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28 August 2013
Wonderful camera which will also make you look cool.
2 of 2 found this helpful I am a basically a collector of Exakta SLRs and Zeiss Contax Rangefinder cameras, but I am the proud owner of a Nikon S2. The original Nikon S series rangefinder cameras were poor imitations of the Zeiss Contax IIa. Unfortunately the engineers at Nikon got the mounting measurements wrong and while the lenses from Contax and the Nikon S series rangefinders fit fine on it each other cameras the focus will be off.
The S2 was the first really popular Nikon rangefinder camera. Nikon sold well over 50,000 units. There were many reasons it was popular. The S2 has a large life size viewfinder which can be focused with both eyes open. In fact to me it seems easier with both eyes open. It is light and of course the Nikon optics are top notch. Unlike the Contax, it had a more modern lever film advance and a rewind crank. To be fair though the center focusing patch on the Contax seems to have higher contrast. While the Nikon S2 is nicely finished, the Contax has that almost jewel like Zeiss Ikon finish.
The surprising thing though is that the Nikon S series is selling on Ebay for more than the Contax series. The imitation is fetching a higher price than the original. While the Contaxes are certainly a wonderful user camera and will be a good investment, the Nikon S series seems to be a better investment. I think the reason for this is the interest in Japan in collecting the early Nikon products.
That said, I love my S2 as a camera in use. As I indicated earlier, it is light, fast and easy to focus. Of course the best thing of all is that I found it all dirty and grimy at the bottom of box of camera at a flea market. Price $35. it cleaned up beautifully. So it is not an investment but a wonderful unexpected little treasure to use for its true purpose - taking pictures.