Nikon SP
The Nikon SP is a classic camera the looks amazing. Introduced in 1957 as the peak of Nikon rangefinders, the SP has an iconic look. It even made an appearance on the cover of Bob Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited" LP.
Some reviews call the SP the first Nikon for professionals and seems to still be desirable with collectors. Still enough love that in 2005, Nikon rereleased a limited run of the SP.
My Take:
My SP is in nice condition and functions smoothly. The rangefinder focus was a bit dim. This may just be that mine needs a CLA. I did has trouble getting my subjects in focus (more then normal, even for me) so became more of zone focus. Focus is adjusted by a wheel visible behind the Nikon on the front. This was not intuitive but once I figured out that it was there, I liked it.
Overall, this is a wonderful old rangefinder. It feels equal to the Leica M3 and the Cannon 7 in build quality. In some ways it feel more refined than both. It is smaller than the 7 and about the same as the M3. In the hand it just feels nice and looks even better.
They seem to be high priced so the collectors must be in charge, but if you find one there are still places that seem to do CLA (have not done so yet) and it is a fun camera to use. Full manual, no meter, no program mode, just a great feeling old rangefinder.
Lens: Nikkor-S 5cm 1.4
Film: Ilford HP5 Plus 400
