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Nikon S2 Rangefinder Serial Numbers4/15/2021
In an effort to minimize development costs, the new Nikon SLR and rangefinder needed to be built on the same platform and share as many parts as possible.If youd like to contribute towards this sites growing hosting and cloud storage fees, heres how.It was the 5th model in Nippon Kogakus line of S-series rangefinders, and was the most advanced in the entire series.
It was designed to compete directly with the Leica M3 which at the time was the most advanced 35mm rangefinder camera in the world. Like previous Nikon rangefinders, the SP had a few advantages over its German competition including a removable back, titanium shutter curtains, and a unique dial viewfinder system that had visible frame lines for six different focal lengths. It was a very expensive and desirable camera when it was first released, and remains so to this very day. It was Nippon Kogakus response to the Leica M3 and for many, represented a high point of the Japanese camera industry. It remains a popular camera today both for collectors and users due to its extremely high build quality, ease of use, and reliability. If you have an opportunity to buy, or even borrow one of these, I strongly recommend it. Their Nikon rangefinders took the best features of the worlds two best German rangefinders, the Leica III and the Zeiss-Ikon Contax and turned them into a single camera. Nikon S2 Rangefinder S Professional Photographers AtTheir Nikkor lenses were being used by professional photographers at LIFE magazine and all over the world. People were taking notice not only to Nippon Kogaku, but the entire Japanese camera industry as a whole. It would be a huge improvement over the original Nikon S with a much larger viewfinder, improved rangefinder, upgraded shutter with top 11000 speed, and a revised body that was both stronger and lighter. Nippon Kogaku was certain the S2 would take the world by storm as the professional photographers choice for 35mm rangefinders. Prior to its release, all previous Leica cameras were based off a design that had only incrementally changed since Oskar Barnacks original prototype from 1913. The earliest Leicas were high quality for sure, but had a tiny viewfinder, a screw mount lens, and a primitive body. The Leica M3 was something different, and no one (at least outside of Germany) saw it coming. ![]() Although still a bottom loader, it had a new door on the back that not only allowed for easier film loading, but also allowed for inspection of the shutter curtains and to check shutter timings should the need arise. ![]() Shortly before its release, Nippon Kogaku would send the S2 back to the drawing board where it would be upgraded with both lever advance and rewind (something the Leica M3 didnt have). The S2 would make its debut later in 1955, and although it delivered on its promise to be a big upgrade from the earlier Nikon S, it was woefully behind the times when compared to the Leica. Interestingly, Nippon Kogaku was already aware that the writing was on the wall for professional rangefinder cameras. The age of the Single Lens Reflex was well on its way to supremacy as other Japanese manufacturers like Asahi (Pentax) and Orion (Miranda) had already released a 35mm SLR and the upper management at Nippon Kogaku knew that the time would come for them to release their own SLR. As a result, development of the as of yet unnamed successor to the Nikon S2 coincided with an upcoming Nikon Reflex camera.
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