Nikon r/f focus wheel

[xayraa33]

It has been awhile since I placed a Nikon rangefinder camera to my eye, but I believe the focus wheel is turned in the opposite direction to a Contax (or Kiev) R/F camera, to focus to infinity, while the lens turns the same way on both cameras (opposite to the Leica). Does anyone know why Nippon Kogaku designed the focus wheel to turn the opposite way to the Contax, to infinity? Easier on the finger perhaps? I realize that the rangefinder design on the Nikon ,is not a copy of the Zeiss Contax.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

I just looked through my Nikon S2 and Contax IIIa. The RF image moved "in the same direction" with the focus wheel on both; ie image moves right when finger pulls the wheel; moves left when finger pushes it. That seems the natural orientation on each.

 

[xayraa33]

On the Nikon, does turning the focus wheel clockwise, turn the lens clockwise? This is the case with the Contax II & the Kiev clone.

 

[kabkos]

I checked my Contax II against a friends Contax IIA, IIIA and Nikon S2. The Contax II rangefinder focus wheel rotates the opposite direction from the IIA/IIIA and S2.

 

[xayraa33]

I presume Nikon was the first (Sept. 1946) to reverse the direction of the focus wheel from the Contax II design. The Contax IIa & IIIa did not arrive on the market until 1949/50 . I wonder why Zeiss did this on the new models?, I certainlly do not think that the Germans would have copied the Japanese. I read somewhere that the post war Contax had a different rangefinder design than the pre war Contax ( the shutter was redesigned also) .