Are all original S3 Olympics titanium shutter curtains?

[Ken Ford]

Searching around is not helping - a few resources say yes, a few imply no. What is the truth?

 

[Ken Ford]

Well, apparently not all S3 Olympics have titanium curtains - a Japanese seller confirmed the one I asked about is cloth. This may take time.

 

[Mackinaw]

I'm not a Nikon historian, but do have Rotoloni's and Braczko Nikon books. Both mention that the S3 Olympic came with a titanium shutter.

Jim B.

 

[CameraQuest]

Both the SP and S3 Olympic started out with cloth shutters. Many were later swapped out for titanium.

The SP and S3 Olympic were upgraded to titanium shutters once the Nikon F went into production.

Likewise titanium shutters could be swapped out for cloth for the maximum quiet.

 

[wlewisiii]

One of the things I really like about my new to me S4 is how quiet the cloth shutter is. "shnick"

 

[Ken Ford]

Both the SP and S3 Olympic started out with cloth shutters. Many were later swapped out for titanium.

The SP and S3 Olympic were upgraded to titanium shutters once the Nikon F went into production.

Likewise titanium shutters could be swapped out for cloth for the maximum quiet.

Any idea of the serial number range when they switched to Ti?

 

[dexdog]

Robert Rotoloni's book Nikon Rangerfinder Camera says on page 40 that the SP was switched to titanium foil shutter about serial number 6214000 at the same time that the Nikon F SLR was produced with tianium shutter, in June 1959. Same story for the S3, as noted on page 43 of Rotoloni's book, although hhe does not provide a serial number for the transition..

 

[Ken Ford]

Thank you! It was very hard to determine shutter curtain material in many of the listings, but I did find a nice one that the seller confirmed was titanium. If it checks out, I’ll put my S32K on the block and possibly even my S2. Very happy, I’ve wanted a black S series for fifty years since I saw my first Nikon RF gear at a photo show when I was a young photography crazed teen.

 

[Ken Ford]

I was more than a little relieved to see the titanium pattern when I pulled the back for the first time!

S3 Olympic

It’s here! I was a little worried about the shutter curtains not being titanium like I wanted, but they are. Condition is great, the shutter sounds good and everything works well. It can use a prism cleaning, but I’m intending on having a CLA done so that can be addressed then. Shown here...

www.rangefinderforum.com

 

[cassel]

Looks to me like all of the Olympic bodies are in the 632**** batch - all well into the titanium shutter era. 1965.

 

[Ken Ford]

That was my working theory but I had several bodies I was looking at in that number series that the sellers confirmed were silk. It’s hard to tell from a lot of eBay pics. I went with one that the seller confirmed was Ti.

 

[NIKON KIU]

Well, apparently not all S3 Olympics have titanium curtains - a Japanese seller confirmed the one I asked about is cloth. This may take

Beware of sellers claiming S3 Olympic w cloth curtains
There are black S3s w cloth shutters but they are NOT Olympic.

 

[NIKON KIU]

Any idea of the serial number range when they switched to Ti?

All Olympic cameras start w 632xxxx

 

[Ken Ford]

Beware of sellers claiming S3 Olympic w cloth curtains
There are black S3s w cloth shutters but they are NOT Olympic.

But wouldn’t they be rarer and more valuable than Olympics?

 

[NIKON KIU]

Yes
And much more sought after by collectors because they are only a few batches.
In return there are more repainted ones than original black cameras

 

[Ken Ford]

All Olympic cameras start w 632xxxx

Mine is 63214xx, so I’m safe!

 

[NIKON KIU]

Let me explain this in detail so there are no misunderstandings!
The answer to the question is yes
All so called Olympic S3 Nikons SHOULD have titanium shutter curtains.
The reason is simple and mentioned earlier, this batch of cameras were built at the end of the era of rangefinder Nikons, approximately 1964
By 1964 Nippon Kogaku was well into the Reflex era, the cloth shutters were out of fashion for years.
They made 2650 of these mainly to compete w the Canon 7 offerings of the time.
Most are in meters but some do exist w feet on the dial.
It is the easiest Black Nikon rangefinder to obtain , the total number of the rest of all Black Nikon rangefinder cameras of the era is under 4000 units.

Kiu

 

[NIKON KIU]

The Olympic S3 inherited a lot more than Titanium curtains from the Nikon F
The self timer lever, the solid advance lever…

I will keep some secret.

Kiu