12/8/2023 0 Comments Range finder camera![]() The Nikon SP had a normal finder which showed the rangefinder focusing patch, and 50mm lines at a 1:1 magnification, with a top dial to change from 50mm to 85, 105, or 135mm showing only one at a time. The Nikon SP adopted the dual viewfinder design of screw mount Leica cameras, but each with their own frame lines instead of one dedicated to focus with the other for framing. The Nikon SP was the worlds first rangefinder to include built-in frame lines for 6 different focal lengths, beautifully designed non-distracting way only showing one at a time in in all but one case. ![]() With some AA battery power the Nikon SP would illuminate the viewfinder frame lines for assured visibility in dark conditions (remember this is 1957 - WOW!). More technologically advanced features appeared in the Nikon SP including a Bright Line Illuminator. Non-cosmetic upgrades from the Nikon S2 included Titanium shutters - which may be best known for their use in Nikon’s own FM2 SLR which would come a few decades later. Those unfamiliar with the Nikon SP may have a hard time pinpointing its era as it looks futuristic, high-tech, almost sinister even. The Nikon SP provided the most notable aesthetic changes since the Nikon 1, which would be quickly abandoned a year later into a more traditional regression of the next Nikon rangefinder. The later model features titanium shutter curtainsĪccepts battery-powered motor drive (3 fps)Īnother 3 years later and another new rangefinder from Nikon, this time the Nikon SP released in 1957, where “P” is said to stand for “Professional”. With easy film loading from the open back of the Leica M3 and its large viewfinder magnification.ĭual viewfinders (50, 85, 105, or 135mm and 35 + 28mm) 1954 was also the same year the Leica M3 was released, Leica’s first M mount camera. Nikon rangefinders were popular among photojournalists, press, and war photographers and they needed to keep up with the technological developments of other camera makers in the industry. ![]() All three of these features enabled resulted in a faster shooting process, that is getting from one shot to the next as quickly as possible. The S2 was also the first Japanese camera with both a film advance lever and a rewind crank. The Nikon S2 also included a lot of “firsts” such the option to attach the world’s first battery powered motor drive. This 1:1 magnification would later be adopted by all their future rangefinder models as well as Canon in 1959 with the Canon P rangefinder, and Cosina in 2004 with the Voigtländer R3 rangefinder. This was Nikon’s first rangefinder with the delightful 1:1 magnified viewfinder - giving photographers a real-world scale as they looked through the viewfinder, and also could of course shoot with both eyes open. Additionally the fastest shutter speed was doubled from 1/500th of a second to 1/1000th. Dropping the picture formats of the Nikon 1, M, and S, the Nikon S2 moved to the more common 36 x 24mm picture format, also known as 135mm or more commonly 35mm. ![]() Picking up production again from 36,746 in the previous model to 56,715 on the S2, Nikon seemed to have finally found their groove. Just six years after their first name branded camera the Nikon 1, Nikon released the 4th variant of their rangefinder camera the smaller, lighter, more functional Nikon S2 in 1954. S2E accepts the world’s first battery-powered motor drive The first Japanese camera to incorporate a film advance lever and a rewind crank Lightweight and strong aluminum die-cast body
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