Nikon SP with Nikkor-N 50mm/F1.1

[Stephan A-S]

CORRECTION: THIS IS THE INTERNAL MOUNT LENS

Hey all. I'm a college student in Kansas and I work as an Emporia State University student photographer. We're part of public affairs and marketing for the campus.

Anyway, we have a ton of Nikon gear laying in our cabinets from decades past and i was rummaging through it when I came upon the Nikon SP with this lens. It is the internal mount and the weight of the lens does appear to have caused some damage :/ There is a thin metal flange on the top part of the mount that appears to be bent and the lens just kind of barely stays on the body.

I'm trying to gauge what it is worth because I'm not sure my boss knows. It was probably sitting in there when he was hired. The glass is super clean and looks like its in great shape. I'll have to see if the aperature blades work properly.

We also have 3 Leica M3 bodies for copy stand use. One of the perks of this job is that the students can check out whatever they want and use it for personal use. I've gone to using Bronica ETRsi for my personal work recently and havent made time to try some of this gear out. Its such a shame that all this stuff just sits in a cabinet and collects dust 🙁

If you guys could provide me with some good info on the Nikon SP and lens combo that would be super. What would you guys pay for it?

 

[Chaser]

That's a big bucks outfit....its worth getting repaired by all means. I'm not a nikon expert but i do believe that the body and lens are both lusted after by collectors.

 

[ch1]

Hey all. I'm a college student in Kansas and I work as an Emporia State University student photographer. We're part of public affairs and marketing for the campus.....

If you guys could provide me with some good info on the Nikon SP and lens combo that would be super. What would you guys pay for it?

I am seeking a Nikon SP (prefer titanium shutter). Lens is immaterial.

But I don't consider RFF and "auction site".

Do you want PM bids? [Joe - is this kosher here?]

Elsewise - put it on eBay and let the games begin.

 

[VinceC]

I don't imagine the college student ought to be putting his school's gear onto eBay, and I took it from his question that he's just looking for some value information, not looking to sell. In fact, he ought to just go out and shoot some pictures with that magnificent stuff.

Anyway, the 50mm f/1.1 lens is quite rare and collectible. Currently, Kevin Cameras in L.A. has one listed retail for $4,500, internal mount, in Ex+ condition. Kevin's prices tend to be on the high side because of his reputation for high-quality. An SP can be worthy anywhere from $800 to $2,000 or more, depending on condition. Titanium shutter (instead of cloth) would add a bit more to value. Prices seem to be stabilizing or even heading down -- a lot of gear seems to be entering the market via estate sales.

 

[VinceC]

Also, for more info on the SP and lens, check out Stephen Gandy's site -- www.cameraquest.com

 

[Chaser]

http://cameraquest.com/5011.htm

http://cameraquest.com/nrfspv.htm

http://cameraquest.com/nikonsp.htm

 

[ch1]

I don't imagine the college student ought to be putting his school's gear onto eBay, and I took it from his question that he's just looking for some value information, not looking to sell. In fact, he ought to just go out and shoot some pictures with that magnificent stuff.

Anyway, the 50mm f/1.1 lens is quite rare and collectible. Currently, Kevin Cameras in L.A. has one listed retail for $4,500, internal mount, in Ex+ condition. Kevin's prices tend to be on the high side because of his reputation for high-quality. An SP can be worthy anywhere from $800 to $2,000 or more, depending on condition. Titanium shutter (instead of cloth) would add a bit more to value. Prices seem to be stabilizing or even heading down -- a lot of gear seems to be entering the market via estate sales.

My reason for referring to eBay was to have him "research" a market price . It was not to encourage him to sell it there - unless, of course, he has authorization to do so.

By providing pricing info - as you've done - you may be encouraging something less than "honorable". I

BTW: referring him to Gandy is an equally "neutral" action as my referring to "eBay". glad you did so - didn't think of Steve at the time of responding.

But I certainly would not want to "volunteer" a price estimate myself.

That's all I was saying.

 

[Stephan A-S]

I have looked on ebay for pricing but have never come across an auction for this lens. KEH estimates they're buying price at $1,500 but thats just what they would buy it for, not the sale price. I certainly would not steal it, I just want to tell my boss what hes got sitting in the office.

 

[ch1]

I have looked on ebay for pricing but have never come across an auction for this lens. KEH estimates they're buying price at $1,500 but thats just what they would buy it for, not the sale price. I certainly would not steal it, I just want to tell my boss what hes got sitting in the office.

Your boss has one very special NIkkor 50mm lens. Only 1500 (m/l) were made.

You may want to contact the Nikon Hisotircal Socieity (NHS) headed by Robert Rotolini. You can check out the contact info via Google.

A 1.1f is a very rare lens - at the least - the University should make sure it is "special item" insured. (For example - it cost $300 in 1956 when it was first manufactured).

Robert Rotolini at the NHS can authenticate the lens via its serial number .

BTW: His original book is ISBN 0 906447 25 9 copyright: 1981

Your library probably has it.

Good luck.

George

I

 

[back alley]

By providing pricing info - as you've done - you may be encouraging something less than "honorable".

i may be dense but i don't understand, george?

joe

 

[ch1]

One thing I should have noted - there is a difference b/w the internal mount version (1500 pieces) and the "improved" external" mount (1800 pieces).

Either one is "precious" although the "external" is more useful as it doesn't risk distorting the cameral body lens mount.

 

[Nikon Bob]

Your school has a very special lens. In my copy of The Complete Nikon System by Peter Braczko (ISBN 1-883403-85-5) the inside bayonet mount Nikkor 5cm f/1.1 was produced in 1956 at a cost to buy of $300 as has been said before. There were about 1200 units produced according to this source with the serial numbers starting at 120001. There was also a version for Leica screw mount cameras but only about 300 were made. There was also a huge hood made for this lens. The external mount lens was produced in only slightly larger numbers. Pretty close to a Nikon collectors dream lens. Small wonder you can't readily find it on eprey. George is right in that the school should have it properly appraised and ensured.

Bob

 

[VinceC]

By the way, Stephan A-S, Welcome to the Rangefinder Forum!

Nikon rangefinder collectors/users tend to be a small but intense group. The $1,500 from KEH is probably a realistic wholesale value. The Nikon RF cameras date from the pinnacle of the industrial craftsmanship era. No one can really afford to build things of such quality any more. The cameras are largely handmade, and Nikon recently offered brand new Nikon SPs for about $7,000 and probably sold them at a loss even at that price.

I was on the verge of joining another site's collectors forum when I noticed an unpleasant trend. ... A couple of people posted questions similar to this. They had inherited or stumbled onto some old Nikon RF gear too rare to show up on eBay and were trying to get a sense of its value. Instead of honest replies based on the range of values we can all recite in our sleep, the responses were condescending and secretive and in some cases clearly aimed at trying to get the novice to part with the equipment at well below its fair value. I didn't join the forum.

Let's try to keep this in perspective. This equipment was very expensive when new and was often used hard, so surviving examples generally maintain that value. Back in the late 1950s, this kind of gear was being purchased largely by photo departments of publications and universities -- folks with expense accounts. That' why it's still scarce today. I'd hazzard that the audio-visual department of Emporia State University probably has far more valuable stuff sitting around than these old cameras -- LCD projectors and high-end computers and video gear and the like. A high-end zoom SLR lens can be worth in excess of $1,000. Heck, a good digital SLR almost certainly cost more than the old Nikon. The Nikon SP and super-fast lens are rare and valuable, both in terms of money and in terms of their historic value -- but not astronomically rare and valuable. Almost any of their Leica equivalents is less rare yet more financially valuable. The Nikon SP is a wonderfully usable camera. I vote that it stays in the university inventory, accompanied by some literature or Website printouts so that students checking it out can know a little bit about what they're using. It's ideal for nighttime low-light work, the kinds of edgy after-hours stuff many students like to photograph.

People get all wrapped around the axles about the supposed astronomic-value of Nikon RF gear, largely because it doesn't get much daily use. I was in Saudi Arabia in 1990, shooting the run-up to the 1991 Gulf War with my SP or S3 (both ran fine in Arabian desert temperatures while the quartz info screens on the new Nikon F4s were going black due to the heat, rendering them useless). Another photographer took a double-take at my camera and said something to the effect of "Jeez, why are you using that? That thing's worth a fortune!" ... Well, no it wasn't. I paid about $900 for it and about the same for a kit of lenses. An equivalent Leica kit would have cost twice that or more. I bought the Nikon RF gear because I couldn't afford Leicas. The blacked-out Nikon F4s with big, fast zooms were costing a whole lot more than that in 1990 dollars. And most accomplished photographers liked to show off a Leica M4 or M6, usually with a 21mm lens that cost close to $2,000. My Zeiss 21mm Biogon cost about a quarter or that, and it was by far my most expensive piece of glass.

The old SP and 1.1 are magnificent tools from the era of available-light photojournalism. These are the cameras that photographed the Kennedys and the Beatles and Marilyn Monroe. These are the cameras that defined and shaped the way we viewed an entire era. That's their greatest value.

 

[Stephan A-S]

Thanks for the information guys, you have been a big help. These forums are great.

 

[Huck Finn]

One of these in "mint" condition sold recently on ebay with a set of 3 lenses for $3550. Others have drawn no interest or have failed to meet the reserve. Black user examples (heavy brassing) have sold for $9000 & up, so rarity is a major factor, i.e. the 50/1.1 lens.