 Kino Precision was founded in 1959 by Tatsuo Kataoka to manufacture lenses for 8mm movie cameras.Originally, Kino Precision manufactured some of the now-famous "Series 1" manual focus lenses under contract for Vivitar, a U.S. lens distributor of after-market film lenses for 35mm cameras.However, after the positive reception from consumers on Vivitar Series 1 lenses, and as Vivitar was using other Japanese lens manufacturers to produce Vivitar brand lenses, the company believed the time was right to successfully market lenses to fit existing 35mm Japanese film cameras under their own brand, Kiron.