Nikon S2 Focus Patch

[ColColt]

I recently bought a Nikon S2 that was in great shape and the lens even better. The one problem I have is the rangefinder focus patch. It's not square and well defined as shown in the owners manual but rather a faint, faded look that has an undefined shape. It makes it hard to focus and you're never really sure if you're in proper focus or not.

Can this be fixed or am I out of luck?

 

[splitimageview]

Is it contrasty?

The Nikon patches are fuzzy edged. That's normal.

 

[alfredian]

Nikon RF patches are soft-edged

Nikon RF patches are soft-edged

That's normal - the Nikon RF patches were "feathered" at the edges. The main focusing is done with the coincedent image overlaying. Leicas give you the option of that, or using the sharp edges for the split-image approach.
I have both brands, and one nice feature about the "soft" Nikon is that it is so easy to "ignore" - as in, completely transparent. Combine that with the 1:1 non-magnification viewing and the S2 is maybe the best action grab or quick-compose camera ever. Once your exposure is set up for the conditions and you have a pretty good focus/d.o.f. and you can just concentrate on the subject. I used to have some of the fancy techno-viewscreens for my Nikon F/F2, but after awhile it was like making photographs via a Norden bombsight. Just enjoy the S2 and get used to it. Some practictioners advocate some sort of colored eypiece filter (blue or yellow, I forget) to bring up the contrast of the patch itself, which is supposedly tinted, maybe. Hope this helps.

 

[ColColt]

It's not what I call contrasty...more or less soft in comparison with the M2 for instance. The patch itself is small in comparison with the M2 or M3. I don't have another S2 to compare it with as this is the first one I've had. I have three Leicas and that's all I could compare it with. I guess I'm trying to say I don't know what I'm looking at is normal or not.

 

[jonmanjiro]

As already mentioned, the shape of the focus patch is more of a fuzzy blob than a clear cut rectangle. But focusing is still very easy with a clean finder.

You can check how clean your finder is by holding the camera with the finder eye piece pointed towards a bright light source, then looking through the small window on the front of the camera. When you get the angle right, you can see a circle of light through the small window. If the circle of light looks clear and contrasty, your patch is as good as it gets. If the circle of light looks a bit hazy, your finder needs cleaning. The good news is that S2 finders are simply constructed and easy to clean, and improve dramatically after cleaning.

If it was me, I'd try cleaning the three surfaces of the half mirror prism just behind the small window. You only need to remove the front cover (4 screws) and the small window (3 screws) to access these prism surfaces. Cleaning the diagonal rear surface usually yields the biggest improvement to the RF patch. It's a bit tricky, but definitely not impossible to access from the front. I use folded lens cleaning paper slightly dampened with lens cleaning fluid. Below is what an S2 half mirror prism looks like when removed from the camera. The diagonal rear surface here is the one with the lens cleaning paper running along it.

 

[ColColt]

I looked at a 60w light bulb the way you mentioned and it looks pretty clear-not as bright and contrasty as with the naked eye of course but pretty good.

I guess I need to get use to the patch not being like the Leica patch.Not having seen an SP or S2 before, as I mentioned, I didn't know quite what to expect.

 

[ColColt]

Supposedly this camera was CLA'd by DAG about seven months ago so, that may not be necessary but definitely some instructions to be filed away. I may do it anyway if I muster up enough courage. Maybe it's just me not use to the "fuzzy blob" you mentioned as opposed to the sharper defined patch in the Leica.

 

[Peter Jennings]

An S2 viewfinder in good condition should have a high contrast rangefinder patch that is very pleasant to focus with even though the edges of the patch aren't sharply defined. I've owned a handful of S2 bodies and some had better patches than others. Don't try to get used to it. Keep searching until you find a good copy and treasure it.

 

[Peter Jennings]

I've followed jonmanjiro's advice on cleaning S2, S3, and SP finders and it can help a lot. Doing this on an S2 is a lot easier than an SP, so definitely try cleaning it. Even with cleaning, some Nikon bodies have better patches than others. I guess that's to be expected after 60 years.

 

[Highway 61]

What Jonmanjiro wrote.

Yet, cleaning the most important surface of the RF half-mirror (that is, the rear 45° one) is almost impossible without removing the top cover.

Then you might be tempted to remove the half-mirror to clean it, because the removal is easy (two screws). Do NOT do it or you'll be in a hard-to-solve mess to get the RF properly aligned after reassembly.

With some custom cut paper strips moistened with alcohol, you can clean it very properly. You'll have to be patient and repeat the operation many times.

Don't use some cleaning paper which may tear out once moistened. Having a piece of paper trapped between the half-mirror surface and the metal casting isn't something funny to sort out.

 

[jonmanjiro]

Then you might be tempted to remove the half-mirror to clean it, because the removal is easy (two screws). Do NOT do it or you'll be in a hard-to-solve mess to get the RF properly aligned after reassembly.

Excellent point! Thanks for pointing that out, Nicolas.

Definitely don't do this unless you know what you're doing (including how to correctly align after cleaning).

 

[Erik van Straten]

To clean the short side of the prism (not the back of it) when removing only the front plate of the S2 a pointed bamboo saté stick wrapped in a piece of moist toilet paper works fantastic. Dry the cleaned surface with the same bamboo stick wrapped in a dry tissue. On the right of the prism there is a small opening specially made for cleaning this surface.

Erik.

 

[Larry Cloetta]

ColColt,
Great advice here, as usual. Only thing I might add, since you said this was your first S2, is that, if the S2 is up to S2 standards, it will be just as easy, fast and precise to focus as your Leicas. A little different in execution, but just a little. That has certainly been my experience. If you can't get this one to meet those expectations, I'd say it was just that particular body, and not representative of the S2 experience in general.

 

[ColColt]

The camera itself and its functions, far as I can tell without running a roll of film through it, is flawless. Shutter speeds sound about right but that's difficult to discern without a shutter speed checker of some sort. The patch is the biggest concern.

I'm a bit hesitant to get into it. I have realigned my M2 about a year back but hat's an easy tweak having to remove just one front screw to expose the inner screw. A good 2mm screwdriver fixed it in a matter of minutes. I'm unfamiliar with the S2, however.

I may send it to Youxin ye to have a look see. This is a couple pics of it.

_1DF4578a by David Fincher, on Flickr
_1DF4576a by David Fincher, on Flickr

 

[Erik van Straten]

With the rangefinder spot of the S2 it is important to have a sharp image, contrast is less important. The green/orange color effect helps too. You have to practise focusing for a while. When the image in the finder isn't sharp, you need a diopter.

Erik.

 

[ColColt]

I took the S2 and the M2 outside to compare and it's like daylight and dark. The M2 was much more bright, contrasty and easier to focus. I thought maybe it was my eyes with the S2 until I focused on the same subjects with the M2. It seems for one thing the S2 is a bit out of focus calibration. The "movable" image through the viewfinder is slightly on top(or a little higher) of the fixed image on a given subject while the M2 is right in line as it should.

I have no idea how to calibrate this one as the M2 has a chrome screw right at the front top to allow access to the adjustment screw. Where is the calibration screw, if it has one, on the S2?

 

[Highway 61]

Where is the calibration screw, if it has one, on the S2?

Of course it has one. It even has two.

You have to remove the front cover to get access to them.
The horizontal calibration screw is in a recessed hole in the front body casting around the lens mount.
The vertical calibration mechanism is near the main VF window. You have to loose a set screw, then rotate a vertical wheel.
Caution : the set screw is very fragile.
I have lost the tracks of all the photos and the tutorials available out there and displaying that but some other folks will provide them for sure. 😉

Nikon RFs are sensitive to bumps. A simple sudden downtilt of the camera on a table can disalign the RF. If it was mailed to you, having to adjust the RF is normal.

Your S2 looks beautiful. There is no doubt in my mind that the VF will be excellent once you have cleaned the RF light path.

 

[ColColt]

Nikon RFs are sensitive to bumps. A simple sudden downtilt of the camera on a table can disalign the RF. If it was mailed to you, having to adjust the RF is normal.

That sounds awfully sensitive. How these were used in a combat zone seems a mystery. It was mailed via UPS but packed to the hilt with paper and peanuts.

 

[Larry Cloetta]

I took the S2 and the M2 outside to compare and it's like daylight and dark. The M2 was much more bright, contrasty and easier to focus.

This is not remotely normal for an S2, which IMO, gives up nothing to an M2 in this regard. I currently have both.
So.....don't give up.

 

[Peter Jennings]

Camera looks great. The sync post in front of the accessory shoe is not original. It looks like a later post from a Nikon F.