Nikon S3

35mm MF film rangefinder camera • Discontinued

  • Announced:
  • · March 1958
  • Production status:
  • ● Discontinued
  • Country of design:
  • · Japan
  • System:
  • · Nikon S (1947)

Specification

Format:
35mm full frame
Film type:
135 cartridge-loaded film
Nikon S [34.85mm]
Shutter:
Type:
Focal-plane
Model:
Mechanical
Speeds:
1 - 1/1000 + B, T
Exposure:
Exposure metering:
None
Exposure modes:
Manual
Rangefinder and Viewfinder:
Rangefinder:
Built-in, combined with viewfinder
Viewfinder:
Built-in, combined with rangefinder
Finder magnification:
1x
Actual rangefinder base:
60mm
Effective rangefinder base:
60mm
Bright-line frames:
35mm, 50mm, 105mm
Parallax compensation:
-
Physical characteristics:
Weight:
580g
Dimensions:
136x79.5x43.5mm

From the Classic Camera magazine (No. 26, May 2003)

The Nikon SP was considered, even by Nippon Kogaku itself, as a "special niche" product for demanding professional photographers, proof of the technological expertise that had been attained by the Japanese photographic industry. It was for this reason that production continued on the Nikon S2, considered Nippon Kogaku 's standard item for nine months in parallel with the professional Nikon SP.

The Nikon S3 model destined to replace the Nikon S2 was not put into mass production until March 1958. Numbering of the new model began with serial number 6300001. The factory code for this new model was 26F, the same used for the Nikon SP, followed by the number 1B, while the complete code for the Nikon SP was 26F followed by 2B.

The Nikon S3 shell was quite distinctive in a ppearance, but its structural similarities with the Nikon SP went much deeper and were more prevalent than would meet the eye. The Nikon S3 utilized the same combined speed selector as the Nikon SP that couId be coupled to the same clip-on exposure meters as the Nikon SP. It used the Nikon SP self timer mechanism with the same winding lever on the front, the same synch sockets on the side and top plate and the same shutter release. Above all, the Nikon S3 used the same shutter as the Nikon SP and, like the SP, also offered the option of an electric motor. The only major difference between the Nikon S3 and Nikon SP was the viewfinder. The Nikon S3 used a normal, single rangefinder coupled viewfinder with a magnification ratio of 1:1. It was large, bright and covered 90% of the field framed by 35mm focal length lenses. Inside the finder were three stationary bright-line frames for the most commonly used focal lengths: the 35mm wide angle which was the outer frame and difficult to discern, the standard 50mm and the medium-long 105mm. There was no parallax correction.

The right front of the Nikon S3 was identical to that of the Nikon SP, but the left side had just one, large rectangular window for the viewfinder, larger than the one on the Nikon S2 but different from that of the Nikon SP. The Nikon inscription was placed once again center-front between the finder window and rangefinder, as on the Nikon S2 and Nikon S.

The Nikon S3 was identical in size to the Nikon S2 and Nikon SP and the body by itself weighed 580 grams. The top plate of the Nikon S3 was identical to that of the Nikon SP, except for the ring around the rewind crank used to select finder frames, no longer necessary because the three frames in the finder were fixed. The rewind shaft mechanism of the Nikon S3 was different and simpler than the articulated one on the Nikon SP, but the rewind cranks were the same.

At the time, the Nikon S3 was considered the " kid brother" of the Nikon SP and the offspring of the Nikon S2.

Like the Nikon SP, starting in 1959, the Nikon S3 also came equipped with titanium shutter curtains.

Just over 14,000 Nikon S3 cameras were produced up to March 1961 and approx. 2,000 of them were made with black finish. Production of the Nikon S3 was halted abruptly two years following the birth of the Nikon F and with a total output much lower than had been planned originally. The demise of the Nikon S3 was the result of high demand for the Nikon F and the incapacity to keep two different, and in many ways contrasting, assembly lines running simultaneously. But, paradoxically, the history of the Nikon S3 did not cease with its official production end date.

From the editor

A lower priced version of the SP. The camera had fixed frames for 35mm, 50mm and 105mm. Otherwise the two cameras share the same features. A total of 14310 units were made.

The weight is indicated for the camera body with the standard lens.

Nikon S3 special editions (3)

Similar cameras (1)

Model Shutter Metering Modes Year
Cosina Voigtlander BESSA-R2S M, 1/2000 TTL · WA M 2002 ●

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