TenEleven
Well-known
That's a gorgeous black S2 Erik, shame that they command absurd money now.
Pál_K
Cameras. I has it.
The S2 looks good in black - that's nice!
Highway 61
Revisited
What the S2 and F have in common :
- removable back design,
- film rewind crank,
- A/R shutter release,
- flash sync. post.
What the S3 & SP have in common with the F :
- shutter,
- auto reset frames counter,
- film length reminder at the frames counter,
- speeds dial,
- flash sync. post,
- flash sync. adjustment dial concentric to the speeds dial,
- longer film advance lever for the S3 and SP late models,
- selftimer,
- film rewind crank,
- A/R shutter release button.
Ste_S
Well-known
If I did want a Nikon rangefinder in black, which is the most common ? A quick eBay search suggests the S3 re-issue ?
Lol ditto that. Twice!
Erik van Straten
Veteran
Yes, I know that the F and the SP have a lot in common, small parts and construction on the inside - everybody knows that - but I'm talking about the looks: the styling of the camera seen from the outside. The SP for instance has a top plate with rounded sides (rounded from the top to the sides) wile the S2 and F have sharp sides. The place of the logo on the SP is far left, but the S2 and the F have their logo in the middle. Also the black paint of the F in black is much more like the paint of the S2 in black. The SP black paint has an undercoat that becomes very ugly when used. The black paint on the S2 and the F gets more and more beautiful when used.
The S2 and the F seem to belong to the same family wile the SP and S3 look more as their cousins. I admit that this is a very subjective observation.
Erik.
The S2 and the F seem to belong to the same family wile the SP and S3 look more as their cousins. I admit that this is a very subjective observation.
Erik.
Highway 61
Revisited
Interesting about the top plate : Erik is right, the S3 and SP - even the original ones, not only the re-issues - have some rounded top plate edges while the S2 and F have sharp top plate edges. Is that enough to tell the S3 and SP not to be the real brothers of the Nikon F in the Nikon RF family ?
Nikon S3 and Nikon F seen from the outside : below, famous photo by Jonmanjiro :
Now below, photo of an S2 by Nico Van Dijk :
Those two pictures say it all IMO.
About the black paint : I have owned two black paint Nikon F bodies and what I could see under the worn paint at some places was the same yellow primer as the one used on the original black paint SP and S3.
Erik van Straten
Veteran
Not on mine, 7217839. Black paint right on the brass, just like on the S2 - and on my Nikkormat FTn.
Erik.
keytarjunkie
no longer addicted
I believe there were 2000 black S3 re-issues, and 2000 black SP re-issues. It is said that there were about 2000 of the 1964 S3 Olympic. I'm not sure how many S2's and SP's were made in black but they are very rare and expensive. There is also the S3M in black (even rarer and more expensive), and there may be a handful of S's and S4's that left the factory in black but I haven't seen confirmation of this? I'm sure someone knows more about this than me ;-)
The S3 black re-issue is probably the most common one for sale today. There are also a lot of S2 repaints, and in my opinion they can look very nice if done properly. I just bought a S3 black re-issue and couldn't be happier...
Erik van Straten
Veteran
Because of the rounded edges the Nikon SP and S3 have a "fat" look, maybe that is just what I wanted to say. They must loose some weight.
Erik.
RObert Budding
D'oh!
Fat? No, merely more curvaceous.
Highway 61
Revisited
The pretty German girl below doesn't look fat although she wasn't using a black S2. The touchy Italian guy in the background doesn't seem to enjoy that bad taste evidence.
Photo by Sanford Roth, 1960.
Erik van Straten
Veteran
This is a pretty girl. German, I think.
Nikon S2/All black Nikkor 50mm f/1.4/TMY400-2/AdoxMCC110.
Erik.
Nikon S2/All black Nikkor 50mm f/1.4/TMY400-2/AdoxMCC110.
Erik.
Erik van Straten
Veteran
DominikDUK
Well-known
The Girl with the black S2 would be a beautiful Austrian Girl Romy Schneider. Some prefer more curves the S3 looks like much more modern than the S2 and is also a bit easier to use imo.
Highway 61
Revisited
Nope. This is Romy Schneider, as Dominik found it out. The man in the background is Luchino Visconti.
Huss
Veteran
Huss
Veteran
Yep there is a vendor on ebay who has some really nice repaints. Apparently they have also been serviced.
Erik van Straten
Veteran
Nikon S2/All black Nikkor 50mm f/1.4/TMY400-2/AdoxMCC110.
Erik.
Erik.
Erik van Straten
Veteran
Nikon S2/All black Nikkor 50mm f/1.4/TMY400-2/AdoxMCC110.
Erik.
Erik.