Oh why oh why.... did I buy another Nikon S2

[enasniearth]

"All the talk of having lenses collimated is a waste of time if the flange focal plane distance is not reset to factory spec ."

I don't really understand this yet. I thought lenses were collimated with the lens on the camera body? Some repair folks use a mirror and some load it with film? DAG actually takes test shots afterwards on film to see if he's got it right, which is one reason he takes so darned long. He said he'd done this with my body and lenses three times, without being quite satisfied with the results.

BTW, was I correct in thinking that RF Nikkors came from the factory calibrated for close focus at widest aperture, whereas Leica & Zeiss use 2.8?

Kirk

Dag does very nice work , every camera I received back from him was like new in operation .


On Dante Stella's site I believe he mentions that the Japanese manufacturers
Optimized for up close and wide open in lens design .

They also tested every lens that left the factory to keep quality and tolerances at their best .

The lens mount is attached to the body with 4 screws ,under the mount are small brass washers that are sized to set the distance from the lens mount to the film . This set infinity focus for the lenses .
Usually a repair person will check each lens at its infinity setting to first check that the mount is set properly , in some cases perhaps the mount will need reshimmed .
From there they can work to best set all the lenses for best possible
Performance .

 

[jonmanjiro]

BTW, was I correct in thinking that RF Nikkors came from the factory calibrated for close focus at widest aperture, whereas Leica & Zeiss use 2.8?

Kirk, I've read comments by people on this site and others making that claim (the Nikkor-S 5cm f/1.4 is the lens usually mentioned) but I've never read anything published by Nikon claiming this.

 

[Erik van Straten]

This picture was made with a randomly chosen camera and a randomly chosen lens at full aperture. It seems that calibration is not really a problem when we talk about Nikon RF equipment. Like Highway 61 I focused on the eyes.

Nikon S2 6170923, NIKKOR-S 1:1.4 f=5cm No.414866, Tmax400.

Erik.

 

[wes loder]

Early Nikons (in the 6FB series) use a lens mount that is secured to the body with four screws. Later Nikons use a mount that secures with only three screws. (Not an improvement IMHO). WES

 

[maitani]

I can see why oh why,,

 

[Roger Hicks]

There's some really interesting engineering in this thread. Alloys shrinking over 60 years? As someone else says, any evidence? And 3 instead of 4 screws? Consider the simple truth that a 3-legged stool must always have 3 legs on the ground, but a 4-legged chair (or table) can rock. Someone is misunderstanding generally accepted engineering principles, and I don't think it's me. Nor am I convinced that in engineering (unlike, say economics) 'conventional wisdom' is wrong.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

Oh dear Lord.

Phil Forrest

 

[Vickko]

Yeah, stunning black S2, isn't it?
Maybe I'll paint mine black.
Isn't any way that I'm going to "afford" a real one.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

Looking at that gorgeous camera makes me want to make my next one a 'Panda' S2.

Phil Forrest

 

[Erik van Straten]

 

[jonmanjiro]

And 3 instead of 4 screws? Consider the simple truth that a 3-legged stool must always have 3 legs on the ground, but a 4-legged chair (or table) can rock.

As Wes correctly pointed out, 4 screws are used to hold the focus helicoid in place on the early Nikons (One, M, S, S2?) and 3 screws are used to hold the focus helicoid in place on the later Nikons (SP, S3, and S4 for sure, but I'm not 100% sure about the S2).

 

[john341]

Probably

Probably

because you like it. I like my S2..its kind of a Leica with a Contax mount..nice viewfinder. By the way, has anyone tried a Jupiter or Helios lens on one? Do they focus ok? Regards to all

 

[jonmanjiro]

because you like it. I like my S2..its kind of a Leica with a Contax mount..nice viewfinder. By the way, has anyone tried a Jupiter or Helios lens on one? Do they focus ok? Regards to all

Here's the chart that Cosina includes in the Bessa R2S/C manual. For a Contax mount lens on a Nikon RF, or visa versa, O indicates that the focus point is within the DOF at that aperture and focus distance, and X indicates that the focus point is outside the DOF at that aperture and distance.

When mounted on my Nikon SP, my 1938 CZ Tessar 50/2.8 back focuses about 10cm at MFD. That amount of error is easy enough to work around, even at f/2.8.

 

[Erik van Straten]

3 screws are used to hold the focus helicoid in place on the later Nikons (SP, S3, and S4 for sure, but I'm not 100% sure about the S2).

I think 3 on S2.

Erik.

 

[jonmanjiro]

I think 3 on S2.

Erik.

Thanks. That's what I thought, but its been a while since I tinkered with an S2.

 

[Erik van Straten]

An issue about the S2 I've never heard before is the shape of the transport lever. On early ones in resting position the tip of the lever seems to direct more "inward", into the direction of the speed setting selector, see picture:

On later ones the lever is less curved and points not inside, but is in line with the camera (see picture). Did anyone notice this phenomenon before?

Erik.

 

[Rob-F]

Oh why oh why.... did I buy another Nikon S2?

Sure, it was cheap, and was just CLA'ed.

But I just came off a binge of selling some of my collection.

It feels like coming off a diet and then having a feast to celebrate.

It's the cold weather. St. Louis isn't as cold as Canada, but it's still too cold for outdoor photography. So how to indulge in photography in the winter?

1. Talk on RFF

2. work in the darkroom

3. Buy, sell, and trade cameras.

As a licensed counselor, I recommend all three activities as therapy for Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.) A.K.A. "Winter Blues." 🙂

 

[kdemas]

I lasted about an hour in 20 degree weather in St Louis last week. I was amazed how cold I got tooling around the arch.

It's the cold weather. St. Louis isn't as cold as Canada, but it's still too cold for outdoor photography. So how to indulge in photography in the winter?

1. Talk on RFF

2. work in the darkroom

3. Buy, sell, and trade cameras.

As a licensed counselor, I recommend all three activities as therapy for Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.) A.K.A. "Winter Blues." 🙂

 

[Highway 61]

An issue about the S2 I've never heard before is the shape of the transport lever. On early ones in resting position the tip of the lever seems to direct more "inward", into the direction of the speed setting selector, see picture:

On later ones the lever is less curved and points not inside, but is in line with the camera (see picture). Did anyone notice this phenomenon before?

Erik.

Nikon changed the resting position angle, shape and length of those bright hollow levers series many times over years so this isn't surprising (it even matches some subtle design changes re. the winding ratchett gears that are under the top cover). If you look carefully you'll see that the lever of the black S2 is longer than the one of the chrome S2.

 

[skahde]

Honestly, I can see little difference besides the effect that comes from the different angle the chrome and black cameras were photographed from but will rely on the word of our experts.