Focusing patches S - S2 - S3

[JonR]

When comparing how well the focusing patches work on my Nikon S - S2 and S3 I find the S2 to be the easiest to focus followed by S and then the S3 only in third place. Is this only my S3 being poor when it comes to focusing or is the S3 generally worse than the older S2??

I guess there is no way to repair this but I think I read somewhere in a forum discussion about possibilities to enhance the focusing by adding some sort of film, anyone remember what this was??

Jon R

 

[furcafe]

I don't have an S, but used to have an S2 & have an S3 2000. I think the main reason why people think the S2 is the easiest is because of the tinting in the VF that increases contrast. Personally, I prefer a brighter VF on the stock S3 2000 (not sure how the vintage S3s look) & have no problems focusing that camera. Yes, you can always stick a colored film on the S3's VF to make it more like the S2. jonmanjiro has posted instructions in a couple threads.

When comparing how well the focusing patches work on my Nikon S - S2 and S3 I find the S2 to be the easiest to focus followed by S and then the S3 only in third place. Is this only my S3 being poor when it comes to focusing or is the S3 generally worse than the older S2??

I guess there is no way to repair this but I think I read somewhere in a forum discussion about possibilities to enhance the focusing by adding some sort of film, anyone remember what this was??

Jon R

 

[Highway 61]

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=74127

🙂

 

[enasniearth]

rf spot

rf spot

the s2 has held up better over the years than the s3 or sp , there is only one prism in the s2 so it is brighter than the sp with its second prism for the brightline finder . the s2 has a simple reflected 5cm brightline frame , on the s3 this was expanded and additional lines added for the 35 and 105 lenses . there is a lot more going on in the s3 finder , the mirror surface for the brightlines is larger and three etched (or more correctly coated ) lines instead of one . with the wider finder , larger mirror surface , and additional framelines the s3 has a bit more flare especially if you wear glasses . the closer the eye is to the finder the less flare is evident .
these cameras are all 50 years old now .
the s2 is still my favorite nikon -- mostly due to its brighter rf patch . still i have seen s2 cameras with poor rf contrast and one very beat s3 with a very nice patch .

 

[jonmanjiro]

the s2 has held up better over the years than the s3 or sp , there is only one prism in the s2 so it is brighter than the sp with its second prism for the brightline finder . the s2 has a simple reflected 5cm brightline frame , on the s3 this was expanded and additional lines added for the 35 and 105 lenses . there is a lot more going on in the s3 finder , the mirror surface for the brightlines is larger and three etched (or more correctly coated ) lines instead of one . with the wider finder , larger mirror surface , and additional framelines the s3 has a bit more flare especially if you wear glasses . the closer the eye is to the finder the less flare is evident .
these cameras are all 50 years old now .
the s2 is still my favorite nikon -- mostly due to its brighter rf patch . still i have seen s2 cameras with poor rf contrast and one very beat s3 with a very nice patch .

My favourite is the SP finder. A good one has a focus patch every bit as good as an S2 finder but with the added advantage of multiple bright line frames to choose from and parallax correction. You can see more outside the 50mm frame line too, which I find to be a help when spotting something coming in to your frame. I agree that SP hasn't seemed to have held up as well as S2s, but I've cleaned several SP finders (requires pulling the finder out and cleaning hard to get spots) and they've come up great - full recovery to as good as an good S2.