Wrong Title: Why We Missed This One

[CameraQuest]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150174498329&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.com%3A80%2Fsearch%2Fse arch.dll%3Ffrom%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm37%26satitle%3D 150174498329%26fvi%3D1

OK, how could someone selling this
NOT put "Nikon Rangefinder" in the Auction title?

Stephen

[rover]

You need multiple book marked searches. I have separate searches for the Vintage section for Leica and Canon and then I filter from them if I am looking for something specific. No filter if I am just browsing.

[jan normandale]

Okay so tell me why this was worth $16,000.00...

[M. Valdemar]

About 6 years ago there was a guy at the 57th Street camera show on Sunday who had a mint Hong Qi Red Flag Chinese Leica M4 with all the lenses. I wanted one of those all my life and had never seen one in the flesh, I handled it and everything there.

He wanted $6000. I only had a couple of grand on me, so he agreed to wait while I took a cab home to get the money. I lived downtown.

I got back in exactly 50 minutes and he was GONE. I was horribly upset. I never saw him again or found out who got the Red Flag.

.

[jan normandale]

I think a 'buying price' of $16,000.00 is great for the seller. I've seen this in collectible fishing tackle. Fishing reels and plugs, wow!!

[M. Valdemar]

Those prices are nothing. People pay anything for what they want.

[CameraQuest]

Did you notice the Sardine battery pack, that alone represents $4000 of the sale. When Ira sent me the photos, my jaw almost dropped, it took a lot of will power not to buy the stuff from him, and keep it off of ebay.

:)

But Fred,
the rare SP battery pack is the Jacobson, the FIRST cordless Nikon motor drive.

http://www.cameraquest.com/jpg6/3SP1.jpg
http://www.cameraquest.com/nrfSPjpi.htm

Stephen

[CameraQuest]

I have always personally been just a Nikon collector, I have never had much interest (from a collecting point of view) in aftermarket Nikon accessories, not even the EPOI stuff. I have owned it all, you have to draw the line somewhere, and I drew it at Nikon RF.

The Jacobson stuff is just so UGLY, and so crude, it has never had much interest in the "put your money on the table" world. Might be more rare, although I have only seen a few dozen of the little fish tins.

Do you have any idea how many were actually sold? Maybe we have all owned the same ones, or there are just so many F models around they seem to be everywhere. I have only sold one for the SP, maybe 10+ for the F.

the important thing about the Jacobson packs
is they they HANDLE / WORK much better than Nikon's original separate battery pack with a cord idea

and historically, this is one of the few times(only?) Nikon copied the idea of an after market supplier to later produce their own Nikon F cordless battery packs

Estimated production on the SP Jacobson packs is 12 or less by Jacobson's son. Units were made to special order, not kept in stock.

For Bridges of Madison County, the black SP camera/motor was insured for $10,000. At that cost Clint Eastwood wanted nothing happening to that prop camera, and departed from the book by not using it in the movie. It is shown only for a split second as it is being transferred from the storage trunk, being found after the photog's death.

for those unfamiliar, the SP motor is the star accessory of the Nikon Rangefinder system. Nikon produced a professional quality motor right out of the gate, something which many will argue Leica has never done for the M film system. The sardine battery pack was quickly replaced by a brown leather battery pack, making the sardine pack very desirable to collectors.

Stephen

[Cale Arthur]

I'll readily admit to being a bit of a dope when it comes to serial numbers, but am i correct in thinking that this S-36 is very early? And doesn't the fact that it has a serial number at all make it kind of a big deal?

--c--

[Gabriel M.A.]

Because a lot of people with money want it. Simple as that.
A lot of people with money want my M8. I can start charging $16,000.00!

[Uncle Bill]

$16,000 is way out of my league for any camera.

[40oz]

almost looks like a camera that never worked.

[NIKON KIU]

Winning bid: US $16,037.15

At this price it seems it did OK...

Black Nikon SP $6000
S36 motor with sardine pack and Jacobson $10,000.00

To get a Battery cable for $37.15

Price-less



The winning bidder must have had a much higher bid as it seems he went over his last bid twice.


Kiu

[Cale Arthur]

Here's another one that seems to have suffered from UDS (Unfortunate Description Syndrome)..

3.5cm/f1.8 ALL BLACK w/hood (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=200181522179&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=010)

--c--

[MikeL]

Cale, how much do you think that one would have gone for with a correct title? Fred, Kiu?

