Nikon equipment

About Nikon

Nikon is a Japanese optical and precision equipment manufacturer whose laboratory output centres on microscopes and imaging systems for research and life sciences. The company was incorporated on July 25, 1917 as Nippon Kogaku Kogyo K.K., formed through the merger of three leading optical manufacturers in Tokyo, and took the name Nikon Corporation in 1988. It is headquartered in Shinagawa (Nishi-Oi), Tokyo, and is an independent, publicly traded company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange under code 7731; it is affiliated with the Mitsubishi keiretsu but is not owned by it. Its microscopy portfolio spans upright, inverted, stereo, confocal, super-resolution, multiphoton and digital instruments, together with microscope cameras and imaging software. These systems do microscopy across cell biology, histology and molecular biology, and the confocal and super-resolution lines reach into live-cell imaging and single-molecule work.

Nikon microscope product lines

The Eclipse family is the core of the range. The Ti2 is an inverted research platform built for live-cell imaging and high-content screening, while the Ts2 serves routine inverted viewing such as culture monitoring. On the upright side, the Ni-E is a motorised research stand for fluorescence and brightfield, the Si is a simpler upright, and the FN1 is a fixed-stage design for electrophysiology under physiological conditions. For point-scanning fluorescence, the AX and AX R confocal series carry Nikon's current scan heads, and multiphoton configurations extend confocal imaging into thicker, scattering specimens for deep-tissue work. The super-resolution platforms, N-STORM and N-SIM S, reach below the diffraction limit: N-STORM uses stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy for single-molecule localisation, and N-SIM S uses structured illumination. The SMZ stereo series covers dissection, specimen sorting and visual quality control at low magnification. Running across the imaging lines is NIS-Elements, the acquisition and analysis software that handles capture, deconvolution and measurement. Confocal, super-resolution and multiphoton imaging support proteomics and genomics studies that depend on quantifying fluorescently labelled targets, and the fixed-stage and inverted stands are used for electrophysiology and cell imaging where a specimen must stay viable through an experiment.

These instruments share the CFI60 optical system, so objectives and many modular components move between stands and across generations. That compatibility shapes how the equipment is bought second-hand, because a working configuration can be assembled from parts that originated on different bodies.

What is listed on Questpair?

The catalogue holds 1280 Nikon items, offered by 17 verified suppliers and distributors across 8 countries. Prices run from EUR 13 to EUR 68.867, with an average of EUR 2.398. The low end is mostly accessories and individual optics, objectives, condensers and camera adapters, while the upper end is complete confocal and super-resolution systems. 88 percent of the listings are used, and used units are listed below new prices. Among the brand's own lines, the Eclipse stands appear most often, with the AX confocal and the N-STORM and N-SIM S platforms representing the more specified end of the catalog.

A used microscope is a reasonable purchase when the optical core is intact, since Nikon stands age slowly and software and electronics can often be refreshed on their own. What a buyer still needs to confirm, whether alignment holds, which objectives are included, and whether the camera and NIS-Elements licence transfer, is specific to each listing rather than general to the brand, so the supplier's description is where those answers sit. Where a listing raises a question about documentation or parts, Questpair specialists respond within an hour, parts can be sourced through Questpair, and a warranty is often possible and arranged in consultation for the specific listing.

Questpair review of Nikon

Our take based on listings data and supplier feedback

Nikon occupies a distinct position in laboratory microscopy, and the Questpair listings reflect the breadth of its range rather than a single flagship. The Eclipse family anchors most of what appears in the catalogue, spanning the entry Ts2 inverted units used for routine cell culture checks up to the Ti2 platform built for live-cell imaging and high-content work. Between those sit the Ni-E upright stand for fixed-sample fluorescence and the FN1 fixed-stage design aimed at electrophysiology. Because these share the CFI60 optical system, objectives and much of the modular hardware carry across generations, which matters to a buyer assembling a working configuration from second-hand parts. A used Ti2 body paired with separately sourced objectives and a camera is a common build, and the component compatibility is part of why the platform holds value on the used market.

On price, the catalogue runs from EUR 13 to EUR 68.867, with an average of EUR 2.398. That spread tracks what is actually in a listing: the low end is largely accessories, individual objectives, condensers and camera mounts, while the upper end is complete confocal or super-resolution systems. The AX and AX R confocal series and the N-STORM and N-SIM S super-resolution platforms represent the most specified instruments here, and they carry the imaging software, NIS-Elements, that controls acquisition and analysis. A buyer weighing one of these should read the individual listing closely, because a confocal system's value sits as much in its laser lines, detectors and scan head as in the stand itself.

Condition is the second thing the catalogue makes clear. 88 percent of the listings are used, and those units are priced below new equivalents. For microscopy this is a reasonable way to buy, since the optical core of a well-kept Nikon stand ages slowly and the electronics and software can often be updated independently. The practical questions a buyer carries into a used purchase, whether alignment holds, whether the objectives match the application, whether the camera and software licence transfer, are listing-specific rather than brand-wide, so the answer lives in the individual listing and in the supplier's description.

Supply depth supports the range. The equipment is offered by 17 verified suppliers and distributors across 8 countries, which gives a buyer more than one source for a given model and some room to compare configurations. For stereo work the SMZ series appears for dissection, sorting and QC under magnification, and the digital microscopes serve inspection and documentation rather than research imaging. Taken together, the listings cover the working span of a life sciences lab: routine culture monitoring at one end, confocal and single-molecule localisation at the other, with the shared Eclipse mechanics making it feasible to move between them without replacing an entire setup.

**Broad Eclipse inventory across price points**

The Questpair catalogue lists Nikon microscopy spanning the Eclipse range, from compact Ts2 units to the Ti2 inverted platform, with prices from EUR 13 to EUR 68.867.

**Predominantly used stock below new pricing**

88 percent of the listings are used, and used units are priced below their new equivalents.

**Multiple suppliers across several countries**

Equipment is offered by 17 verified suppliers and distributors in 8 countries.