I'm a Believer!

[snegron]

First, my apologies for yet another newbie-type thread, but I am just really happy to be using this new-to-me Nikon S2!

I shot my first roll of film with my S2 this past Friday. It was a test roll to see if the camera was working properly. I had never shot with a rangefinder before, so I was a bit concerned about proper operating procedures.

I loaded a roll of Kodak Max ISO 400 color film (I didn't want to factor in my mediocre lab skills so I could make sure the camera was working right and there was no developing error on my part).

Just for fun I took a few shots of my daughter indoors near a window with available light. Most of the shots were with the lens wide open at 1.4, shutter speed at 1/30. I had the roll processed at the corner drugstore.

I was absolutely blown away with the images!! They were actually very sharp! I have read before that rangefinders suffer less from viration than SLR's due to no mirror slap, but I didn't think I could shoot that slow and not have blurry images!

It took me a bit to figure out the rangefinder focusing technique. I thought I would have more issues with the dual speed dials, but that was easier than I expected. I discovered that when focusing on my daughter's face, it was easier to match the eyes in the rangefinder. It took awhile to concentrate on this technique. Also, it was a bit awkward at first using the focusing wheel instead of the lens. I tried the focusing ring on the lens but discovered quickly that the wheel yielded more precise focusing (less play).

Overall I discovered that it is like relearning how to shoot pictures. Many instinctive techniques are different (focusing, matching the image in the viewfinder, winding the film advance first then select the shutter speed, set the aperture before focusing, etc.). Although it was just my first roll of film shot with a rangefinder, I believe that once I relearn how to shoot with it I will have a great time shooting indoor/available light/low light images! 🙂

p.s., I will post a few shots as soon as I scan them next week.

 

[BillBingham2]

Wasn't there a Carol King song about that????

Welcome to the dark side. When one is used to auto everything SLRs or DSLRs the RF experience can be a wonderful. It's somewhat of a duality as much as rangefinders may slow you down they can also speed you up. Perhaps it's trusting your instincts, thinking more with less.

The S2 is a wonderful camera.

Try having the one hour folks cut you a CD just as a quick scan. Low cost editing on a computer or quick posting. I'm at the point where I will not get prints any more, just soup and scan thank you. I have the negatives so if I want a print I can either scan them on a better scanner or get them printed from there. Less money, less paper, less chemicals, all good.

B2 (;->

 

[gb hill]

Welcome to the world of Rangefinders. You certainly started off with a good camera. I don't have a Nikon but they certainly are wonderful cameras. I shoot primarly c-41 process film and also have my negs scanned to a cd without prints. Less than $5.00 at most places. Anyhow looking foward to seeing some work. There are some fun competitions going on right now on the critique thread so jump right in.

Cheers,
gb

 

[charjohncarter]

Simplicity, is bliss.

 

[MikeL]

Congrats Snegron, the only problem starting out with the S2 is that you are starting with the best! Okay, that's my opinion. Looking forward to seeing some shots,
Mike

 

[VinceC]

Glad you're enjoying it. The S2 is a great camera.

 

[snegron]

Thanks! Funny thing though, the lady at the corner drugstore lab told me that it was "company policy" to have prints made up whenever a client brought in a roll of film for developing. She told me that I had to get the prints whether I wanted them or not. I tried arguing that there was a chance they might be scratched, also cut incorrectly, etc., but she wouldn't budge. Doesn't matter though, at least she complied with not cutting the negatives for me (I have had bad luck in the past with negatives cut in the middle of a frame).

 

[VinceC]

Depending on where you live, Walmart and Costco both develop negs without requiring prints. Costco uses higher MP count. Walmart tends to do the Fuji CD default of 2MP per image.

 

[michaelging]

Wagreens will even develop the film only and will scan it to a CD with 5mg files for a couple of extra dollars a roll. You did well with your S2, I have aslo have aS2 with a 50mm 1.4 , 35mm 2.5 nikkor , and since I have several Contax RF cameras I also use a 35mm Biogon on my nikon as well.

 

[Sam R]

400 film.....shot at f1.4 at 1/30th...... was the available light a single match?

 

[snegron]

400 film.....shot at f1.4 at 1/30th...... was the available light a single match?

I have a dark living room. I cheated a bit...I used a Nikon N80 with a 50mm lens for metering. I promise I won't do it again! 😉 I had to make sure the exposure was perfect so I could accurately assess if the the S2's shutter speeds and lens aperture ring were working properly. I will be getting a handheld meter soon (probably an old Sekonic L508).

 

[snegron]

I have a question about the S2:

I noticed that the film advance lever doesn't spring back as quickly as on other cameras. Is this normal? Sometimes it springs back faster than other times. It will spring back quickly after I shoot one or two frames, but then on the third or fourth frame it springs back slowly, almost stalling. It does this for a couple of frames then springs back quickly again.

Example:

-When I wind the lever to frame one, it springs back quickly.
-When I wind the lever to frame two, it springs back quickly.
-When I wind the lever to frame three, it springs back a bit slower.
-When I wind the lever to frame four, it springs back slowly.
-When I wind the lever to frame five, it springs back as quickly as it did for frame #1.

Is this supposed to be like this?

 

[snegron]

I finally had a chance to scan a couple of images shot with my S2. Here is one shot indoors at 1/30, f1.4. I cropped the image to 8x10 and corrected the overall orange cast.

 

[michaelging]

Nice sharp photo, beautiful subject.

 

[snegron]

Nice sharp photo, beautiful subject.

Thanks! She is my favorite subject to photograph; my daughter!🙂

 

[VinceC]

Beautiful picture. Those old lenses are excellent for portraits. I tend to not crop to 8x10 ... It removes a lot of the photo, and keeping the original dimensions feels more natual these days with wide-screen computers, wide-screen tvs, wide-screen movies, etc.

 

[Sonnar2]

I too was impressed by the quality of the first shots with my S2 loaded with some Fuji 200, indoor& mostly at f/1.4. Even more I bought camera and lense seperately. Nearly all of them were in focus. There were my best portrait shots this year, together with some Biotar 75/1.5 pictures on my Exacta Varex...

 

[snegron]

Beautiful picture. Those old lenses are excellent for portraits. I tend to not crop to 8x10 ... It removes a lot of the photo, and keeping the original dimensions feels more natual these days with wide-screen computers, wide-screen tvs, wide-screen movies, etc.

Thanks! The cropping is a force of habit for me. I still haven't gotten over my mind set of shooting with a Mamiya 645 and RB67! I always think that I'm shooting for print and that most frame sizes are 8x10, 11x14, 16x20, etc. Even when I look through the viewfinder I have these dimensions in mind. I have to remind myself that I'm not going to print every image! :bang: