NIKON KIU
Did you say Nippon Kogaku?
One can always look but finding one would be another story. You are one of the few who has...
Then they disappear.
confession
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One can always look but finding one would be another story. You are one of the few who has...
Then they disappear.
enasniearth
Well-known
Still,
If I had only one film camera ,
It would be a black dial nikon s2 ,
With the 5cm f1.4 nikkor ,
If I was able to have some lenses
The 2.8cm f3.5 late black nikkor ,
With a leitz brightline finder ( the nikon 2.8 finder is not great)
Also a 3.5mm f1.8 nikkor , with either the 3.5cm nippon kogaku bright line finder or the 3.5 cm mini finder .
Well If I have that outfit , the others get left home .
If you love Leica buy an m2 and the same nikkors .
If I had only one film camera ,
It would be a black dial nikon s2 ,
With the 5cm f1.4 nikkor ,
If I was able to have some lenses
The 2.8cm f3.5 late black nikkor ,
With a leitz brightline finder ( the nikon 2.8 finder is not great)
Also a 3.5mm f1.8 nikkor , with either the 3.5cm nippon kogaku bright line finder or the 3.5 cm mini finder .
Well If I have that outfit , the others get left home .
If you love Leica buy an m2 and the same nikkors .
menos
Veteran
I always found the black paint S2 and S3 bodies the prettiest looking cameras!Don't listen to Tom and these others, I did ............
Look what happened:
…
Wonderful glass, sturdy bodies and shooting a legend is never a bad thing, we are lucky we can, don't miss the opportunity we pass this way only once.
The SP really looks a bit like a formula one racer in a field of touring cars - so alienesque and advanced with it's crazy finder.
I didn't know there was a modern Cosina Sonnar made in S mount 😱
Is there a modern Zeiss 50/2 Planar in S mount by any chance?
What other exotic lenses are available in S mount - anything from Miyazaki San perhaps or a nice compact and lightweight collapsible 50mm?
How are the vintage S3 bodies and their finders - I read everywhere they are not so nice to use compared to S2 and the modern reissue bodies?
I just also found 3.5/1.8 in Nikkor S mount, which is in the mail.
…*well it actually was attached to a body as well 🙂
I can't wait to receive that package - film is ready and I phoned the lab shop to have those Fuji Frontiers at the ready …
It looks like I finally am going to reduce that big stock of frozen 35mm film I still have in the freezer … may that be the end of the digital Leica age ??? 🙄
Now for that black 2.8cm and a 10.5cm and I am going to be settled for years to come.
The only modern Zeiss lens in S-mount is the Sonnar, but Miyazaki-san's very first lens, the MS-MODE-S 50mm F1.3, was a dual mount (S-mount or LTM) lens. I tried a copy out years ago. It had the most amazing (i.e. severe) field curvature I've ever seen in a lens.
http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/MS_Optical_R&D
http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/cda/lens/2006/02/23/3279.html
menos
Veteran
Oh, Jon, that looks interesting!
I saw some tests of the lens years ago, but didn't look further into it, as these are so rare to come by and would not offer much over the already wonderful vintage and very affordable Nikkor 50/1.4 Sonnar.
Two more questions come to mind:
Is there a known proper way of adapting a genuine vintage Contax mount Carl Zeiss Jena 5cm f1.5 Sonnar to match properly on a Nikon S body?
I know shortening it's focal length from the Contax standard 52.3 (if I remember correctly) to the Leica+Nikon standard 51.6 mm would be in order to do so.
Has it been done - probably by Brian Sweeney ?
I do love my wartime CZJ Sonnar in LTM mount to bits and would absolutely love to use one of these (or even better a collapsible 5cm f2 !!!) on a Nikon S body.
oh my, there goes the full addiction already, thinking full tilt about possible vintage lenses to fit on the S …
Last question for today (restraining myself here):
What would be the correct vintage (Nikon SP generation) strap and strap attachment to use on a Nikon rangefinder - I suppose keyring + thin leather strap?
When did Nikon start to issue bordeaux and yellow colored textile straps to their professional cameras?
I have a handful of yellow wide Nikon straps I use on all my Nikon bodies - remember Jon ;-)
I love these straps but would think them out of place on the tiny Nikon RF cameras.
I saw some tests of the lens years ago, but didn't look further into it, as these are so rare to come by and would not offer much over the already wonderful vintage and very affordable Nikkor 50/1.4 Sonnar.
Two more questions come to mind:
Is there a known proper way of adapting a genuine vintage Contax mount Carl Zeiss Jena 5cm f1.5 Sonnar to match properly on a Nikon S body?
I know shortening it's focal length from the Contax standard 52.3 (if I remember correctly) to the Leica+Nikon standard 51.6 mm would be in order to do so.
Has it been done - probably by Brian Sweeney ?
I do love my wartime CZJ Sonnar in LTM mount to bits and would absolutely love to use one of these (or even better a collapsible 5cm f2 !!!) on a Nikon S body.
oh my, there goes the full addiction already, thinking full tilt about possible vintage lenses to fit on the S …
Last question for today (restraining myself here):
What would be the correct vintage (Nikon SP generation) strap and strap attachment to use on a Nikon rangefinder - I suppose keyring + thin leather strap?
When did Nikon start to issue bordeaux and yellow colored textile straps to their professional cameras?
I have a handful of yellow wide Nikon straps I use on all my Nikon bodies - remember Jon ;-)
I love these straps but would think them out of place on the tiny Nikon RF cameras.
sebastel
coarse art umbrascriptor
never heard of that.
bordeaux (deep red/purple) and yellow? wow. kind of flashy ...
i don't know, but a simple shoe tie would do the job without the keyring which can leave marks. 90cm size works best for me.
but i'm not known as a camera strap fashionista anyway :-D
happy to see that you found your thing.
menos
Veteran
Yes, I am flashy kind of guy with straps ;-)
I just received the SP body out of customs @##$%!
My very first reaction upon opening the wrap and holding a Nikon SP + 35/1.8 for a long, long time not having seen one:
This thing is tiny!!! It feels so absolutely compact and dense and all the tiny little cute controls and switches and wheels and … it is a georgeous looking camera, absolutely the prettiest piece of camera gear I have held in a long, long time.
The last time a camera had such an emotional impact upon holding it for the first time was when I bought my first Nikon D3 and a few years later, handling my first Rolleiflex.
Not even any of the Leica M's of any kind have provoked such an emotional high.
Ok - this will take a while to get over with (the wow factor).
Also: I have handled quite a few pieces of much more expensive camera gear than this one and never had any doubts about just putting them to good use - I didn't think about this when I bought it, but upon first putting my hands on it, it absolutely feels way too pretty too take out and take pictures with and get that brand-new camera look and smell worn off (it is actually brand new expect that one single little issue - more on that later).
The entire camera operation couldn't be more different from a Leica M - it is as Nikon has seen the future Leica M3 through a magic ball and decided to one up the M3 in every regard but make sure that on the Nikon SP everything works exactly 180º from how it works with the M ;-)
This is not a camera I could possibly use side by side with a Leica M - my brain would simply melt down.
The finder is GORGEOUS!
Why didn't Leica come up with a RF prism design which lets a large focus patch float in the air inside a 1:1 finder like this - sure it isn't as bright as modern Leica M finders but the magnification and the large floating focus patch is just beautiful.
I find that although years ago I switched from right eye shooting to left eye shooting as my right eye deteriorated for focussing precisely - I can actually clearly focus the SP with the right eye, something I simply cannot do with my Leica Ms.
Now here is the strange thing: EVERYTHING about this one looks, feels and smells absolutely new.
Obviously the package had been opened at one point but neither the camera nor lens, nor any accessories do show any kind of marks of usage - it is a brand new camera, probably having spent the years from it's initial release until now behind glass or inside the locked up dry cabinet in some collectors villa ;-)
The one single thing about it is odd: the advance lever has a lot of play for any kind of advance lever.
You can lift it up and down substantially (just feels loose).
Everything else is tight - just the silver chrome lever has play - it feels almost like a shim or wave spring is missing in the assembly.
Is this normal or shouldn't the lever on such a new SP be tight (the advance levers on my Leica M bodies are absolutely tight without any kind of play).
