Nikon SP Original RF Patch

[scorpius73]

I was looking at the VF of my SP from the front. I noticed that the RF patch that I can see seems to be at a 45 degree angle inside the VF. Is this normal or has mine shifted over the 50 yrs or so? I can still see the patch when looking through the VF but it just seems a bit odd.

 

[maddoc]

I just had a look at my SP, the patch looks like having a trapezoid shape not exactly a rectangle.

 

[scorpius73]

You might be right. It just looks like it's floating at an angle though. Trapedoid is one of putting it though.

 

[jonmanjiro]

Perfectly normal 😉

 

[scorpius73]

Thanks guys. I was just in the DC Metro taking photos of a performer. I had my M6 with the Millenium 50 and the SP. Man, that SP is hard to focus in dim light. It will not make it to a dimly lit jazz club show with me thats for sure.

 

[scorpius73]

Jon, once again you are right. Mine has no scratches on the black body and I know I will sulk over it if I send it off and a tech scratches it with some tool.
Matter of fact I will contact Pete (I think that's his name) about cost of VF cleaning.

 

[Mister E]

Pete just CLAed my SP. My finder was abominably dim. I mean actually not usable. I'll let you know how it is when I get it back in a few days. He said there was some fungal damage he couldn't do anything about.

 

[Mister E]

Is it not possible to clean the accessory finder in the SP?

 

[rbsinto]

My vintage SP finder is OK, with a slight yellow tinge to the entire field. It's usable, however it doesn't hold a candle to one of my vintage S3 finders which is extremely contrasty and bright.
Because I've only owned the one SP, I don't know if their finders are typically dimmer than the S3s, or if it's just mine. Anyone?

 

[Mister E]

It's possible to clean parts of it, but very difficult to clean the prisms at the back. How did the main finder come up?

I'll put it this way. I could have spent no money, installed my own blue filter and even then had an aligned finder. All of that would have cost only $0 instead of $300 and it would have given me the same results. Whatever crud I can still see in the finder is still there. Which the damage may be permanent...

 

[Mister E]

When you say "contrasty and bright" are you talking about the focus patch or the entire finder field? All my SPs (2 x 2005, 2 x vintage) have much better focus patches than any S3 I've owned/tried, and I've owned/tried a lot of S3s.

Ditto for me too, aside from my bum SP. It has about as much contrast as egg white vs white.

 

[Mister E]

Bummer. I was expecting to hear better news than that.

You weren't the only one. Having to wait an extra week because the post office is a long way off is even more irritating.

 

[rbsinto]

When you say "contrasty and bright" are you talking about the focus patch or the entire finder field? All my SPs (2 x 2005, 2 x vintage) have much better focus patches than any S3 I've owned/tried, and I've owned/tried a lot of S3s.

Both patch and field, but I think SP could use a good interior cleaning as it was not in as good shape as the better of my two S3s.
Sexiness of the fancy-schmancy finder and the PJ mystique of the SP aside, I much prefer the uncluttered simplicity of the S3 finder over that of the SP as a shooter.

 

[rxmd]

Having to wait an extra week because the post office is a long way off is even more irritating.

Do I read your location correctly as "In Neil Armstrong's pants" or where is the post office?? :angel:

 

[furcafe]

Per jonmanjiro's posts, I'm guessing the cleaning won't make much of a difference (Pete Smith has cleaned the VFs on several of my Nikon RF bodies). If you're shooting in really dark conditions, you're better off using a modern Leica M, CV Bessa, or Zeiss Ikon ZM body. You can always use an Amedeo adapter if you want to use your Nikon RF lenses.

Jon, once again you are right. Mine has no scratches on the black body and I know I will sulk over it if I send it off and a tech scratches it with some tool.
Matter of fact I will contact Pete (I think that's his name) about cost of VF cleaning.

