MikeL
Go Fish
Beauty is in the eye behind the 1:1 finder on Nikon RFs.
The Nikon S2 is the closest to the original prewar Zeiss Ikon design among all the other Nikon rangefinders.
rbiemer said:Here's a picture of one:
http://www.eastman.org/fm/mees/htmlsrc/mE13000019_ful.html#topofimage
My favorite just for looks is this one.
Rob
Parker51 said:The most beautiful camera?
I will say the BANTAM SPECIAL designed by Walter Teague ,marvellous streamline art deco rangefinder camera. ( sorry, I don't know how to post a picture ).
and also black paint M2, and third, black SP....
f2eyelevel said:The (large) S2 main viewfinder window has +/- the exact size of the Contax II one. The M and S one are very small (+/- the size of a Leica screwmount composing window). True to say that the M and S use knobs rather than cranks and levers actually but the Contax II knobs are larger and closer to the S2's in size when viewed from the front of the camera. Also, the Contax II low-profile rewind knob, with its large flattened flange, can be seen as a precursor of the Nikon habit of having a large and flat rotating disk for various settings under the quite flat rewind unit. This feature came out first on the Nikon S2 and we find it again almost identical in design on the 1980's FE2, for example.
Main point IMO is that the S2 frontplate has the distinctive quartermoon rounded Art-Deco bezel of the Contax II ; the M and S don't.
This very special design feature is obviously a tribute to the Contax II designers from the Nippon Kogaku design team. When the S2 was launched, the prewar Art-Deco style was in fashion again.
It's...a collectible? 😉 The Leica IIIs attract all spectrums (spectrae?), it seems 😀f2eyelevel said:I guess that all the Barocco, Classic, Art Deco, Bauhaus, Art Nouveau, Pop Art, Modern Style designers locked together in the same brain-storming room for hours could not get out with such a moving design masterpiece.
Where did you buy that thing ? I want the store address right now !
furcafe said:I wholeheartedly agree w/you on your 1st choice (& I think that's what I voted in the poll). Walter Dorwin Teague hit a home run on the Bantam Special. Perhaps the only black camera I really like. 😛 [I once saw a rare colored (red I think) Bantam Special @ an Art Deco expo & I think there was a white model offered, too.] Moreover, the good design elements aren't limited to aesthetics: e.g., the pull-out "foot" that levels/stabilizes the camera for table-top use is a nice touch. If only Kodak had hired Teague to design some 35mm cameras, too, like maybe a Retina model or the Ektra . . .
Gabriel M.A. said:It's...a collectible? 😉 The Leica IIIs attract all spectrums (spectrae?), it seems 😀
jan normandale said:nuther vote for the Bantam... it's the most beautiful camera I've ever seen. Been lusting for one at yard and garage sales for four years. Someday....
Gabriel M.A. said:Regards
HuubL said:As for aesthetics and function nothing beats this cpmbo (for me)![]()