How are your Nikon SP 2005 advance levers fellas?
I just received the SP body out of customs @##$%!
My very first reaction upon opening the wrap and holding a Nikon SP + 35/1.8 for a long, long time not having seen one:
This thing is tiny!!! It feels so absolutely compact and dense and all the tiny little cute controls and switches and wheels and … it is a georgeous looking camera, absolutely the prettiest piece of camera gear I have held in a long, long time.
The last time a camera had such an emotional impact upon holding it for the first time was when I bought my first Nikon D3 and a few years later, handling my first Rolleiflex.
Not even any of the Leica M's of any kind have provoked such an emotional high.
Ok - this will take a while to get over with (the wow factor).
Also: I have handled quite a few pieces of much more expensive camera gear than this one and never had any doubts about just putting them to good use - I didn't think about this when I bought it, but upon first putting my hands on it, it absolutely feels way too pretty too take out and take pictures with and get that brand-new camera look and smell worn off (it is actually brand new expect that one single little issue - more on that later).
The entire camera operation couldn't be more different from a Leica M - it is as Nikon has seen the future Leica M3 through a magic ball and decided to one up the M3 in every regard but make sure that on the Nikon SP everything works exactly 180º from how it works with the M ;-)
This is not a camera I could possibly use side by side with a Leica M - my brain would simply melt down.
The finder is GORGEOUS!
Why didn't Leica come up with a RF prism design which lets a large focus patch float in the air inside a 1:1 finder like this - sure it isn't as bright as modern Leica M finders but the magnification and the large floating focus patch is just beautiful.
I find that although years ago I switched from right eye shooting to left eye shooting as my right eye deteriorated for focussing precisely - I can actually clearly focus the SP with the right eye, something I simply cannot do with my Leica Ms.
Now here is the strange thing: EVERYTHING about this one looks, feels and smells absolutely new.
Obviously the package had been opened at one point but neither the camera nor lens, nor any accessories do show any kind of marks of usage - it is a brand new camera, probably having spent the years from it's initial release until now behind glass or inside the locked up dry cabinet in some collectors villa ;-)
The one single thing about it is odd: the advance lever has a lot of play for any kind of advance lever.
You can lift it up and down substantially (just feels loose).
Everything else is tight - just the silver chrome lever has play - it feels almost like a shim or wave spring is missing in the assembly.
Is this normal or shouldn't the lever on such a new SP be tight (the advance levers on my Leica M bodies are absolutely tight without any kind of play).
How are your Nikon SP 2005 advance levers fellas?
Peter Jennings
Well-known
Nikon advance levers usually do have some play, but if it seems excessive you may want have it checked out. You sure seem pleased! Kind of reminds me of when I got my first Nikon S2 just a couple years ago.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
maitani
Well-known
try focusing the SP with both eyes open its even better, as the 1:1 finder was built for this, esp in the dark it just works! enjoy!
Dirk, I'm currently travelling in Hokkaido so cannot check my SP 2005 for a few more days, but the looseness you're experiencing with your advance lever does sound unusual. There should be a small amount of play, but the lever shouldn't feel sloppy. Have you got any Nikon F cameras lying around to compare it with (the SP is basically an F without a mirror box after all)?
menos
Veteran
Thanks guys for the comments ;-)
Jon, unfortunately I don't have a F around (the next thing on the list it seems, but that has to wait until next Xmas).
I made a little video:
https://youtu.be/LJoKnc695CQ
The camera operates fine otherwise - just the advance lever shows much more play I would expect from this camera which is tight and solid otherwise.
Jon, unfortunately I don't have a F around (the next thing on the list it seems, but that has to wait until next Xmas).
I made a little video:
https://youtu.be/LJoKnc695CQ
The camera operates fine otherwise - just the advance lever shows much more play I would expect from this camera which is tight and solid otherwise.
It's been a while since I've had my SP 2005, but I know it wasn't that loose. If I had to guess, it's missing a wavy washer...
Peter Jennings
Well-known
The play shown in the video doesn't appear to be abnormal. More play than I like, but there's nothing out of spec about it. I'm talking about the up and down play here. The back and forth looseness is absolutely normal. When the advance lever is not locked against the shutter button collar it should be loose like that. Don't worry about it.
