Did the Nikon S3 Olympic exist before 632 0001

[Ken Ford]

If memory serves me right…Late Tom A. Had a Nikon S4 with titanium curtains painted in black by Shintaro.

Ahhh, the good old times.

Kiu

A black paint S4 with titanium curtains is a personal dream.

 

[modernhero]

This Nikon S3 with serial number 631 2208 appears at first glance to be a standard black S3. A closer look, however, raises doubts:
The distance measurement is in meters, not feet. It has a titanium foil curtain, not cloth.
The self-release levers and winder are Nikon F-style. his is a Nikon S3 Olympic, or what do the experts say?
I also have serial number 631 2212 (adjacent serial number - last pic) in my collection.
This camera also has the titanium foil curtain, the distance markings in meters, and the Nikon F-style self-release lever and winder. It's a Nikon S3 Olympic!!!
S/N 631 2208 bought in Wien, Austria, 631 2212 in Osaka, Japan.
Whenever I told someone this, I always heard: "It was changed afterwards"; "It was rebuilt"; "It's a fake" "S3 Olympic starts at 632 0001"
I spoke with a technician who has been repairing and adjusting rangefinder cameras for many years. A pro!
He says it's technically impossible to retrofit the cloth shutter in an S3 with a titanium foil shutter.
He said, literally: "Unfortunately, converting from a cloth shutter to a titanium shutter isn't possible on the Nikon S3. The technology behind it is apparently completely different,
and the body won't be compatible."
Let's take a look at the S4. No one is surprised that there are over 200 S4s with the S3 topplate, because of the missing self-release lever..
I'm sure S3 Olympic exists before serial number 632 0001. I have two of these cameras.
All books need to be rewritten? They're all wrong?View attachment 4878379View attachment 4878380View attachment 4878381View attachment 4878382

Hi blacksapier: could you share photos of the bottom of the camera?

 

[nsp9107]

Since most of the Nikon books information is what has been seen and not what is from the factory there are discrepancies in the books. every time some new number came out an update needed to be done it was put in the Nikon historical journal. That is now here. I don’t follow the Olympic numbers. Following other numbers. I found many things that were not in the books. Not asking anyone to rewrite the books to include the items. I’ve just made my own notes on the pages.

 

[NIKON KIU]

Hi blacksapier: could you share photos of the bottom of the camera?

Hi there,
If you scroll down to the middle part of the first page, you will see those pictures.

Kiu