Are Nikon RFs for collectors and Leica Ms for users?

P

Platinum RF

Well-known
Local time
1:12 PM
Joined
Dec 12, 2006
Messages
529
Like Zeiss Contax, Nikon RF's rangefinder is kind of inferior to Leica M, not many lenses available and expensive too. The focus action is painful, the sharp focus wheel may cut your finger. Except cool looking or different layout, are Nikon RFs most for collectors?
 
At one time they were for photographers, but now they are quite old and becoming more and more rare. I think they are collectible but you are talking about niche camera in a niche market.
 
If quick and accurate focusing also quick film loading are not essential then Nikon RF are fun to use. :) I don't think they are collectible cameras of high and increasing value anymore, though.
 
Yes. Except your M5, that is for collectors, too. :)

J/K. Don't understand why users cann't be collectors.
 
I think the Nikon RFs are fantastic for using. They need service far less than a Leica. The lenses are usually less expensive, especially the fantastic 5cm variants (except for the f/1.1 versions) and they are almost always in better condition than contemporary Leica glass. The stuff just works and I'm sad i just sold my SP but I will get another one day. It's a great system and I'm always pushing folks I know who want to try out rangefinders to get an S2 with 5cm lens for less than the cost of most Leica lenses or bodies alone.

Phil Forrest
 
If you look through RFF, you will find many active users who regularly shoot with Nikon RF cameras.

I shot Nikon RFs for newspaper work in the '80s till my paper went digital in late '90s. They are different from the Leica system but not necessarily inferior. I was using personal gear to augment the company-issued SLRs. I appreciated that the Nikons were cheaper then than Leicas and offered outstanding optics. The 35/1.8 is called expensive because it costs $500 - $1,000 in user shape, but what's the price of a fast f/2 35mm lens for Leitz? The bayonet lenses change rapidly. The focus wheel requires some getting used to, but once learned is a handy feature that allows one-handed shooting ... the first time I climbed a tree to take pictures after a major wind storm, I was sold on one-handed operation. The ergonomics are classic Nikon and make it easy to switch back and forth with an SLR. The flash syncs are a standardized 1/60. They never need a CLA. The 1:1 viewfinder is, for me, superior to the miniturized finder on the Leica system. You can shoot with both eyes open and feel like you are a part of the scene. The secondary window on the SP allows an eyeglass-wearer to comfortably shoot the full range of lenses ... 28mm to 135mm. The 21mm Contax lens of the 1950s was optically unsurpassed and quite affordable compared to Leitz 21mm glass. The lifesize 35mm view on the S3 is worth risking scratched eyeglasses ... it completely changed my relationship wiht 35mm and 28mm lenses. The 1:1 viewfinder makes shooting 85mm, 105mm, and even 135mm lenses a breathtaking dream, and these three in Nikon RF mount are among the best pieces of glass ever produced by anyone, anywhere.

I tried Leica's a couple of times but considered them too different from my Nikons. And collectors drive the prices up to unreasonable levels for the work-a-day user.
 
A Leica M2 and M3 are fairly cheap, plenty lenses to chose from very old to the newest. I have a Voigtlander R2c and Zeiss Contax IIIa and few lenses, the focus action is awkward. Except the new Nikon RF S3 2000 and SP 2005 and few Voigtlander lens, the choice is limited. I recent watched a video clip about the replica Nikon SP 2005 from Nikon designer. They have tried different lubricates, and found using a 4B pencil to coat the helical is the smoothest, I guess they use graphite to coat the focus helical thread. I am thinking about to get a Nikon RF set to try out, but do like the busy SP viewfinder and weird separate 28/35mm window. Maybe S3 is a better choice.
 
Nikon RFs load easyer than Leicas.
Nikon RFs load faster than Leicas.
Nikon RFs have a rewinding"crank" not a knob.
Nikon RFs look better than Leicas.
Nikon RFs are not always cheaper than Leicas, but who cares.
Enough Lenses to get for Nikon RFs.
ans so on and so on . . .
and besides, I use my S2, it will not catch dust on a board.
 
If you don't wear glasses, the S3 is, in my opinion, a better camera to shoot than an SP. The lifesize 35mm frameline is unbeatable, and the window is so large you can easily frame a 28mm lens. The entire window coverage is actually about 25mm.

