Camera and Coffee

Cameras and conversation, another winning combination: a visit to a local shop for a neopreen strap for the G'man Canonet turned into an exchange of ideas and enthusiasms; the owner, it turned out, had a few rangefinders in his attic, and asked if I was interested. He was more than delighted to release them into the care of someone appreciative.
I picked them up today....this gorgeous Lynx (the proverbial hunk!), an Electro 35 that is close to perfect, and a GTN with some looseness in the lens, but not a scratch or a dent anywhere to be seen.
I am happy. I had promised - the new house and all - not to buy any cameras for a while, but gifts are another thing entirely...are they not? :)
 
This one was fated. I took a pound of coffee home with me from work today. I placed the bag of beans in my Domke like i always do. Bag opens. Beans Spill.
 
My brand new Nikon S3-2000 arrived late last week.

The camera just seemed so darned new, and I've never shot with a new camera before. So I swapped the front plate with my venerable S3, which I sprayed black about 15 years ago using furnace paint back when I used the camera to photograph military people in the field. A little black electrical tape and, voila! It suddenly felt a lot more like the camera I've been using all these years.

I was out snapping pictures of my kids at a playground with the grunged-up S3-2000 when one of the parents turned to me and said, "That's a nice old camera. All you see these days is digital."
 
That's a lovely Nikon S3 Vince. I like the worn black front plate. How does it compare to an older Nikon? Do all the new ones have metal shutter blades rather than cloth?
 
Vince, I like that shot. Continuity while still having the soul of a new machine... and the accessories are brilliant too!

I notice that it's my Canon 7 that brings out the comments from people - the younger people especially seem to see it and just have to tell me what a wonderful camera it is.

William
 
It is a snowy morning here in Minneapolis. I decided to take my Vitomatic II for a spot of tea. My favorite cup accompnied me. I thought it was appropriate!
 
>>How does it compare to an older Nikon? Do all the new ones have metal shutter blades rather than cloth?<<

The old S3 has held up surprisingly well, so the differences aren't huge. The finder is a bit brighter -- it's essentially as bright as looking with the unaided eye -- and the new antireflective coatings make the finder seem clearer. The RF spot is a little brighter and more contrasty. But the difference isn't huge. The old one actually has a more familiar "feel" to it still. It has been regularly used for close to 20 years, so the built-in focus helix and the film advance just have a well-worn, well broken-in feel whereas the new on has a kind of new-car feel -- like everything has not yet settled into place. Car engines half a century ago needed a break-in period, and the camera feels the same way. The owner's manual even recommends firing the shutter and working all the controls a bit to get all the mechanical parts functioning after a long wait on a dealer's shelf.

The shutters on the new S3s are cloth. (So are the shutters on the new SPs, I believe). I actually prefer this. Has a nice whisper.

The big deal with the S3-2000 is its lens, a reissued version of what had been the hardest-to-find f/1.4 50mm Nikkor (called an "Olympic" because about 2,000 were built around the time of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, hence the most modern design Nikon RF lens ever). It's a slightly larger, updated version of the 1950s classic lens, with larger glass elements. I've only shot a couple of rolls, but its characteristics seem to be comparble to the 1960s SLR 50mm 1.4.
 
> It's a slightly larger, updated version of the 1950s classic lens, with larger glass elements.

Vince, I believe that the "Olympic" and "Millenium" lenses are completely different designs than the 1950's Sonnar 5cm/1.4. I've got one reference showing the '64 lens as being the same formula as the Canon 50/1.2 and 50/f0.95.

I am NOT going to take mine apart to find out though! Should be able to count reflections in the glass...
 
Brian,
I don't doubt it. The Millennium lens appears to be identical to the Olympic lens pictured in Rotolini's Nikon RF book. It's optics are not identical to an SLR 50 from the 1960s ... the lens is physically closer to the film plane, and the rear element is smaller than the SLR rear element (but much larger than the 1950s Sonnar rear element). In fact, the Olympic/Millennium lens has as large a rear element as possible within the limitations of the size of the Nikon/Contax mount's opening. The SLR version thus had more space for a larger rear element. I don't know the math of lens design, but I assume that positioning the lens closer to the film plane allows for a smaller rear element.

The multicoating is quite good. It won't be all that easy to count reflections in the glass. The lens (and its brethren) are seven-element "S" designs.
 
It's a beautiful day here in Central Texas and I decided to take the "kids out for a walk. Got a new job yesterday and decided to celebrate, albeit with coffee!

All the best

Sherm :cool:
 
Coffee time at the old Fire Hall. Oh ok it's always coffee time here. Anyway got my Leica IIIc today and my Jupiter 12 yesterday. I recived the Zorki 4k from the G'man the day before. The meter was picked up at the Toronto RFF meet. The fed 2 at the Tronto area camera show 2 weeks ago from an RFF menber.

1: Leica IIIc with J12 and Yashica finder
2: Zorki 4K with J8
3: Fed2 with I61
4: Sekonic Studio DeluxeII meter
5: Lecia IIIc with J12 again
 
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