confession

[menos]

For many years I prevented to enter the Nikon RF system entirely by simply ignoring Nikkor S mount lenses and not looking at Nikon RF bodies.

Now about a week ago, a good friend sold me a 50/1.4 Olympic reissue (the Millennium lens).
Since that moment the Nikon RF system is haunting me - I find myself searching eBay, reading decades old threads on RFF how to repair slow escapements on Nikon S2 bodies, reading up about the minute differences of Nikon RF bodies, … I AM DOOMED :bang:

Now here is the question: what about the lenses?
How difficult is it to find black versions of the 2.8cm, 8.5cm and 10.5cm in S mount (I intent to find a nicely used Nikon SP reissue set including the 3.5cm to match the modern coatings of the 5cm).

Were these Nikkors as obscure and plentiful in different versions as Leica lenses of the time?
Were there any differences in glass?

Now how about that Micro Nikkor - do I need one too?

 

[jonmanjiro]

Lol its not looking promising, Dirk. I'd say you're done for 😀

Or you could just get an Amedeo adapter (there's even a version that focuses in the Leica direction!) and use that wonderful Millennium 50mm on your M bodies. You could even use an S-mount Micro-Nikkor on that adapter 😉

To answer your questions:

* The black versions of the 2.8cm, 8.5cm, and 10.5cm in S-mount are fairly common (less so the 8.5cm but the other two are easy to find)

* The S-mount versions are generally more plentiful than the LTM versions, but still nowhere near as numerous as Leica lenses of the same period. To give you an idea, there's almost 7,000 S-mount W-Nikkor 3.5cm F1.8 lenses vs less than 2,000 in LTM.

* No difference in glass between S-mount and LTM Nikkors. Same optics, different barrel.

 

[michaelwj]

I feel your pain.
Every March I feel the need to get an S2 with a 1.4/50. The need slowly subsides and somehow I never take the plunge. Then I kick myself for not being ready for next Nikon RF month and the cycle repeats. One year I will be ready. One year.

 

[madNbad]

How about getting an S to M mount adapter and using the Nikkor or one of your Leica bodies while you search around for just the right Nikon body to mount it on? A good adapter isn't cheap but it might scratch the itch for a little while.

 

[Erik van Straten]

Try to get an S2 in black paint. That is a camera.

Erik.

 

[menos]

Haha - thanks for the tips and heartwarming compassion ;-)

JM has kindly given a Amedeo S-M adapter along with the lens, but you know me.
I am playing with the idea of a small Nikon RF kit on and off for years.

Part of the idea is that actually from the beginning I am a Nikon guy, love the LTM Nikkors since I can remember and also still look for that black paint Nikon F.
The SP and S3 are so close in design and technology, it simply is the logical thing to do.

It also is the best way to make use of that lens I believe (I am curious about the focus wheel). It is also a great excuse to complete my W-Nikkor collection (the Millennium S mount and a vintage S mount are the only ones missing).

I will be able to pick up the lens only around the Xmas time so until then I should find a body (what a great excuse).
Can good deals on black paint SP kits still be found or did this thing hit the collectors upward curve already?

@Michael - I did this on and on thinking about getting one for years.
If only the S2 came with a shutter speed dial as the later bodies :-(

 

[B-9]

Nikon S2 bodies are plentiful, for the price of an Amedeo adapter you have a tough choice...

S2's can be found for around 200-350$ depending on condition and wether or not it has a black dial lol

Don't worry to much, DAG can and will tackle any Nikon RF at a reasonable cost, and well it's all cheap enough compared to that Millenium Nikkor.

 

[menos]

@madNbad - yes I was lucky enough to buy the lens with an Amedeo adapter (I looked after this lens for a long time and the included adapter and buying it from a friend was the one offer made to me I couldn't refuse).

@Erik, you evil man ;-)

Joke aside, yes, I saw a few on eBay - they are mighty expensive, but knowing my black paint addiction, … some day.

Btw - did Tom end up making a rapid winder for any of the Nikon bodies - maybe even in black paint? (for my large hands, a Leica M + Leicavit always makes the best fit and I like being able to wind with the left hand as I am a left eye shooter).

@B-9 - yes a vintage S2 would be surely a great body to use this lens on.
My idea was to just get one single body to do it all (a SP sounds perfect for that), as I have only recently discovered how nice the 28mm is but the 28mm I have in Leica mount is quite big and heavy and I hardly use the wide apertures.
A SP it should be I recon with a range of lenses and I never need to look at other bodies again (yeah, right, I see how that worked out with Leica M bodies).

 

[jonmanjiro]

Btw - did Tom end up making a rapid winder for any of the Nikon bodies - maybe even in black paint? (for my large hands, a Leica M + Leicavit always makes the best fit and I like being able to wind with the left hand as I am a left eye shooter).

IIRC Tom made some prototypes but the project never reached the production stage.

You could always go for a black paint S2E 😉

 

[menos]

Thanks for letting me know Jon.

Now about that S2E …………………… unfortunately no. ;-)

I just see the asking prices for black paint S2 bodies - this is past black paint Leica M2 bodies, I am shocked!

 

[ruby.monkey]

The S2 is a nice enough camera - finder is good but not up to M3 standard, handling is pleasant (finger-wheel focussing is dog slow), the body feels pretty light. Like a more user-friendly Contax.

I may have just been unlucky but both my chrome-dial S2s had issues with the slow speed mechanism, which ran like the B setting at all slow speeds. Don't know if the S3 (with a single combined shutter speed dial) improved on this.

 

[splitimageview]

In my experience the Nikons are less likely to require CLAs. And I love the life-size 1:1 viewfinder. 🙂 And easier loading.

