paulfish4570
Veteran
my new-to-me F2a makes me think about a nikon RF, especially since it uses the same corrective eyepieces ...
jaredangle
Photojournalist
I've always wondered why there was never a Voigtlander R3S, to have have an alternative to the Nikon S3/SP and take advantage of the 1:1 with those great lenses.
Tom A
RFF Sponsor
This is a question that I ask myself everytime I open the cabinet with Nikon's. Having been a confirmed M user for most of my life - the Nikon Rf's were far and few between in Sweden in the 50's and 60's. Occasionally you did run in to photographers from overseas sporting nice SP's - usually with S36 drives and 35f1.8 and 50f1.1 and, of course, the incomparable 105f2.5.
Sometimes in the early 90's I got a S2 with 35f2.5, 50f1.4 and a 85f2 - the finder was spectacular and it quickly become a user for me. Later I got a repainted S and the 24x34 filmgate was fun - far less shifting negs around for black borders in the Focomat!
It is a slippery slope and severe GAS set in. At the moment there are 14 Nikon Rf' bodies and lots of lenses in the cabinet (multiple 50f1.4's as most Nikon Rf's tend to come with that - and I hate selling stuff).
July is usually my Nikon Rf month and this year is no exception. The M's are mostly sitting idle and I am shooting with my Nikon's and my last 400 ft of Kodak's 5231 moviestock (a +X emulsion).
The lenses are top-rate, even after 50-60 years - and the "remakes" like the Millennium 50f1.4 and the SP 2005's 35f1.8 still rivals anything from Leica.
There are about 170 shots on Flickr at the moment under the tag "Nikon Rf Month" "July 2011" + a lot of past July's shots with Nikon's.
I do alternate between the M's and the Nikon's - usually 5-6 weeks with one and then switch.
The really good part has been that at least 50% of the stuff has been given to me - which has kept it affordable. Nikon collectors are alwyas chasing the Mint/boxed stuff so the more "challenged" bodies/lenses are much less value - and I dont care as in my hand -the mint stuff tends to become "un-minted" quite quickly.
I have wisely stayed away from Nikon accessories as they tend to be very pricey - except for my eternal pursuit of re-loadable cassettes (now numbering 64)
In short - I kind of like them.
Sometimes in the early 90's I got a S2 with 35f2.5, 50f1.4 and a 85f2 - the finder was spectacular and it quickly become a user for me. Later I got a repainted S and the 24x34 filmgate was fun - far less shifting negs around for black borders in the Focomat!
It is a slippery slope and severe GAS set in. At the moment there are 14 Nikon Rf' bodies and lots of lenses in the cabinet (multiple 50f1.4's as most Nikon Rf's tend to come with that - and I hate selling stuff).
July is usually my Nikon Rf month and this year is no exception. The M's are mostly sitting idle and I am shooting with my Nikon's and my last 400 ft of Kodak's 5231 moviestock (a +X emulsion).
The lenses are top-rate, even after 50-60 years - and the "remakes" like the Millennium 50f1.4 and the SP 2005's 35f1.8 still rivals anything from Leica.
There are about 170 shots on Flickr at the moment under the tag "Nikon Rf Month" "July 2011" + a lot of past July's shots with Nikon's.
I do alternate between the M's and the Nikon's - usually 5-6 weeks with one and then switch.
The really good part has been that at least 50% of the stuff has been given to me - which has kept it affordable. Nikon collectors are alwyas chasing the Mint/boxed stuff so the more "challenged" bodies/lenses are much less value - and I dont care as in my hand -the mint stuff tends to become "un-minted" quite quickly.
I have wisely stayed away from Nikon accessories as they tend to be very pricey - except for my eternal pursuit of re-loadable cassettes (now numbering 64)
In short - I kind of like them.
JonR
Well-known
Thats where I started
Thats where I started
I guess the main reason is that my first camera was a Nikkormat (Ftn I think it was called) and then soon after that a FM2 (which is still my favourite). Then I have tried a number of other cameras and went into both digital and rangefinder at the same time: digitally to D50, D80 and D90 and rangefinderwise to an S2 and then thanks to a lot of support at this forum on to several of the other Nikon rangefinders. Great cameras and I have had so much fun with them.