I think a longtime Leica user will find these cameras different and difficult, so there is a lot of personal preference as well.
 
I take the opposite approach with lack of lens choice ... once you have assembled a lens kit, there are not others except a few exotic overpriced ones, so you are clear to concentrate on photographic style, not looking for the next lens.
 
VinceC said:
I take the opposite approach with lack of lens choice ... once you have assembled a lens kit, there are not others except a few exotic overpriced ones, so you are clear to concentrate on photographic style, not looking for the next lens.
Click to expand...

I agree with you. How many different lenses does one really need?
 
Alpsman said:
Nikon RFs load easyer than Leicas.
Nikon RFs load faster than Leicas.
Nikon RFs have a rewinding"crank" not a knob.
Nikon RFs look better than Leicas.
Nikon RFs are not always cheaper than Leicas, but who cares.
Enough Lenses to get for Nikon RFs.
ans so on and so on . . .
and besides, I use my S2, it will not catch dust on a board.
Click to expand...

I don't know about the first two statements on this list. My experience suggests otherwise.
 
I only have Kiev II and would very much like to have Nikon RF.

I see a lot of comments about trouble with focusing... Since Contax/Kiev is the same in this regard (right?), what am I missing? I don't find focusing on my Kiev II THAT different to my M6. You turn the barrel of the lens and that's it (or you can use the wheel). Is it the infinity lock? Long focus throw? "Wrong" direction? Something else?
 
brbo said:
I don't find focusing on my Kiev II THAT different to my M6. You turn the barrel of the lens and that's it (or you can use the wheel)
Click to expand...

The viewfinder of the S2, S3 and SP is life size. The S2 focuses much easier than a Kiev.

In my opinion the black S2 is the most beautiful camera in the world.

Erik.
 
Aren't all RFs are more for collectors than users nowadays? :D

I use RFs from every major system all the time, including some weird ones like the Kodak Ektra & Bell & Howell Foton, not just major ones like the Leica & Contax. I also have quite a few fixed lens RFs, in 35mm & medium format. I have even used more than 1 system at the same time without my head exploding or anyone else getting hurt. Though they all have their quirks & advantages, IMHO, they all have much more in common than different. Most importantly, I am an equally bad photographer with all of them. On the flip side, some guys (like Robert Capa & Bob Jackson) were able to take some pretty good photos w/Contax & Nikon RF gear.

If you truly find the Contax & Nikon RF systems "painful" & "awkward" by all means, sell/trade them & use something else that you like. Obviously, not everybody agrees with you, so you should have no problem getting rid of your Contax & Nikon RF gear.

Platinum RF said:
Like Zeiss Contax, Nikon RF's rangefinder is kind of inferior to Leica M, not many lenses available and expensive too. The focus action is painful, the sharp focus wheel may cut your finger. Except cool looking or different layout, are Nikon RFs most for collectors?
Click to expand...
 
As for "finger cuts" it's only hard to turn the focusing wheel if the camera needs service. I shoot a Cantax IIIa a lot with the same type of wheel, and once I had it overhauled, the wheel was a painless joy to use.
 
It is really only with the 50's you use the "wheel" to focus (and with the 25f4). One advantage is that you can shoot one-handed, hold up the camera, hang on to whatever there is and just focus with a finger. Any external mount lens can be focussed with the barrel - and it is recommended that you do that as "wheel" focussing with heavy lenses (105/85 etc) puts undue stress on the gear train.
Only ripped fingertip came from a Contax II (with the 21f4.5 on it). I used that as my wide-angle kit for years in the 60's. It was extremely cold (northern Sweden in January) and i did not realize that I had ripped the tip of my finger until I saw a dark liquid gathering on the top-plate. It was cold enough to "freeze" nerve endings! However, once back in the truck and the heater going - I did feel it - really feel it!!!!!
 
I had many friends in the news photo business in the 1950-1960s-1970s and so on who used rangefinder Nikons and this post is the only reference I have ever read about alleged "finger cuts." Nobody I knew got them that I ever head about when these were first line photojournalist cameras. I suggest you throw that odd notion into the trash bucket along with those other fantasies,"bokeh" and "Barnack." I used, among other things, a Leica 3f and M2r in those days which were fine cameras but a witch to load when you were in a hurry.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom