Nikon RF musings...

[VinceC]

I haven't used Nikonos. I know the 35/2.5 Nikonos lens is the same formula as the one used for the Nikon rangefinders.

The 35/2.5 was/is just a really nice lens. I think a variation of it was used on Nikon point-and-shoots, but with a max f/stop of 2.8 instead of 2.5. For six or seven years, my carry everywhere camera was a great Nikon point-and-shoot with a 35/2.8 and a weird pop-up flash that you could disable by holding it from popping up, so that you could force it to take available light. The lens had beautiful tones and contrast, and the pop-flash did a good job at daylight fill. Unfortunately, one day something plastic inside broke and the pop-flash refused to click back down in its retracted position. So I stopped using the camera.

 

[Tom A]

Hi,

I thought I'd start posting the cameras & lenses that are being used for my February Nikon Rf Month. - Today it was the battered SP with an older 35/1,8 and a black S4 with one of my earlier black 50/1,4. - Yesterday was another 50/1,4 on the black S2. Film as usual Neopan 400.

As I cycle through my "stash" of Nikon Rf & lenses I will post the pictures of the camera & lens combos.

I will stack up the film and do a processing run at the end of the month. I have 30 rolls of Neopan 400 and that should be enough! Once that is done I should also have figured out how to create a dedicated site ("flickersite") to post my pictures taken with these cameras - rather than just pictures of the cameras.

In the end it is the pictures that count!

There might even be room to run some stuff with the Zeiss lenses in this. The 28/ f8 needs more sun than today provided so I am hoping for a bright sky some day this month.

 

[tedwhite]

Tom:

That lovely brassy black S2 is a work of art. Don't ever sell it.

My battered black Pentax Spotmatic SP comes close, but then it's a mere SLR.

As I've never had one (only a Kiev 4AM) how is the viewfinder? Dim? OK? Bright?

Ted

 

[Tom A]

Tom:

That lovely brassy black S2 is a work of art. Don't ever sell it.

My battered black Pentax Spotmatic SP comes close, but then it's a mere SLR.

As I've never had one (only a Kiev 4AM) how is the viewfinder? Dim? OK? Bright?

Ted

Ted, that is actually a fake S4. The S4 was never produced in black and a friend made this one for me. The brassing has happened naturally though - through wear and tear. The S4 was the discount model of the S3/SP with only the 50/105 frame lines and a manual film-counter.
Most of my Nikons have OK finders. One SP (the black one) is low contrast and a black Dial S2 is virtually useless as a "focussing" camera as the patch is barely visible even in strong light. One day I will get the SP/S2 finders fixed. The "dim" S2 is mainly used for the VC 12/15 lenses and the Tessar 28/f8, none of which has rangefinder coupling.

 

[NIKON KIU]

Ted, that is actually a fake S4. The S4 was never produced in black and a friend made this one for me. The brassing has happened naturally though - through wear and tear. The S4 was the discount model of the S3/SP with only the 50/105 frame lines and a manual film-counter.

That's no Fake S4...That's Tom's S4, lovingly used with a beatifull Patina.
It's the only one out there LIKE THAT!!
Granted Tom's friend had his touch on this camera...Shall we call it St4??
nick-names for your cameras(Nikon only😀 )...apply within.

Kiu

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Shintaro painted his S4 black and installed titanium foil curtains in it from a parts Nikon F.

Mine is chrome, marked in feet. It was the first Nikon RF that I got. An older gentleman wanted to trade it into a camera shop for an N6006. They told him it was too old. I traded my N8008 for it. About a year or so later, I found out it was an S4. The owner thought it was an S2. His Father had bought it while in the service, from the PX in Japan.

 

[Tom A]

That's no Fake S4...That's Tom's S4, lovingly used with a beatifull Patina.
It's the only one out there LIKE THAT!!
Granted Tom's friend had his touch on this camera...Shall we call it St4??
nick-names for your cameras(Nikon only😀 )...apply within.

Kiu

My S4 is Shintaro's old one with the titanium curtains. It is a very smooth camera and the 50/105 finder makes it uncluttered compared to the S3. The SP finder gets quite filled up by the time you crank in the 105 or 135 finder. My current" February is Nikon Rf month" has rekindled my appreciation for the S2. It is still one of the best 50 finders ever made and even with a 35, you can use the edges of the finder and get away with it.
I thought that 25 rolls of Neopan would do it for cycling through cameras and lenses but I miscalculated and I have to pick up another 8-10 rolls. I have no idea how this stuff multiplied in the camera cabinet!

 

[dreamsandart]

Tom, you are really BADDDD! Seeing your cameras makes me want to just cut the wait on one of the new Nikon RFs I have here for sale and just load it up and go out and use it. Black Paint SP... BP S3... BP SP... BP S3... or chrome is nice...

 

[Sonnar Brian]

That is neat about the S4! When i sent him the SP he told me about the "less expensive Nikon RF for the home market, and that he had the S4. I got to trade stories about mine "being too old" for a camera store.

 

[NIKON KIU]

My S4 ...
I thought that 25 rolls of Neopan would do it for cycling through cameras and lenses but I miscalculated and I have to pick up another 8-10 rolls. I have no idea how this stuff multiplied in the camera cabinet!

You Miscalculated again Tom,
U embarrased me already and I know U gonna end up with at least 50 rolls!!! Nikoholic is right...
I have greater plans!!!

kiu

 

[Tom A]

You Miscalculated again Tom,
U embarrased me already and I know U gonna end up with at least 50 rolls!!! Nikoholic is right...
I have greater plans!!!

kiu

So you are going to pull out that black S3M and save film! I saw a couple of remakes of this model in Tokyo at the NHS in 2004. I did lust after one, but talked myself out of it ( rather Tuulikki talked me out of it!). I think the only lens that I miss would be the 105/4 in Rf mount. I have seen them and even shot with one - not that great a lens and nobody seems to be able to figure out why Nikon made it?
The 50/f1.1 is interesting, but I did go through 6-7 Noctiluxes and never really liked the wide open performance of them. The 35/1,2 makes more sense to me and it is a better performer any way.

 

[Tom A]

You Miscalculated again Tom,
U embarrased me already and I know U gonna end up with at least 50 rolls!!! Nikoholic is right...
I have greater plans!!!

kiu

So you are going to pull out that black S3M and save film! I saw a couple of remakes of this model in Tokyo at the NHS in 2004. I did lust after one, but talked myself out of it ( rather Tuulikki talked me out of it!). I think the only lens that I miss would be the 105/4 in Rf mount. I have seen them and even shot with one - not that great a lens and nobody seems to be able to figure out why Nikon made it?
The 50/f1.1 is interesting, but I did go through 6-7 Noctiluxes and never really liked the wide open performance of them. The 35/1,2 makes more sense to me and it is a better performer any way.

 

[VinceC]

>>I think the only lens that I miss would be the 105/4 in Rf mount. I have seen them and even shot with one - not that great a lens and nobody seems to be able to figure out why Nikon made it?<<

The idea behind the 105/4 makes sense to anyone who has carried Nikon telephotos for more than an hour or so. All of these, even the later black ones, can be fairly heavy. My last two business trips in recent months, I decided not to carry a telephoto, just the 28/35/50mm Nikkors. My backup digital point-and-shoot has eqivalent of 105mm lens, and I just didn't feel like carrying another 19 ounces (600g) for a 105/2.5 Nikkor. If I had something like the 105/4, it would now be my regular travel lens. Sometimes I live with just the 135/3.5, because it weighs 400g/12-13ounces.

After my last trip, I started seriously pondering a CV85/3.5, purely for its light weight, but so far have decided I really shouldn't get another lens.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

I always read that it was their answer to the Mountan Elmar (and the 8.5cm Triotar). Like Vince said, small, light Telephoto.

Olden camera advertised them new up until 1973 or so.

 

[furcafe]

I believe Zeiss Ikon was thinking along the same lines for the Contax RFs by offering the 85/4 Triotar as a more compact, lighter weight, & more affordable alternative to the 85/2 Sonnar.

I always read that it was their answer to the Mountan Elmar (and the 8.5cm Triotar). Like Vince said, small, light Telephoto.

Olden camera advertised them new up until 1973 or so.

 

[NIKON KIU]

I have no idea how this stuff multiplied in the camera cabinet!

I think I have a good explanation, I quote David Long the Author of "Nikon a celebration" in his introduction:

"I keep telling my poor wife that cameras are really living things and they breed when no-one is looking"

Of course Tuulikki is not buying that excuse...I know Miho Long didn't!🙂

Kiu

 

[Tom A]

>>I think the only lens that I miss would be the 105/4 in Rf mount. I have seen them and even shot with one - not that great a lens and nobody seems to be able to figure out why Nikon made it?<<

The idea behind the 105/4 makes sense to anyone who has carried Nikon telephotos for more than an hour or so. All of these, even the later black ones, can be fairly heavy. My last two business trips in recent months, I decided not to carry a telephoto, just the 28/35/50mm Nikkors. My backup digital point-and-shoot has eqivalent of 105mm lens, and I just didn't feel like carrying another 19 ounces (600g) for a 105/2.5 Nikkor. If I had something like the 105/4, it would now be my regular travel lens. Sometimes I live with just the 135/3.5, because it weighs 400g/12-13ounces.

After my last trip, I started seriously pondering a CV85/3.5, purely for its light weight, but so far have decided I really shouldn't get another lens.

Vince, I do recommend the CV 85/3,5. It is a big improvement over the 85/2 Nikkor in both performance and weight! At one time Stephen Gandy and I were talking with Mr. Kobayashi about the 85/90 Apo-Lanthars. Stephen asked him " Is the 85 really a 85 - compared to the 90?. Mr Kobayashi said " Oh, i think the 85 is really 86,5 mm and the 90 is maybe 87 mm!". Interestingly enough, they are both true Apochromatic lenses and that will show if you shoot color. In b/w I dont think it makes that much of a difference. Both the 85/3,5 and the 85/2 are on my list of February is Nikon Rf month users. Still have to cycle through the shorter lenses though.

 

[Tom A]

I think I have a good explanation, I quote David Long the Author of "Nikon a celebration" in his introduction:

"I keep telling my poor wife that cameras are really living things and they breed when no-one is looking"

Of course Tuulikki is not buying that excuse...I know Miho Long didn't!🙂

Kiu

I agree with David Long. Cameras and lenses do breed in captivity! The worst culprits are Leica 35 mm lenses and second is Nikon 50/1,4's! - Tuulikki is quite benign when it comes to this stuff although she stayed close to me at the Westlicht Auction in Vienna last spring. There were some nice pieces there, but close to $ 30,000 for a S-36 motor! At that price you did not even get a camera!

 

[Harry Lime]

Ok, ok. Put away the rubber hoses; I confess!

Yes, I have six M bodies, one IIIc and two R cameras.

But I also have a Nikon F3-P with vintage 2.5/105 and 2/50 H.C lenses, that I love to shoot!

And yes, while the SL and R6.2 have brighter finders, they are squinty compared to the big porthole of a viewfinder on the F3. And the F3 has the better motor drive (MD-4). And the F3-P has better weather sealing. And aperture priority!😱

It gets worse. I recently purchased the Zeiss ZF 1.4/50 for the F3 and I like it! There I said it! Yes, I know it's not as sharp as my 2/50 Summicron-R, but I don't care!

And yes, I will probably buy the second F3-P body that was offered to me last week. Bwahahahhaa! :bang:


Insanely yours,

Harry Lime

 

[Sonnar Brian]

My wife spends her "allowance" (discretionary funds) on clothes. I spend mine on cameras. When I sell some gear to get a more expensive camera she complains "It's no fair. You can always sell your cameras for more than I can get for clothes. I should get a bigger allowance."