[Cale Arthur]

Cale, how much do you think that one would have gone for with a correct title? Fred, Kiu?
I honestly haven't a clue, Mike... i'm certainly fascinated my the 'rarity vs. price' scenario, but am underinformed about most of the finer points. That said, i'd have thought quite a bit more, considering the relative rarity of this lens. I can't help but think that a little research and some better pics would have given it the requisite boost..

--c--

[MickH]

-- you are like a guy with a really ugly girlfriend, who keeps telling everyone how beautiful she is -- we would not want to make you feel bad since you love her.

She may be ugly, but she can always clear me a space at the bar.

[aoresteen]

With S3 2000 and the SP2005 you would think Nikon would have made a few new S36 motors with cordless packs. The motors today are far better than what was available in 1957.

Designed corretly, they could also be used with vintage S3 & SP cameras. :)

Why didn't Nikon re-issue an improved S36 motor drive? :confused:

[aoresteen]

A better question is why Nikon built such a antique new SP in such small numbers when they could have brought the RF up to current Leica standards at the blink of an eye, and as you say built a motor drive. They could have built the lenses they did, plus an 85 and a 28 and have created a real camera. Every single Nikon RF user would have wanted one, even if the entire set cost $10,000.

Instead they all they did was make copies of a 50 year old design, all you really get when you buy a new SP is a clean paint job.

No argument there. We did get two 'new' lenses. Small steps I guess. But at least a decent black SP is available again.

Ditto on the 85. I don't understand why they didn't offer an improved 85mm f/2.

I wonder if this is a prelude to a new S5? Probably not but we can always hope. :D

[photodog]

There's what appears to be another SP on the auction site now. Search for "Nikon RF".

[CameraQuest]

A better question is why Nikon built such a antique new SP in such small numbers when they could have brought the RF up to current Leica standards at the blink of an eye, and as you say built a motor drive. They could have built the lenses they did, plus an 85 and a 28 and have created a real camera. Every single Nikon RF user would have wanted one, even if the entire set cost $10,000.

Instead they all they did was make copies of a 50 year old design, all you really get when you buy a new SP is a clean paint job.

Fred, it's called tradition,
you know, the stuff collectors like.

the SP 2005 and F6 were Nikon's homage and fond farewell to film.
neither made any sense at all from a profit stand point.
you will never see Canon making decisions like that.
that's why I don't like Canon -- the company itself.

having said goodbye to film
in late 2007 with the D3
Nikon is finally back in the DSLR ballgame.

Stephen

[nikonhswebmaster]

Respectfully Stephen on this one we differ by about 180 degrees.

Collectors don't like reproductions at all. I remember how Bob Rotoloni showed almost no interest whatsoever in the S3. He still uses a Bessa to shoot!

The S3 and SP reissue have however been a boon to users, but there is no excuse for the viewfinders, they should have been improved!

I am not one to look back and want copies of things from my youth, I lived then, bought a brand new Nikon SP and F, and remember them fondly, but the new ones just seem a poor shadow of that time.

I own a couple of new S3s, but it is not 1959 when I look at them.

[CameraQuest]

Respectfully Stephen on this one we differ by about 180 degrees.

.

no prob.
it takes all kinds of collectors.
some people even collect Canons .... just kidding Peter.

I can't afford one
but I drooled all over myself a few days ago
when I parked next to the
new "repro" Ford GT40.
hot damn.

Stephen

[edlake]

no prob.
it takes all kinds of collectors.
some people even collect Canons .... just kidding Peter.

I can't afford one
but I drooled all over myself a few days ago
when I parked next to the
new "repro" Ford GT40.
hot damn.

Stephen


Stephen, I saw one twice just a block away in Prospect Heights Brooklyn, and also a Bentley 2-door on Eastern Parkway. No kidding.
But I'd rather have the S3, cause car insurance in NYC is just too high!
Cheers and Merry Christmas to all!

[Cale Arthur]

OK, how could someone selling this
NOT put "Nikon Rangefinder" in the Auction title?And the blunders continue.. More brass here than at a policeman's ball! (LINK) (http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Nikon-Camera-Film-w-Nippon-lens-3-5cm_W0QQitemZ150227683228QQihZ005QQcategoryZ107925 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

--c--

[MickH]

$250 and still got four days to go? That ain't brass, it must be gold!

:eek::eek::eek: