S3 2000 a good starter RF?

Since Mr. Gandy has appeared on the Forum, let's cut to the chase and ask the question;
Dear, dear Stephen, are the F-S Adapters really all gone? And if so, would it be possible for you to speak to the folks at Cosina, and see if you could get more of them? I'd bet that many people here would buy one so they could mount some of their F-mount Nikkors on their Rangefinders.
I'll buy one from you in a heartbeat if you've got any (or can get any).
Please and thank you.
 
>>Talking about busy VF, try looking tru the SP's viewfinder dialed in @ 10.5, frame-line galore.<<

I personnally love the "tunnelled" effect of an SP dialed in to 105 or 135. I don't consider that cluttered at all, because there's nothing extraneous inside the frameline you're working with. On the other hand, my favorite lens with the SP is the 85mm ... you get that clean, uncluttered frameline at lifesize magnification.

EDIT: Also, maybe Cosina could be persuaded to gin up another batch of F-S adapters if they get enough pre-paid orders. I'd pre-pay.
 
These threads just kill me... 🙂 I do, seriously, hope to be able to pick up a nice chrome S3-2000 someday with a nice pair of 35 & 105 lenses to go with it. If I get my hands on one though, I do know I'll burn many a roll through it 😀 so they'd better brass nicely... <LOL>

For me it's the S3 because of of the finder, that it's easier to get a chrome one for a semi-sane price & the fact that the 2000 comes with a 50 lens. I keep playing with these funky wideangles and sometimes even get good things out of them (my Canon 28/3.5 in LTM especially) but I still fall back to the 50 most of the time. Perhaps I'm better suited to a nice user S2?

William
 
To start in RF, I strongly suggest a Leica M.

My biggest disappointment with the Nikon RF's was to be hunting around for the focus spot in some light conditions. My Nikon RF's are on the edge of faded spots.

I bought into the line for the lenses and the mystique. One of my favourite shots is with a 50/1.1 and it has superb bokeh.

If I were to do it again, I'd start with the SP. May as well start at the top.

Vick
 
>>They were all Day-Glo, your early camera is just dirty.<<

Not dirty. Perhaps faded. But I certainly prefer the older faded ones. I have two mid-60s Fs, an SP, an S3 and an F2. I've had the SLRs for 20 years and the RFs almost that long, and none of them were anything close to the hot pink and lime green of the new S3-2000. It is so intense I swapped it out for a suitably subdued shutter-speed dial from a little-used F. I'm tempted to just leave it out in the sun for a couple of years and fade it.
 
I too noticed right away the 'day-glow' lettering of the new editions. Nikon seems to have been ahead of its time if this was the color on the original cameras as the bright lime-yellow color is the best for low light recognition with the human eye. The modern USA fire department vehicles switched from red to this color for this reason, so as a user camera color in the parts applied it makes sense.
 
>>bright lime-yellow color is the best for low light recognition with the human eye.<<

Perhaps. But the fire-engine lime-green is used only for shutter speeds 125 and above. The 60 x-sync speed is hot pink. The speeds of 30 and below are just plain bright white. The colors generally have to do with synching strobes and flash bulbs; bulbs were mainly used as outdoor fill with speeds faster than 1/60.
 
Was just a thought Vince, you have a point.

And also on that 'color' note... maybe one of the reasons Nikon optioned to keep the green tint finder of the original SP ( I've heard complains that they should have made the finder a modern clear view) is that like the RayBan 'cool' sunglasses it increases contrast (better than the M3's blueish tint) - which the human eye reacts to - especially with the yellowish rangefinder patch. The SPs rangefinder is easier to see.
 
The color tints in the SP finder never bothered me. The beauty of sticking with one RF system is that you accept its strengths and weaknesses as a given. The color of the frames is, to me, less important than the fact that they all have corners. I understand some Leica frames don't have corners. That, to me, sounds unsettling ... so much of good composition is defined by corners.
 
NHS Webmaster...why don't you get an S2 painted. I'm thinking about sending my cosmetically crummiest S2 to Japan for painting. Yeah, I like the looks of those too....not sure about the black F's though, I kinda prefer my chrome one...worked with a guy in the '60s who had a black F and it never appealed to me. A black S2 on the other hand says "WOW".
 
>>Fred, the Nikon web master, has an original Black Paint S2 and uses it.<<

I'm sure Fred owns and uses cameras and lenses that the rest of us cannot even dream of. His collection sounds fascinating.
 
Kiu


I see nothing wrong with painting a user S2 as it could have been produced by Nikon......rather than carrying around a $5,000 original.

If Fred wants to carry around an original black S2 in New York City....then Fred can do that. I won't do that in Sacramento, that is why I made the comment I did. I do like the way they look.
 
So, the concensus is.....BUY IT!!!! 😀

But, wait...

Is the recommendation as a good starter based on use or collectibility? Both would be great...but my photography must come first as I continue to learn. And I am leaning toward that S3 2000...

The question now becomes:

For what type of photography are most owners using their Nikon Rf's?

This is important as I must justify the cost with the boss...better half! 😉
 
It's a great people camera. The 1:1 finder allows you to keep both eyes open when photographing people. So you don't disappear behind a camera; you remain involved.

EDIT: I'll go out on a limb here an put forward a hypothesis: That the reduced image on most RF cameras helps perpetuate that whole "detached observer" persona. The lifesize finder on Nikon RF and Canon P are more akin to holding up a piece of glass to frame the world as it exists, leaving you a part of the world you're photographing rather than reducing it to some kind of abstract composition.

Aside from these cheap intellectualizations, I find I can keep talking to people in a polite way while taking their photographs. I use it primarily for family photos, but taken in a photojournalistic style.
 
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Nikon webmaster, I was speaking of sending it to Japan to be painted. I agree that fraudulently ?? selling something on EBay for what it is not is really in bad taste.

Getting back to the shutter speed dial discussion, I just received a very nice used SP, which would be a little over midway in the production and the shutter speed dials are green - earth tones as Vince commented. They stayed that way after cleaning and the green synchro dot (which is out of site 99% of the time is the same earth tone green.

I lucked out as this camera has bright rangefinder patch as well as clear viewfinders - all framelines. It is quite the camera to behold!

I only have S2s to compare this with but handling and viewing with the SP is simply.....the cat's meow.

No, Sacramento isn't particularly dangerous city, only I would prefer to use one of the S2s if I'm going to photograph in certain parts.
 
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