S3 Finder?

P

paulboe

Guest
Hi All,

I'm the new owner of a nice Black S3, my first Nikon RF and one of several RFs I own. Reading tells me that the finders on the S3 are no great shakes, and mine is no exception with a dull finder and dim RF patch. What can a shop do to breath some clarity into this finder? And which shop? Thanks in advance.

Paul
 
a cleaning of the finder does wonders sometimes,mirrors and or prizms can be resilvered.
a competent tech that knows and works on Nikon RF cameras is your best bet.
Pete Smith in Florida is lauded by some here on the RFF for work on their Nikon rf cameras.
 
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So - when it comes to the possibility to leave the camera to a repair shop to get a brighter and better working finder is there any difference between the S / S2 / S3 / SP or do they all have the same construction and limitations when it comes to fixing this !?

Jon
 
I continue to lust after the new lenses with the 2000 S3 and SP. But my pocket-book and desire to retire prevent me from shelling out the bucks.

And I tolerate the poor contrast of my S, S2, S3 and SP RF's.

As for my lenses, I bought a HK mount to use the Nikon RF lenses with my RD1 - which as a poor RF for many other reasons.

Vick
 
Viewfinder quality varies from camera to camera, so it's best to try out a camera in-person before buying.

Based on anecdotal evidence -- mostly other RFF users -- the Nikon S2s seem to have the best-condition rangefinder images of the vintage cameras. I have an S2 in great shape and an original S3 thats's close. My SP has a dim but usable rf image. There's a lot of anecdotal discussion that the later SPs with the titanium shutters might have brighter viewfinders. The dimness of the original SP finder was known when the camera was still being produced.

Of course, my S3-2000 has a fantastic finder. So it tends to get as much use as my older SP.
 
My vintage S3 has a very nice finder that is clear with a contrasty focusing spot. I've never looked through the finder of either the new S3 or SP, so I can't comment on any differences between them and the vintage models finders. However, this weekend I bumped into a photographer using one of the new Leica digital rangefinders, and the brightness of the focusing square, was astonishing. Orders of magnitude brighter than the one in my S3.
Forty eight years newer, sure makes a difference.
 
I confirm, my SP with titaneum shutter is brighter, easyer to focus than my S3 which has a cloth shutter. I guess most SP with faded patch are not because of age, but due to change from S2's gilding process.
 
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