New (to me) Nikon S2 with 50mm lens arrived!

[SolaresLarrave]

Must concede to Igor Reznik: he ships fast! 🙂

The camera I paid for on Saturday afternoon arrived home... but there was nobody to sign for it. When I came, I inquired about the package at the USPS and they had it. Picked it up, tore the box to shreds, checked camera out in car (still in parking lot), and saw through the VF.

Nice!

Only the vertical alignment is fine, but the horizontal is a bit off. Noticeably off. Is the RF alignment a DIY job?

I'll load some Kodak BW400CN on this baby and take it for a bit of a walk... tomorrow. Perhaps earlier. Photos of actual item will follow later this evening! 🙂

 

[splitimageview]

Sweet... 🙂

 

[wjlapier]

Can't comment on the RFer alignment.

My first rangefinder was a Nikon S2 and 50/1.4 lens. Great little camera. Enjoy!

 

[back alley]

that was fast!

my lenses havn't even hit canada yet...

 

[kdemas]

Congrats Francisco! I have yet to get my SP serviced so I can't give you advice on the alignment issue. You might check over at the Nikon Historical Society for some pointers.

You're going to enjoy that camera, the 50mm is a terrific little lens.

Kent

 

[MikeL]

Great camera with a 50mm Francisco!

Only the vertical alignment is fine, but the horizontal is a bit off. Noticeably off. Is the RF alignment a DIY job?

Brian S. or VinceC, come in, over. 😉

 

[Sonnar Brian]

You have to take the name plate off, and need to have a screwdriver that matches the screws quite well. Sometimes they can stick and strip. SO: good screwdriver, not too small for the screw. Get all the gripping area possible.

The inset screw near the F5.6 and F8 DOF marks should be the one for horizonta alignment. Vertical alignment is different from a Leica. Requires undoing a set screw and rotating a wheel. It's been a while!

 

[Beemermark]

I read or was told that by removing the flash stop in front of the flash shoe you could adjust the horizontal (vertical?) RF images. Being heavy handed and not knowing how to make clamp for the little round stop I never tried it. Apparently there is a locking mechanism and the a cog for adjustment. My is off a hair and someday, when I opt for a CLA, I hope to get it fixed.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Thanks, Brian! I don't know if I had the courage to do it... But I'll take a peek at the screwdriver set I have at home.

Later, much later... Let's hope that a single misalignment doesn't kick all my shots out of whack.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

The camera...

Naked...

With case and hood, looking upwards...

With hood, leveled (original Nikkor lens cap not showing here).

It's already loaded with some chromogenic Kodak film.

 

[jonmanjiro]

Very pretty. Congrats 🙂

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Now... do you put a filter in front of that lens? Will the hood still fit?

Just wondering... The lens has a beautiful bluish hue under indirect light.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

I use a 43mm filter with mine, and the hood will fit on the filter- no problem.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Well, here we have some results. The images may not be works of art, but they probably show that this camera has a lot of tolerance for... amateurs. And that despite the obvious alignment problem with the rangefinder, it still focuses well! 🙂

Here we go, at 1/1000 f2.8, a bench in campus.

Then, some leaves at home (lens wide open, probably at 1/250, cannot recall).

Finally, a conversation among the chairs in our yard (probably 1/1000 at f5.6-8)

I may still send it to Pete Smith... unless I'm able of adjusting the RF on my own. In the meanwhile, despite the loud "clack" of the shutter, I really like this camera! 🙂

 

[NIKON KIU]

Pretty amazing that these 50 plus year old mechanical wonders can still be loaded with film and take pictures without much fuss. Pretty good ones at that.

IMO this is the camera that made Nippon Kogaku a real contender as a Camera maker, not just an optical company. Took 'em a couple of years to design it, they had to make their camera lighter, faster, packed with more features and bullet-proof. But once the S2 was introduced, the German camera makers knew they had another major player in the game.
Leica countered with the M3 and the rest is history.

I hope you keep yours for at least a year.

Kiu

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Thanks for posting, Kiu!

I am somehow fascinated with this system... The camera is very light compared to my M3. Doesn't have the same heft, and lacks the same feeling of, how to put it, solidity (as if the camera were carved out of a block). However, since it's lighter, I find it easier on my neck and back. The controls are relatively intuitive (except for the shutter release button, which is too far back for my taste) and the shutter pretty noisy, but the shot's I've gotten are incredibly sharp, and the color rendition under good sunlight is quite nice.

What I cannot get over is how sharp this lens is. Even wide open...

I'll probably end up sending my copy to Pete Smith instead of trying to do something on the RF on my own, mostly because the camera is showing something I cannot identify. Is it a leak or a problem with the shutter curtains? See below...

The first one showing a very strong streak on the right side (for verticals, I turn the camera counterclockwise).

Then, on a horizontal shot, you can see the problem on the top and bottom of the frame.

Any ideas? I hope it's not a shutter problem. It happens occasionally, and cannot recall what I did before these shots. I may (or may not) have taken the camera out of its case for some reason... I cannot remember. In any event... I'll keep it.

 

[jonmanjiro]

Does the camera back lock onto the camera tightly? Is there any play?

 

[Highway 61]

This is a light leak for sure.

The blue cast tells that the light hits the negative on the emulsion side and at the top of it (the streak being at the bottom of the pictures on horizontal ones).

If the leak comes from the back, it's located at the only place where light can get access to the film emulsion side (because of the ccw rotation of the take-up spool) : the upper right corner of the camera back, just under the frames counter.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

I just had that feeling about a leak caused by a faulty placement of the back. Thanks for confirming it. I must be more careful about when loading film.

Also, I will leave the camera in its case while loaded... just in case.

Otherwise, I am really fascinated with this setup. And the lens... if it looks sharp in the computer screen, I can bet the prints will look even better than that.

Thanks a lot!

 

[jonmanjiro]

You can tighten the "fit" of the back when fitted to the camera by pushing the tab indicated below downward slightly. You won't need to push it down much - just a few mm will do it. The camera should work fine (i.e. no light leaks) even without the case attached.