 

[furcafe]

In fairness to Pete, 1 of the the SPs I sent to him, a cloth shutter version, had a finder that was pretty far gone, i.e., the RF patch is almost invisible. On the other SP, a titanium shutter, the patch was already good, for an SP, & now that I've seen others, including the SP 2005, I realize that my expectations were simply too high. Similarly, the S2 I sent him years ago was already pretty good & my experience w/Nikon RFs was even more limited back then.

BTW, I was referring mainly to the RF patch issue, not overall VF brightness/cleanliness.

Makes me wonder how far Pete goes in cleaning the VFs, Chris. I'd imagine there's only so much he can do considering that he's running a business and has to maintain a profitable cost/time ratio. Recently I've seen several vintage SPs that Shintaro has cleaned the finders on and they've come up great and have really good focus patches. But he takes the time to clean behind the half-mirror and other tight spots.

 

[scorpius73]

Per jonmanjiro's posts, I'm guessing the cleaning won't make much of a difference (Pete Smith has cleaned the VFs on several of my Nikon RF bodies). If you're shooting in really dark conditions, you're better off using a modern Leica M, CV Bessa, or Zeiss Ikon ZM body. You can always use an Amedeo adapter if you want to use your Nikon RF lenses.

You're right. My SP is good in normal conditions. I just have to find something with contrast to focus on. In dim conditions or things that really have no contrast the focusing is pretty much gone. In any dim conditions, the Zeiss Ikon ZI is the way to go. Yeah, I had the Millenium 50mm f1.4 on the M6 that same night. When I finished that roll I went to the SP with the 3.5cm f2.5. Focusing was rather difficult. But, in the SP's defence there is 40 or 50 years of age between them.

 

[furcafe]

I'm no mechanical expert, but I would say it's not just the age, but also the design. I have the SP 2005 & it's not noticeably brighter than my best vintage SP (titanium shutter, 623**** series).

As another point of reference, the VF & RF on my Yashica YF (CLAed by DAG), which seems to have a RF/VF design that's essentially a stripped-down version of the SP, have the same level of brightness as the SP.

. . . in the SP's defence there is 40 or 50 years of age between them.

 

[Mister E]

You're right. My SP is good in normal conditions. I just have to find something with contrast to focus on. In dim conditions or things that really have no contrast the focusing is pretty much gone. In any dim conditions, the Zeiss Ikon ZI is the way to go. Yeah, I had the Millenium 50mm f1.4 on the M6 that same night. When I finished that roll I went to the SP with the 3.5cm f2.5. Focusing was rather difficult. But, in the SP's defence there is 40 or 50 years of age between them.

In all fairness the ZI and the MP have the two brightest, most contrasty focus patches I've ever seen. I don't think any of us shoot the SP for the great focus patch. Me I might throw my SP in the ocean.

 

[enasniearth]

Sp

Sp

What beach will you be on when you toss it. , I will be close by in a row boat , with a catcher mitt .
The sp has a very complex finder with two prisms , one separates for the bright lines and the other for the rf spot .
There is a light loss on each one , many finders have picked up haze and deterioration over 60 years .
The rear of the small prism next to the word nikon is difficult to clean , it is glued in the holding bracket , there is almost no room to access the angled surface . Light enters this small window is reflected by the prism to the dark spot you see in the center of the large front main prism . This surface is gold between the two glass triangles that make up the front prism .
The s3 has only one main prism as the bright lines are reflected . The s3 typically has picked up a lot of flare over the years , due to the reflected line system .
The sp although darker does not have the flare problem .
Any part of the prism system can have haze on a surface resulting in lower contrast .
The s2 has the brightest spot , I have settled on it as the best user nikon .
Even some s2 have loss of contrast .
I had a super beat sp with a bright contrary spot , and have seen mint looking ones not as good .

It really helps to see the camera in person before buying - something not so possible in the Internet age .
Part of the difference in a newer leitz finder is that the spot is a clearly defined rectangle , it is easy to use the edge of the rectangle to line up the image inside and outside the spot . The nikon spot does not have a clearly defined edge , however it is not so noticeable in composition .
Both have there advantages .