Edit: I have no idea if it's normal for an SP 2005. I'm just talking about vintage Nikon rangefinders in general.
Edit: I have no idea if it's normal for an SP 2005. I'm just talking about vintage Nikon rangefinders in general.
Highway 61
Revisited
Looks 100% normal to me, both for up and down play and forth and back looseness (they were designed to work like that not to interfere with the frames counter cover and the automatic counter return spring).
While I may have a bit less of play on my SP made in 1962 since I carefully adjusted the vertical position of the frames counter cover and very gently lubed with lithium grease the areas where the winding lever rotates and glides, I probably have a bit more play and dry metal noise on my black F made in 1971 (got mint with a very low mileage and left untouched) than on this SP 2005.
On the Nikon S2, there is the least amount of up and down play, but the counter doesn't return automatically so the frames counter cover and the winding lever can be very close to each other, with only the minimum looseness for the winding lever to spring back towards the rear of the camera when you leave it free.
IMO it isn't. The only washer which takes place there is present and we can see it between the winding lever and the frames counter cover (part #595 according to the repair manual).
menos
Veteran
You guys are great ;-)
@splitimageview - that was my very first suspicion, when I played with the camera for the very first time.
The camera looks in every detail brand-spanking-new (even when doing the ultimate nerd test and photographing it with a macro lens + flash).
Every fitting, connection and screw looks new - no signs of ever having a roll of film inserted, not any signs of tools or repairs.
Hence my disbelief that this could be broken.
After I uploaded the video and reading Jon's reminder, that the Nikon F was created in the very image of the Nikon SP - I went mental, having watched the video over and over again myself, having searched youtube for Nikon F videos and tried to find anything on the advance lever.
I found a great Nikon F service manual (sadly I didn't find the Nikon SP service manual) to help wrap my head around the assembly of the film advance.
After finding that F service manual, the assembly show promise that indeed it could be improved by a simple adjustment.
Detail: the SP advance assembly does differ slightly from the later F assembly but by adjusting the cover position slightly with the three set screws the vertical play is reduced a bit.
I did not add any grease to the factory assembly just yet. The advance lever is incredibly smooth by the way and needs interestingly much less force to advance than any of my Leica M bodies (only exception is my late M6 classic which to some strange wonder is by far the smoothest advancing camera I ever used).
verdict: perfectly normal, can be adjusted slightly and possibly improved a tiny bit further by means of a thin (0.03 - 0.05mm) brass washer to be added between advance lever and film counter cover for further adjustment of the vertical play, …
BUT I advice against it as this might result in increased stress on the film counter cover which is held only by three VERY short and small set screws.
Once the nerd sits back and relaxes, the advance is perfectly fine in actual use - and suuuuper smoooooth - which is most important ;-)
@ Nicolas - haha - I was too impatient to wait and unfortunately found out the hard way, but it is always good to understand the kit better by seeing it inside out.
I know now that the advance is perfectly to spec and settles the mind and shuts up the nerd in me ;-)
I find it interesting how an industry leading Japanese company in 2005 decides to replicate it's last master piece rangefinder camera technically to the smallest screw (some tiny cosmetic differences to distinguish them aside) and elect NOT to deviate from the original SP design in order to keep it as original to the 1957 made model.
Nikon's engineers easily could have changed the advance lever design but it would have been another camera entirely.
This mindset is amazing and it makes these two re-issue cameras even more interesting to me. We Germans could never accomplish such a thing as it would bug the heck out of our anal retentiveness to keep a detail like this and NOT improve it - tradition and heritage takes a backseat when engineering is involved with ze Germanz ;-)
I hope workload eases up a little so I can run my first rolls through this one on the weekend.
@splitimageview - that was my very first suspicion, when I played with the camera for the very first time.
The camera looks in every detail brand-spanking-new (even when doing the ultimate nerd test and photographing it with a macro lens + flash).
Every fitting, connection and screw looks new - no signs of ever having a roll of film inserted, not any signs of tools or repairs.
Hence my disbelief that this could be broken.
