Nikon S3 2000

[raid]

I wanted the specific Nikkor 50/1.4 lens, so I bought the S3 2000 set. I use the lens on my Leica cameras via an adapter. The S3 2000 is unused since I bought the set in mint condition..

 

[rbsinto]

I don't deny the the new cameras are well built, but I personally have not had the same experience (or feelings that many current users have). I come from owning almost new SP's when they were still listed in the Nikon catalogs. And I used them during the period when Professional Camera Repair in NYC was still active. I never had to deal with the kind of cameras Jon is finding in Japanese shops, the dregs of the American market, imported by mass buyers during the '70s and '80s. I also never had to deal with the DIY camera repairs or the flood with oil repairs of the last ten years.

Use
When the Nikon S3 was reissued I was excited, waited for the price to drop a little, and bought two of them. I had mixed results. One of mine was quite nice, and in operation felt much like the originals. The second one was basically unusable. The focus squealed so loudly it would wake the dead, and it just generally "felt" bad.

I have owned and extensively used several motorized Nikon SPs, and they were so different in feel than the reissue, that it seemed like the new camera was a prototype. The new cameras simply felt lifeless to me. I realize this is totally subjective, but it was my personal reaction.

Finish
The chrome S3 finish was adequate, but did not look "Nikon." To my eye the rough grain of the chrome and the color was just off. Not awful by any means, but "off."

But the black S3 paint was ugly to my eyes. I have owned many black Nikon rangefinders over the years, and the paint is just gorgeous. Deep and glossy but not too glossy. It is much like the paint on the Canon P or VT. Especially the black S2 is stunning. The S3 was a dull lifeless paint, coupled with dull lifeless lettering. I realize paint is just paint, and the new paint will probably wear better, and again it is just my opinion.

I quit using Nikon rangefinders in favor of the Nikon F, F3, and F4. I continued to own Nikon S2 black cameras as collectibles, but never used them professionally as I did with my SPs.

I do fully understand that the reissue cameras have allowed many to experience owning a new (unmolested for the most part by the DIY crowd) camera. And that is great.

But
Like many who used the Nikon rangefinder professionally when it was new, I always longed for the equivalent of a Leica MP from Nikon, a modern SP with a finder equal to the Leica, TTL metering, and a metal shutter. And of course a few new lenses, with an improved mount (with perhaps an adapter for the older lenses). A rangefinder F mount if you will. I was waiting for a magnificent Nikon rangefinder to put Leice to shame.

What we got was a very nice simulation of the original camera. It reminds me of Lionel reissue trains from Korea, or Schwinn bicycle classics from China. Well made, but an obvious copy, in an odd ugly box, with an atrocious leather case. There is a reason the price has dropped IMO.

But still as pointed out by many, it is a useful and reliable camera, at a time when many old cameras have been ruined by careless users and repairmen.

So it is what it is, not for me, but for others who like it -- it will last a long time, and hopefully take beautiful photos.

You have the hands-on hindsight from using originals when they were still quite new to help you make these comparisons.
I only began photographing in 1977, and had no interest in the rangefinders until about 10 years ago, so can't speak with anything like your experience or knowledge. To me the new ones and the old ones are pretty much the same, and being able to use them for picture-taking is really all I care about.

 

[Highway 61]

To me the new ones and the old ones are pretty much the same, and being able to use them for picture-taking is really all I care about.

My S3 2000 helical squeaked badly too so I had to remove the front cover and remedy to this (done with success).

Doing so I could easily notice that the new camera inwards weren't the same as the old one. Different materials, different screws, etc.

The chrome finish of the S3 2000 didn't please me either. I often wondered where Nikon could have taken it from until I got a chrome Nikkormat FTn last year by chance. Well the chrome finish of the S3 2000 was identical to the Nikkormat one : matte, uneven, prone to get scratched, and not pleasing to the fingers.

Of course it may age well and become more handy over time. As said above I'll never know this,because I sold the camera out three years ago (to pay an holidays return ticket to Ontario...).

The main difference is in the VF. Okay the new RF patch may be slightly better (especially if you compare it with flary/faded/hazy old ones) but the composing framelines of the new finder are different. They're made of too large flat white lines very much looking like something made by Cosina. The original S3 framelines are thin and of a very nice goldy bright color.

 

[aoresteen]

I bought my SP 2005 w/ 35mm f/1.8 new from Ritz camera in Jan 2008 for $5,500. No regrets.

I use it with my Contax IIa that has a CV 25mm lens. Great combo as I have the Nikkor 85mm (overhauled by Pete Smith just before he died).

 

[Elmar Lang]

Hello,

I'm what can be considered a "Zeissianer": I've always used RF Contaxes (and their ex-USSR "cousins", the RF-Kievs).

Today, I've bought a complete, absolutely mint S3-2000/Black kit: everything in untouched condition, all papers present, and the whole in their cases. After a short discussion with the owner, we agreed for Euro 1.900,-. Someone could say it was too much; someone could think it was a good chance...

I can say that the camera now in my hands, is a very fine piece, born to take pictures. A friend of mine, to whom I've talked about today's news, said something like "be careful not to use it! The slightest sign would immediately reduce its value!".