However, I have to admit that my favourite today is a Fuji X100!
Jon
Thats where I started
I guess the main reason is that my first camera was a Nikkormat (Ftn I think it was called) and then soon after that a FM2 (which is still my favourite). Then I have tried a number of other cameras and went into both digital and rangefinder at the same time: digitally to D50, D80 and D90 and rangefinderwise to an S2 and then thanks to a lot of support at this forum on to several of the other Nikon rangefinders. Great cameras and I have had so much fun with them.
However, I have to admit that my favourite today is a Fuji X100!
Jon
furcafe
Veteran
I started out using Zeiss Ikon Contax RFs, & a Nikon works just like an updated Contax.
dave lackey
Veteran
Why Nikon?
Then...best 'affordable' cameras on the market.
Now...still using a handful of film cameras that just keep on ticking.
Future...best cameras to fill in where the Leicas can not.
(ie- action, motorsports,sports photography, macro, sophisticated weddings, etc.)
Then...best 'affordable' cameras on the market.
Now...still using a handful of film cameras that just keep on ticking.
Future...best cameras to fill in where the Leicas can not.
(ie- action, motorsports,sports photography, macro, sophisticated weddings, etc.)L David Tomei
Well-known
Originally the UPI office in Buffallo had Nikon F's which I loved. For many years thereafter I used Nikon optical equipment including and especially microscopes and cameras. At one time I would have preferred Zeiss but I needed to stretch my funding and stayed with the less expensive Nikon equipment. It worked and was reliable. Bought my F3 back in the 1980's and it is still a wonderful camera today. Speaking of today, my Nikon D70 and several lenses are uninspiring and will hardly warrant loyalty to Nikon in the future, sadly.
Tom A
RFF Sponsor
My July Nikon Rf months is still going strong - I only got started on July 7th so I figured out that I had some extra time left. So far about 300 shots posted on Flickr with a variety of lenses - from old to the latest - and at the moment I am getting into some Zeiss glass (21f4.5 Biogon and 35f3.5 Planar) as well as some VC lenses.
My conclusion is the usual. If you shoot mainly black/white - it makes virtually no difference if you use a 1957 lens, or even a 1950 lens versus the 2000 Millennium 50 or the SP 2005's 35f1.8. Nikon got it right early on and improvements were more incremental than substantial changes. Out of approx. 20 lenses used so far - only one has shown signs of acting up. A chrome 50f2 is giving me problems with a weird focus shift. I will stick it on a tripod and shoot some "measured" distance tests just to check that it is not my fault and not the lens.
Still have a plethora of lenses to use (25f4, my 2nd 28f3.5, 105f2.5 and the 105f4, the 135f3.5 - two or three of these and another two 85f2's - and of course the full gamut of VC lenses!) Might have to extend the July way into August for this. Oh, there are some Jupiters to to try out.
At least the weather has turned summer like and that helps.
My conclusion is the usual. If you shoot mainly black/white - it makes virtually no difference if you use a 1957 lens, or even a 1950 lens versus the 2000 Millennium 50 or the SP 2005's 35f1.8. Nikon got it right early on and improvements were more incremental than substantial changes. Out of approx. 20 lenses used so far - only one has shown signs of acting up. A chrome 50f2 is giving me problems with a weird focus shift. I will stick it on a tripod and shoot some "measured" distance tests just to check that it is not my fault and not the lens.
Still have a plethora of lenses to use (25f4, my 2nd 28f3.5, 105f2.5 and the 105f4, the 135f3.5 - two or three of these and another two 85f2's - and of course the full gamut of VC lenses!) Might have to extend the July way into August for this. Oh, there are some Jupiters to to try out.
At least the weather has turned summer like and that helps.
maitani
Well-known
imo the best 'looking' 35 mm cameras ever