Wide-angle for the Nikon S system... ?

[ChrisLivsey]

As relative newcomer to Nikon Rangefinders can I add an observation? If you are used to using tabbed lenses to focus take care with the external mount lenses. As you see from some of the posts above they have a spring loaded external lock. It is very easy, for me at least, to mistake this for a tab when focussing at the eye, this unlocks the lens which could then become detached from the mount. I have not managed to do this and am learning to remember.

I have not put a lot of film through yet but concur that the 35mm f2.5 is very good, I of course have a yearning for the f1.8, it is fast, it is legendary and a little voice says expensive and probably at f4 no better than the f2.5 but at f1.8!!

The Voigtlander glass is also very good and beautifully made for 21mm it has to be the answer. You can buy and re-sell for little or no loss to run through the options. I always tell myself that as well but the selling bit never seems to happen for some reason.


3.5cm f2.5 Nikkor Adox 100 Td-201

What flare?? Very resistant and no hood, as said no need, well recessed element.

Voigtlander 21mm Skopar Eastman Kodak 5222 TD-201

 

[maddoc]

S2 CV 21mm / Eastman Kodak 5222 (XX) @400 / HC-110 "B"

S2 / CV21mm / 5063 (Tri-X) 1600 / HC-110 "B"

 

[Jan Van Laethem]

S2 CV 21mm / Eastman Kodak 5222 (XX) @400 / HC-110 "B"

A great picture, maddoc !

A lot of good advice has been given already, so little more to add. If you avoid the really expensive lenses (3.5 f/1.8 , 2.5 f/4 and 2.1 f/4 Nikkors), you still have plenty of choice. I'd recommend the 3.5 f/2.5 or the 2.8 f/3.5 as moderate wides. The CV 21mm is a great lens as well, but you have to ask yourself how wide you'd like to go.

Tom's advice about the top mounted finders is sound. You may have to hunt just a little harder to find a Nikkor with its matching finder, but you'll see that it's always better to buy them together than to try and locate a finder on its own to match your lens.

If you're the kind of person that changes lenses on a shoot, having to change lens and finder will soon become a pain. In the end I prefer to use 2 camera bodies, each with its own lens and finder pair.

 

[Frontman]

S2 CV 21mm / Eastman Kodak 5222 (XX) @400 / HC-110 "B"

S2 / CV21mm / 5063 (Tri-X) 1600 / HC-110 "B"

An interesting coincidence, the second of my photos was taken only a block from your second photo, in Shunjuku san-chome, just past Isetan,

 

[Highway 61]

Tom's advice about the top mounted finders is sound. You may have to hunt just a little harder to find a Nikkor with its matching finder, but you'll see that it's always better to buy them together than to try and locate a finder on its own to match your lens.

If starting from scratch I'd go for a modern CV brightlines metal finder. Those are less expensive new than the vintage Nikon ones on the second hand market.

A nice Jupiter-12 with a CV brightlines 35mm finder will cost less than a W-Nikkor-C 35/2.5 alone.

Apart from having to file down the Jupiter-12 mount ring there is no caveat for using it on a Nikon RF body :

http://malikmatacamera.blogspot.fr/2012/11/testing-nikon-s2-with-jupiter-12-lens.html

And - the KMZ 35mm finder shouldn't be discarded, either. It's good enough and costs peanuts. So the all-FSU 35mm solution can cost about $75, for excellent results.

 

[mrronin]

I would like a Voigtlander lens for my Nikon S2 but not easy to find here in the UK :-(

 

[ChrisLivsey]

Mwclassic.com have none in the list at the moment but do bring them over from Japan. If you have a specific request and ask I'm sure they will help, the last batch sold out quite rapidly.

 

[Alpsman]

Not to forget the extremeverywideangle 12 & 15mm from CV.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

Another vote for the original 2.8cm f/3.5 Nikkor. It's a fantastic lens.
The CV 21mm f/4 is very good too but 21mm and wider tend to be not as useful for most people as a 28mm or 35mm.

