Nikon S2 ad

[Strembicki]

found this clipping for an old Photograph Annual magazine recently

 

[loccdor]

Couple of photographic firsts inspired by the Contax rangefinder... that gear to focus, and more importantly, the rangefinder-viewfinder being combined. Adjusted for inflation, the S-2 with fast lens cost $4089!

 

[ags2mikon]

Thanks for sharing. My uncle bought 2 of those and extra lenses while he was an airman in the USAF.

 

[ic-racer]

Thinking of getting one just for fun. Is it easier or harder to use than an F? Looks fun, but may be a pain as there is no meter and has limited selection of wide lenses compared to the F.

 

[Strembicki]

Thinking of getting one just for fun. Is it easier or harder to use than an F? Looks fun, but may be a pain as there is no meter and has limited selection of wide lenses compared to the F.

The glasss is not nearly as common but with some effort you can find 50mm and 35mm pretty easily, the wider 25mm and 21mm are quite $$$. As for ease of use, I have an S4 and it took a little time to get used to but it's a fun camera to use. I had mine CLA's after I got it and it turns out a lot of the parts are interchangeable with early F models

 

[Paul Howell]

I always wanted a SP, simply could not afford one. One of the press photographers at a paper I freelanced for when in college had a F and SP, the SP had the motor drive, I have vague memory that the battery case was clipped on to his belt. When I bought my Canon 7S, in 1972 or so the Sps were still very expensive and had become collectable. You can use a clip on meter or just shoot using Sunny 16. The Nikon RF lens collection was quite extensive, I think there was reflex housing for it with some very long lens, these are also high end collectable, I think the range was like 24 or 20mm to 1000mm. If I were to spend the money for a S2 or SP I would want the lens range for the for the built in viewfinders, 28 to 135.

 

[250swb]

For lenses Voigtlander have Nikon S mount Skopar's in 21, 25, 28, and 35mm. I got my 35mm from Japan and it didn't cost too much. Not sure if they did a 50mm.

 

[reddesert]

Recently on shopgoodwill an auction closed for a slightly more primitive Nikon rangefinder: https://shopgoodwill.com/item/223640136

For posterity here are a couple of the pictures. I didn't buy it ... it sold for US $4513 ! At first I thought it was a Nikon S, but a little research shows that it is an unsynced Nikon M, extremely collectible, Stephen Gandy says only about 1600 were made. What's remarkable is that, as loccdor notes above, when you adjust the original retail prices of the S2 above for inflation, they come out around $3500-4000 in today's dollars! 75 years of Nikon collecting, and even the M has barely appreciated! It really makes you think about what a commitment it took to buy such a camera as a professional tool or luxury item in 1950 - 1955.

 

[perkeleellinen]

What was the credit situation like in the US in the '50s? Would photographers take business loans to buy high price cameras? I've read accounts of famous photographers starting out in the 1950s with hugely expensive cameras and I've often wondered how did they afford that as they seem to have very little income. For comparison, I bought a new Nikon FM2 and 50mm lens in the '90s, when I was in my 20s, and it cost a full month's wage. I saved forever and paid cash. I was working full time as a toolmaker.

 

[armadsen]

For lenses Voigtlander have Nikon S mount Skopar's in 21, 25, 28, and 35mm. I got my 35mm from Japan and it didn't cost too much. Not sure if they did a 50mm.

They did. Voigtlander did a full line of S mount lenses in the early 2000s. There are 21, 25, 28, 35, 50 (f/1.5, f/2.5, f/3.5), and 85mm lenses. They're all still available at reasonable prices used. They also have modern coatings, unlike all Nikon lenses except for the 2000 and 2005 reissue 50/1.4 and 35/1.8.