Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in Film Cameras
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on Film Cameras
When I first started to take photography seriously, I acquired a Nikon S with a 50mm F1.4. I moved on to SLR and other rangefinder cameras particularly the Leica M-3 and Canon 7s. Of course, I heard about the Nikon SP and how great a camera it was and given my early experiences with the Nikon S (which I still have and occasionally use), I decided to try the SP. First, remember this is a 60 plus year old camera as is the Leica M3 and the Canon 7. If you want automatic features fuhgeddaboudit. Buy something else. Considering the camera on its own terms, it's an exceedingy well built camera that takes a wide range of top flight Nikon optics. It's primary claim to fame, though is it's viewfinder system which provides frame indicators for 6 focal lengths, 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm, 105mm, and 135mm. The 50mm to 135mm framelines are dropped in place using a small wheel on top of the camera and are parallax corrected. The 28mm and 35mm frames are visible in a separate viewfinder in which the 28mm lens is the entire field visible in the finder and the 35mm frame with parallax correction is a line etched within the 28mm viewfinder. The only major fault I find with the camera is that the rangefinder patch is relatively small and dim and really only works well with fairly strong light sources. This may relate to the age of the camera, but in a rangeinder camera, not being able to effectively use the rangefinder is a bit of a detriment. (I use a Leitz auxiliary finder for low light and then transfer the values to the lens setting but it's a bit cumbersome.) Other issues with this camera should be noted. Spare parts are hard or impossible to come by except by cannibalization. The range of lenses available for it other than Nikon is exceedingly limited. In my view both the Leica M3 and the Canon 7/7s/7s2 represent better choices if you plan to shoot older rangefinders. I don't think any rangefinder tops the Leica M3. The rangefinder patch is bright and easy to focus, the framelines are also bright and easy to see. There are three parallax corrected framelines 50mm, 90mm and 135mm that come into view when the lens is mounted. Viewfinders for the 35mm and some other lenses are provided with supplemental "goggles" that mount with the lens. The Leicas are exceeding well built, can still be repaired, though some parts are getting scarce, and accept numberous third party lenses both made in Leica M mount ahd the earlier M39 screw mount through use of adapters. (Among these are the same lenses used on the Nikon SP which Nikon produced in the Leica M39 mount for use with Leicas and Leica clones.) Of course, the quality of Leica lenses in hard to beat but they are expensive. The Canon 7 series rangefinders fall midway between Leica and Nikon in the quality and brightness of the rangefinder patch and use a wheel controlled system of dropdown framelines. Interestingly, Canon is the only one of the three to provide an indicator of the lens size in the viewfinder. The Canon uses the Leica M39 mount and has an exterior Bayonet mount for the 19mm and 50mm f0.985 lens. Canon made some very fast lenses for its rangefinders but they are often prone to flare. The more standard speed lenses are outstanding and hold their own against Leica's offerings. I am particularly fond of the 50mm f1.4. I rank them Leica 1, Canon 2, and Nikon 3 but any will deliver outstanding results in the right hands.Read full review
The Nikon SP is THE classic photojournalism camera of the 1950-60s. Even by modern day standards it handles well. You can get new lenses from Voigtlander which are outstanding. Be ready to spend quite a bit for the camera body. It is much sought after by collectors. It is about in the same league as Leica M cameras. Its direct comparision is the Leica M4-P. While the M4-P might be technically preferable, the Nikon SP has the mystique and the aura, and it is well deserved.