After I uploaded the video and reading Jon's reminder, that the Nikon F was created in the very image of the Nikon SP - I went mental, having watched the video over and over again myself, having searched youtube for Nikon F videos and tried to find anything on the advance lever.
I found a great Nikon F service manual (sadly I didn't find the Nikon SP service manual) to help wrap my head around the assembly of the film advance.
After finding that F service manual, the assembly show promise that indeed it could be improved by a simple adjustment.
Detail: the SP advance assembly does differ slightly from the later F assembly but by adjusting the cover position slightly with the three set screws the vertical play is reduced a bit.
I did not add any grease to the factory assembly just yet. The advance lever is incredibly smooth by the way and needs interestingly much less force to advance than any of my Leica M bodies (only exception is my late M6 classic which to some strange wonder is by far the smoothest advancing camera I ever used).
verdict: perfectly normal, can be adjusted slightly and possibly improved a tiny bit further by means of a thin (0.03 - 0.05mm) brass washer to be added between advance lever and film counter cover for further adjustment of the vertical play, …
BUT I advice against it as this might result in increased stress on the film counter cover which is held only by three VERY short and small set screws.
Once the nerd sits back and relaxes, the advance is perfectly fine in actual use - and suuuuper smoooooth - which is most important ;-)
@ Nicolas - haha - I was too impatient to wait and unfortunately found out the hard way, but it is always good to understand the kit better by seeing it inside out.
I know now that the advance is perfectly to spec and settles the mind and shuts up the nerd in me ;-)
I find it interesting how an industry leading Japanese company in 2005 decides to replicate it's last master piece rangefinder camera technically to the smallest screw (some tiny cosmetic differences to distinguish them aside) and elect NOT to deviate from the original SP design in order to keep it as original to the 1957 made model.
Nikon's engineers easily could have changed the advance lever design but it would have been another camera entirely.
This mindset is amazing and it makes these two re-issue cameras even more interesting to me. We Germans could never accomplish such a thing as it would bug the heck out of our anal retentiveness to keep a detail like this and NOT improve it - tradition and heritage takes a backseat when engineering is involved with ze Germanz ;-)
I hope workload eases up a little so I can run my first rolls through this one on the weekend.
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Dirk,
You were wise not to add more grease. Mixing grease's is always a bad idea.
The best of luck.
Also being stubborn is a virtue. LOL.
Cal
You were wise not to add more grease. Mixing grease's is always a bad idea.
The best of luck.
Also being stubborn is a virtue. LOL.
Cal
menos
Veteran
Yes Cal, I didn't want to administer anything unnecessary.
This has been a shelf queen for a mere 10 years and has been built likely by a team of most experienced employees at Nikon in Japan.
Many of the original cameras have endured decades of heavy use in perfect working order I hear.
… and that virtue you mention there - I have lots of it ;-)
This has been a shelf queen for a mere 10 years and has been built likely by a team of most experienced employees at Nikon in Japan.
Many of the original cameras have endured decades of heavy use in perfect working order I hear.
… and that virtue you mention there - I have lots of it ;-)
Dirk, if you haven't already I think you'll enjoy reading this > http://imaging.nikon.com/history/chronicle/history-sp/
Timmyjoe
Veteran
[/url]F557 # #1 Nikon Bodies Nikon Rf Month by T&T and Mr B Abrahamsson, on Flickr[/IMG]
Found a shot from some years ago (2010) -Nikon Rf's accumulate very quickly! Also remember that you also have a urge to find Nikon Re-loadnle cassettes. It never ends - trust me on that!
I am not putting up the picture of the lens stash - it is embarrassing enough with the bodies - nor the shot of 140+ cassettes!!!!
You have been warned.
Tom, I'm always so envious of your camera stash.
Quick question about the Nikon Reloadable cassettes. Why? What is the advantage of them over something like Kodak Snap-Caps, etc.? I've seen them for sale many times, but never figured out what the attraction was, aside from just being cool little gizmos.
Best,
-Tim
helen.HH
To Light & Love ...
Tom,
ALL of your collections make me Drool...
Sumply Duvine Obsessions !
ALL of your collections make me Drool...
Sumply Duvine Obsessions !
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