 

[menos]

The S2 is a nice enough camera - finder is good but not up to M3 standard, handling is pleasant (finger-wheel focussing is dog slow), the body feels pretty light. Like a more user-friendly Contax.

I may have just been unlucky but both my chrome-dial S2s had issues with the slow speed mechanism, which ran like the B setting at all slow speeds. Don't know if the S3 (with a single combined shutter speed dial) improved on this.

You might want to have a quick look through this thread, your issue sounds just like the cause of the problem Jon found in the end:
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=149161

The crazy thing about Nikon RFs is that they have this weird gravitation, so even people like me who don't even own a Nikon RF body (yet) read such threads all the way through, word by word, repair manual sketch by sketch …

In my experience the Nikons are less likely to require CLAs. And I love the life-size 1:1 viewfinder. 🙂 And easier loading.

I would love to use a 1:1 finder (loved the one on EPSON R-D1).
There is no contest to loading a film camera.
It is simply technically impossible to improve the Leica M4 loading of remove bottom plate, literally throw film into camera body, check alignment of sprockets, close camera, wind on, shoot.

The very only two film cameras I ever used that made this Leica M4 loading faster are a Nikon F5 and Nikon F6 - they save you the wind on 😀

I will have a good look at the different film bodies.

Is there anything at all, Nikon RF bodies do not like to be done to them - like any secret permanent death switches or are they as indestructible as the Nikon F mount SLRs?

 

[BillBingham2]

I switched from Leica Ms to Nikon RF because the felt the same as my Nikon SLRs (FTn). I found the wheel to be the best think since the focusing tab. The lenses and aperture move the same way (a big deal for me as I try to preset both as I raise a camera to my eye), shooting with both eyes open, I was in heaven.

B2 (;->

.

 

[Calzone]

Is there anything at all, Nikon RF bodies do not like to be done to them - like any secret permanent death switches or are they as indestructible as the Nikon F mount SLRs?

Dirk,

Congrates on the Millenium 50 Nikkor.

From what I know the Nikon RF'ers are as durable as the Nikon F. In fact when cloth shutters need to be replaced the titanium shutter from a F (SLR) is used/cannabilized for replacement.

After an black paint S2 is a Black paint SP. LOL. I confess that I would love to have a black paint S2 and a black paint SP, but at this point they would be luxury items that remain out of reach.

To me they look so damn cool.

My understanding about Tom's trigger winder is that it is specific to the later reissued bodies. There is some pre-order list that requires a deposit, and when a long enough list of orders gets compiled to warrant production, production will be done in a batch. Kinda makes sense for economy of scale.

There was also a need to secure another back that had to be modified I believe to work with the trigger winder. When I have my breakdown I will want the trigger winder also.

Check out Tom's site for more info.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Dirk,

On CameraQuest click the link for classic camera articles. There is a small article showing the SP Rapidwinder. There is info on the waiting list that I mentioned above.

Cal

 

[splitimageview]

It is simply technically impossible to improve the Leica M4 loading

Your dexterity is superior to mine. 😉

Is there anything at all, Nikon RF bodies do not like to be done to them - like any secret permanent death switches or are they as indestructible as the Nikon F mount SLRs?

They are simply Nikon Fs with optical viewfinders. They just work. I've owned maybe 20 over the years, never had to CLA any of them.

 

[enasniearth]

Haha - thanks for the tips and heartwarming compassion ;-)

JM has kindly given a Amedeo S-M adapter along with the lens, but you know me.
I am playing with the idea of a small Nikon RF kit on and off for years.

Part of the idea is that actually from the beginning I am a Nikon guy, love the LTM Nikkors since I can remember and also still look for that black paint Nikon F.
The SP and S3 are so close in design and technology, it simply is the logical thing to do.

It also is the best way to make use of that lens I believe (I am curious about the focus wheel). It is also a great excuse to complete my W-Nikkor collection (the Millennium S mount and a vintage S mount are the only ones missing).

I will be able to pick up the lens only around the Xmas time so until then I should find a body (what a great excuse).
Can good deals on black paint SP kits still be found or did this thing hit the collectors upward curve already?

@Michael - I did this on and on thinking about getting one for years.
If only the S2 came with a shutter speed dial as the later bodies :-(

If you want a black sp , I would buy the 2005 kit which has the multicoated 3.5cm f1.8 included .on ebay I see them as low as $3600
The Leica m4 loads very quick if you are sitting at a table with the top down ,
Loading on the fly is difficult with any camera ,
I love the nikon s2 , but that is the camera I started with in 1974 .still I find it an easy camera to use , the 50mm frame is 1:1 but the finder has a fixed frame without parrelex correction .
It is very basic , I usually shoot wide angle with a nikon or leitz brightline finder .
This works well for me , but many people prefer the rf and combined vf of the Leica superior .
The sp is more like the Leica types , combined rf /vf for 50 and up ,
Wide angle finder for 28/35 . This finder has a smaller view , but still a plus .

 

[farlymac]

It took me a long while to finally get a Nikon rangefinder (S2 black dial), but it was worth the wait. It just works so much better than my Contax IIa (which has no mechanical problems).

Only things I can think of to watch out for on an S2 is making sure the two shutter setting dials are in proper alignment before shifting into the lower range, the shutter will likely fire when you put it in rewind mode so put a cap on the lens first, and to keep your fingers away from the rotating shutter speed dial put an AR-1 (or equivalent) soft release on the button.

With all the variations of models to choose from, it could come down to what you find available at your price point, but you will not be disappointed.

PF

 

[filmtwit]

Different minimum focus for both lenses.

ltm = 1 meter
S mount verison - 0.9m

* No difference in glass between S-mount and LTM Nikkors. Same optics, different barrel.