abenner
undecided
If nothing else it's a pretty camera: Olympic S3 on ebay
Sure it's expensive, but not outrageously so, compared to other Nikon RF gear and considering the lens, the recent service, the original black paint, and the rarity of the Olympic model.
Sure it's expensive, but not outrageously so, compared to other Nikon RF gear and considering the lens, the recent service, the original black paint, and the rarity of the Olympic model.
Vickko
Veteran
Wow, at $3400, if legit, is a bargain.
Vick
Vick
I can never open those bit.ly links...
Could you post a link directly to the auction? Or the auction number?
Could you post a link directly to the auction? Or the auction number?
mgd711
Medium Format Baby!!
cnphoto
Well-known
wow, that is beautiful. i'm not really a Nikon RF fan, but I think any BP camera with brassing looks just great. reminds of the old black paint and sunburst Fender P basses with comparable wear I used to lust over 
Thanks Mike!
Yep, that's a pretty camera.
Yep, that's a pretty camera.
Tom A
RFF Sponsor
I wonder if this was the Olympic S3 at Sanpo Camera. I saw it last month - body only at Yen 129 000. Finder is quite beat up, but the camera seemed to work OK. The seller might have added the 35f1.8 to make it more attractive. They had a bunch of Nikon Rf's there, several S3's in the yen 70 000 - 90 000 range (most with 50f1.4's) some SP's in the Yen 125-130 000 range, also with either 50f1.4's or 50f2's on them and the beaten up Olympic S3. I was tempted, but Sanpo only takes cash, no cards so I got a S3 chrome with a 50f1.4 #50051037 (1 st version - usually on a Nikon M) for Yen 68 000. Oh, they also had a chrome 25f4 with finder for Yen 115 000 and a 21f4 with finder and the elusive back cap for Yen 290 000. They usually have some interesting stuff, mostly not mint - but good user pieces at decent prices.
I haven't seen an S3 Olympic as cheap as 129,000 yen. Wow! Prices in Tokyo have really dropped on film gear lately. On my last trip to Sanpo Camera, I very nearly purchased a very clean very late serial no. Nikon F3 (serial no. was 199****) with an eye level prism for 27,800 yen. They would have been asking at least 40,000 - 50,000 yen for that same camera six months to a year ago. Sanpo is great
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fbf
Well-known
No, not the same bunch.
They price most items high but there is occasionally some decent deals, unlike Arsenal. Their description is much more accurate as well. I have no problem buying from them.
abenner
undecided
I don't think they're the same. I've bought from skphoto before and never had a problem.
It sounds like SK PHOTO is legit, but not being an EBayer I've never heard of them. I tried googling in Japanese and cannot find anything. I'm pretty sure they don't have a shop in Akihabara. Probably an office only.
mgd711
Medium Format Baby!!
What frame lines does this camera have? 35/50 or 50/85?
Highway 61
Revisited
35-50-105 like any other S3.
This mouldy Olympic S3 with W-Nikkor 3.5cm f1.8 and three finders sold for 191,000 yen on the Yahoo Japan auctions earlier tonight. The engraving on the back says "Asahi (Sha) NO. 151" (sha is the first kanji in shashin which means photograph). Most likely it was a press camera at Asahi newspaper.
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Tom A
RFF Sponsor
Jon. did you buy it? It looks well seasoned - to put it mildly. Probably can be resurrected though. Lens looked OK. The 35f1.8 is still holding its value - as it should - it is a damned good lens.
NIKON KIU
Did you say Nippon Kogaku
Opinions are plenty.
Mine is the first camera is overpriced, at least by a grand.
I like the mouldy one better @ 2 grand, that 3.5cm bright-line finder is worth a couple of hundered bucks by itself, then there is that old sport finder...
Kiu
Mine is the first camera is overpriced, at least by a grand.
I like the mouldy one better @ 2 grand, that 3.5cm bright-line finder is worth a couple of hundered bucks by itself, then there is that old sport finder...
Kiu
I was busy rescuing furniture sitting outside in the rain last night, so missed the end of the auction Tom. At around $2,000 I would have been interested for sure! :bang:
the wear pattern on the front plate does not look right. cameras don't wear like that.
Stephen
VinceC
Veteran
Stephen,
The wear-pattern is fairly close to my own S3 where I self-painted the front plate and used it daily for the next ten years, until the advent of digital. Combination of several things: When you carry two bodies (very common when shooting news) the bodies bang into each other, especially at the edges. This camera probably had a mate, maybe a black F. Also, on a long shoulder strap, I often rest my hand on that part of the camera to stop it from swinging around while walking, and that produces wear. A constantly carried camera just tends to knock gently against all kinds of things. Finally, a camera thrown into a news bag, like a Domke bag, along with lenses and other bodies tends to get is corners scuffed like that. On the other hand, with that kind of brassing, you'd expect a little more wear everywhere else.
The wear-pattern is fairly close to my own S3 where I self-painted the front plate and used it daily for the next ten years, until the advent of digital. Combination of several things: When you carry two bodies (very common when shooting news) the bodies bang into each other, especially at the edges. This camera probably had a mate, maybe a black F. Also, on a long shoulder strap, I often rest my hand on that part of the camera to stop it from swinging around while walking, and that produces wear. A constantly carried camera just tends to knock gently against all kinds of things. Finally, a camera thrown into a news bag, like a Domke bag, along with lenses and other bodies tends to get is corners scuffed like that. On the other hand, with that kind of brassing, you'd expect a little more wear everywhere else.
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abenner
undecided
I'm not really agreeing or disagreeing here, just trying to continue the line of conversation.
Are you saying it's a fake? The SN would indicate that this is a real Olympic S3, right?
Or are you saying it's a real Olympic S3 that has been artificially "brassed"? That wouldn't make much sense to me; I would think it would be worth more if it were in better condition. Are you saying it may have been repainted?