I've studied it, "felt it" in my hands and now it's loaded with an FP-4 already.

I'm sure I won't regret all the money spent for it...

Best wishes,

Enzo

 

[VinceC]

I would not be afraid to use the camera. The reissues are not particularly collectible, and the S3 was never as valuable a camera as the SP. The lens with the S3-2000 kit is among the finest 50mm lenses ever built, and it would be a shame not to use it.

 

[Doug]

Not sure if it's at all common, but the S3-2000 kit I had for a couple years was bought/sold repeatedly before and after. I bought it used LNIB from another RFF member who said he'd gotten it used but didn't shoot it himself. I eventually traded it off on a used M8, and that guy sold it fairly soon after.

I enjoyed the camera and liked its classic good looks, but did not become fond of it. I still have a nice CLA'd Contax IIIa that somehow I prefer.

 

[Jan Van Laethem]

Not sure if it's at all common, but the S3-2000 kit I had for a couple years was bought/sold repeatedly before and after. I bought it used LNIB from another RFF member who said he'd gotten it used but didn't shoot it himself. I eventually traded it off on a used M8, and that guy sold it fairly soon after.

That's exactly what I have found myself, but I would extend that to the SP 2005 as well : both kits change hands fairly often. The kits I have are both intact, the cameras look unused and come with all the original plastic wrapping inside the box, even for the lens shade etcetera. But on the outside the boxes show obvious signs of having been opened, stored and shipped several times.

I wonder if mine have gone around the globe a couple of times already.

 

[Elmar Lang]

Well, mine was property of a nice person who bought it as new, directly from a photo retailer in Japan as soon as it was put for sale.

Since then, he just kept the kit in their boxes and released the shutter a few times per month. He confessed: not even one single film.

I will use it.

But I agree with the opinion that the ever-ready case is horrible, with a strange, chemical smell. I can honestly say that ex-USSR "Arsenal" cases for Kievs, smell much, much better!

Ok, ok, the case protects the camera from an immediate lost of the 45% of its collectible's value...

Best wishes,

E.L.

 

[furcafe]

Ditto, especially since I think they're actually more useable than most originals (brighter VFs for 1 thing). I have both an S3 2000 & SP 2005 kit & use both of them on a regular basis (that's why I had a titanium shutter installed in the SP 2005).

I would not be afraid to use the camera. The reissues are not particularly collectible, and the S3 was never as valuable a camera as the SP. The lens with the S3-2000 kit is among the finest 50mm lenses ever built, and it would be a shame not to use it.

 

[aoresteen]

Hello,

I'm what can be considered a "Zeissianer": I've always used RF Contaxes (and their ex-USSR "cousins", the RF-Kievs).

Today, I've bought a complete, absolutely mint S3-2000/Black kit: everything in untouched condition, all papers present, and the whole in their cases. After a short discussion with the owner, we agreed for Euro 1.900,-. Someone could say it was too much; someone could think it was a good chance...

I can say that the camera now in my hands, is a very fine piece, born to take pictures. A friend of mine, to whom I've talked about today's news, said something like "be careful not to use it! The slightest sign would immediately reduce its value!".

I've studied it, "felt it" in my hands and now it's loaded with an FP-4 already.

I'm sure I won't regret all the money spent for it...

Best wishes,

Enzo

Use it!!!!!!!!!!!

That's what it's made for. In Jan 2008 I bought a brand new Nikon SP 2005 and took it to Iraq while deployed with the US Army. I didn't baby it and it still looks brand new.

 

[Elmar Lang]

It's exactly what I will do with my new Nikon S3-2000. That camera can't remain in its box and become old and unused...

 

[Jan Van Laethem]

It's exactly what I will do with my new Nikon S3-2000. That camera can't remain in its box and become old and unused...

Good to read these kinds of remarks. Too many of these new sets, or vintage Nikons for that matter, are gathering dust on some display shelf or cabinet. Mine go out for some "exercise" on a regular basis. There's always one or two lingering around on my desk.

 

[steveyork]

From an engineer stand of point, the Nikon RF as well as Contax IIa/IIIa use inferior material compare to Leica, the top plate is paper thin, maybe only half of the Leica M2/M3/M4.

Maybe the Nikon, but I don't think the Contax. The construction of the Zeiss Ikon cameras of the 1950's were superb, just quirky designs. I've read that some of the internal parts of the ConTax IIa and IIIa were chromed, to alleviate wear, and that's something Leitz never did.

 

[Elmar Lang]

I confirm Steve's statement about Contax.

I have the direct experience of a Contax-II my grandfather bought in 1937: he used it along the whole WW2, during the Russian Campaign (coming back home alive, he and the Contax...). He used it until he passed away in 1979, when it came to me: its outer appearance is far from what any collector would like to see, but besides outer wear and scratches, it works and its shutter still perfectly fires, with only the normal checks/lubricating and the shutter tapes' change in the early '50s and (recently found a repairman's invoice) in 1966.

My experience with the S3-2000 is very limited until now: I treat it with care, but I see that it works very fine and its results are excellent.

I remember that Nikon RFs were very appreciated from journalists and reporters, working in extreme conditions...

Best wishes,

E.L.