Nikon S3 Olympic Value
Nikon S3 Olympic Value
First, thanks to everyone for helping me reckon the "value" of this camera. My Leitz lenses (all Summicron F2) are 35 mm, 40 mm, and 50 mm. My 50 mm is circa 1970s -- not the very best possible 50 mm Summicron. But all my lenses, and the Olympic Nikkor, are plenty sharp enough for hand held photos with Tri-X. For sharper impages, I would use a tripod and slower film, or use my Rolliflex (2.8 Planar!). The really hard thing with photography (after getting everything technically perfect) is standing in the right place and releasing the shutter at the right moment.
The picture of me that Kiu posted above was taken by my late friend Jim with his F3 (SLR!) and 105 mm Nikkor. Many of the images on the roll he shot that day were not sharp, because I'm standing under the shade of a redwood tree and the camera was hand held. But the portrait is quite nice.
I did think about keeping Jim's camera, along with all my Leica gear and Nikon F3 (35 2.0, 50 1.4, 55 macro, 105 2.5) and Nikkormat (35 2.0), but that was when I imagined (hoped) that it was worth less than $1,000. In fact, Jim left a lot more friends than me, as well as the problem of archiving all his negatives (a small grant to student working to do this and to print a limited edition of his best work is one thought). So, you see, "value" is a slippery concept.
Eventually, I will post the resolution of this story.
