35.9mm w/5568px x 23.9mm w/3712px
C1 Canon Digital IXUS 700 3072px x 2304px largest option
G1 GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition
R1 Red Epic Dragon 30.7 mm x 15.8 mm (Diagonal: 34.5 mm)/6144 x 3160 effective pixels/19.4 megapixel
(Above coding is used on images, to identify what type of camera was used to make the image.)
Some cameras listed appear to be custom models, such as the "Skylab" and B&W "experimental" digital.
I would wager that any camera bought by NASA would be specially built and more rigorously tested by it's manufacturer. I would expect modular parts are hand picked and special lubricants were used to insure reliability under extreme conditions. It would be pretty bad press for a company to have a camera fail on a space mission!
Maybe NASA should take another look at Canon gear, after this:
https://nypost.com/2018/05/28/memory-card-of-nasa-camera-destroyed-in-launch-captures-fiery-final-moments/(NOT a recommended use for your 50MP 5Ds and L-series lens!
)