Is the SP worth it?

Now, now, Kiu. We here on the Nikon forum don't judge others. Being judgmental is for forums devoted to that other top-of-the-line rangefinder camera system.
 
There was understanably, a reasonably small return fee and the camera was not represented as brand new when advertised for sale. I use to own the 35/1.4 Nikkor AI and found it to be one of Nikon's best optics especially stopped down to f/2.8 and rivaled my 35/2 'cron. Since I prefer slide shooting and am a stickler for accurate exposure, I use a meter to avoid blown highlights or extremely dark shadows. The built in meter with the current M's has never let me down although a good hand held or clip on meter would have been fine if I kept the SP.
 
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I've shot virtually nothing but 100 ISO colour slide film for over 25 years, and I wouldn't dream of going out on the street to shoot without my incident meter in my left breast pocket. In open shade or on an overcast day, I trust the meter on my F2, or the matrix in my FA, but in contrasty light, when time permits I confirm exposure with the incident meter. And of course when shooting with my meterless F I take an incident reading whenever possible.
I usually guess the exposure before checking it against my meter to see how close I am.
And as I walk, I continuously monitor the light, adjusing aperture and shutter speed on all three cameras, so when a scene appears, I can see it, grab it and move on. Situations on the street are too fleeting to leave anything to chance, and miss a great shot.
I admire anyone who has the skill to determine accurate exposures by sight. I'm pretty good, but not good enough to do it as much as I'd like, so I fall back on my meter "crutch".
 
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HI ALL
I am a new member and i'm still a leica M user
But buy recently one,then two,and then 3 nikons RF...
It means I fall for these cameras. They sure have something special
My last one ,a SP with number 6214075 has a titanium shutter...
 
Parker51 said:
HI ALL
I am a new member and i'm still a leica M user
But buy recently one,then two,and then 3 nikons RF...
It means I fall for these cameras. They sure have something special
My last one ,a SP with number 6214075 has a titanium shutter...
Click to expand...


Yep. that how it starts! It was a Nikon S in my case - 8 years ago! At this time of writing it is now more than 12 Nikon Rf's and a Bessa R2S!. As for lenses, i dont even want to go there!. Nikoholics Anon unite!
 
I've seen this one in person, and it's a beauty. Very nice lady selling it. I almost bought it and the 35mm f1.8 she just sold, but my meetings at Nikoholics Anon have been going well, and I resisted!
3 hrs to go:
28mm
 
SP 2005 Kit

SP 2005 Kit

It was said earlier that the Original SP with lens can be bought for $1,500 - if you can find one

What price would you have to pay for the SP2005 Kit, (with the 35/1.8) - presumably it is the same camera but built in 2005

Thanks
 
Tom A said:
Yep. that how it starts! It was a Nikon S in my case - 8 years ago! At this time of writing it is now more than 12 Nikon Rf's and a Bessa R2S!. As for lenses, i dont even want to go there!. Nikoholics Anon unite!
Click to expand...

Hello all
Yes Tom
I know how it starts, but how the story finish?
By the way,I got yesterday a SP 2005 black set...I gonna use it tomorrow
But now I have to STOP buying Nikon.....my two old brassy black M2 are not that happy..;
Euh...There is an old black S3 in" classified" sold by "bruni" in italy,it will be my last one...but I'm anxious...He has no feedback and I can't find his name in the member's list.
Anybody who knows "bruni" ?
 
In answer to the original question, yes, and no.
As with many things, it's worth it if you can't live without it, And it's not worth it if you can.
Like many others, when I first became aware of the Nikon rangefinder cameras, I lusted after an SP. However, after a lot of searching on ebay, camera brokers, stores and camera flea markets, I realized that I probably couldn't afford a well-maintained user without factoring in Alimony payments as well. So in the end, I "settled" for a very nice S3 user that was quite affordable. And as a user, I've come to realize that the S3 does everything I want, and the extra-spiffy double view-finder and the switchable finder lines, and secret de-coder ring are extras I can and do live without quite nicely.
If a user grade well maintained SP fell out of the sky, I'd only take it if it was very, very reasonably priced. Otherwise I'll stick with the S3.
 
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