Phil Forrest

 

[Highway 61]

Another vote for the original 2.8cm f/3.5 Nikkor. It's a fantastic lens.

Oh yes it is. Highly recommended to everyone here. 🙂

 

[micromontenegro]

The Nikkor 35mm f2.5 is so good, some of us go to extremes just to use it in our pet-of-the-day camera:



Focus is by guesstimation, but it works beautifully:

 

[Erik van Straten]

I've found on eBay in France a Nokton 50mm f/1.5 for Nikon S in new condition for under EUR 150,--.

Nikon S2, Nokton-S 50mm f/1.5, Tmax400.

Erik.

 

[maddoc]

Old thread, new photo ...

35/2.5 W-Nikkor + Amedeo adapter + LTM/M-mount adapter on Leica M7 (Delta400 / D76 stock)

 

[BillBingham2]

I'd go with the Nikkor 28/3.5 on an S2. Full frame is just about perfect and it's a 1:1 viewfinder!

What was the most recent picture taken with?

AAAAAH, should use my glasses more often, the UW 35/2.5, very cool combo.

She is a most excellent lens in just about every version.

B2

 

[NIKON KIU]

Thank you for the clarification... I do not yet have any familiarity with the external-mount Nikon / Contax lenses... 😉

LF

You do have 13.5cm lenses, right? Those are external mount.

How wide does it have to be Frank?

28mm is pretty wide and pretty expensive, any route you go, you pay $300-$400

Anything wider than that kinda falls into specialty category, how useful is a 21?

35mm is kinda the cheapest option here, there is even a 35mm f3.5, that would be the cheapest Nikkor next to the file-down Russian jobs.
You will also need an external finder, although you can aproximate things with the S2

Kiu

 

[enasniearth]

I am working on building a reasonably complete working kit for my Nikon S and S-2.

I have two bodies: Dad's S, and a very nice S-2 that I recently acquired.

So far I have the 50/1.4 and the 3.5/135 for both.

Now, there's no two ways about it, wide-angle lenses for the Nikon RF are ridiculously expensive; therefore, I'm probably going to acquire just one WA lens between the two cameras.

Of the several varieties of Wide-angle Nikon RF lens, which are the best for all-around pictures... I'm trying to avoid priceless collectibles, if I can help it.

Suggestions please ?

( Would also consider Contax / Russian lenses if they are a viable, less-expensive alternative...)

Thanks !

Luddite Frank

Frank ,
It depends on how wide you want to go .
I really like the 28 mm focal length , so the 2.8cm f3.5 is my lens .
The 35 mm focal length is the favorite of many ,
The 3.5cm f2.5 is a great lens .
In chrome finish it is worth a bit more than the Jupiter russian lens .
The 35 2.5 in chrome if you look around is reasonable
The later black lenses command more money .
Al

 

[Roger Hicks]

. . . Anything wider than that kinda falls into specialty category, how useful is a 21?. . .

To me, vastly more useful than a 28, which is neither one thing ("standard" like 35mm) nor the other (wide like a 21).

Cheers,

R.

 

[wjlapier]

Just curious. How far off would the focus be using a Nikkor 35/2.5 in Contax mount on the S2? I'm assuming the same with Amedeo adapter on a M7.

 

[Doug]

I've used a Contax-mount Jupiter-12 (Biogon) 35mm on a Nikon S3 without any apparent focus error. From what I've heard, the discrepancy shows up in the 50mm and longer focal lengths.

 

[jonmanjiro]

Just curious. How far off would the focus be using a Nikkor 35/2.5 in Contax mount on the S2? I'm assuming the same with Amedeo adapter on a M7.

Hey Bill, I don't think Nikon ever made the Nikkor 35/2.5 in Contax mount. No need to when the Nikon S-mount version will work ok on Contax mount cameras (i.e. enough DOF to cover the focus error).