This Nikon SP review is about 60 years too late, but what a beautiful camera

John Aldred

John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

I always find it fascinating when we see reviews on cameras that haven’t been made for years, often decades. The folks over at Japan Camera Hunter made it onto YouTube a couple of months ago, and they’ve wasted no time in making reviews of their own, including the Yashica Mat 124G, the Zeiss Ikon ZM and now the Nikon SP.

With film still growing in popularity, many just coming to analogue photography are wondering what cameras they should be looking out for that they might enjoy shooting. So, seeing these reviews of old cameras might not be quite as late as they may at first seem and could prove to be extremely valuable for inquisitive buyers today.

As JCH says, “the classic Nikon SP is one of the legends of the camera world” and they’re not wrong. It’s a professional level interchangeable lens 35mm film rangefinder. It was introduced in 1957 and manufactured by the Nippon Kogaku K. K. who became the Nikon Corporation in 1988. For the rest, well, you’ll just have to watch the video.

If you want a Nikon SP of your own, though, they don’t come cheap these days. Prices on eBay start at around $1,000 going up to about $9,000 depending on the condition of the camera and the lens and accessories that come with it. I think I’ll stick with my Nikkormats.

But be sure to check out Japan Camera Hunter’s channel and subscribe to keep up to date on their new old camera review videos as they come out.

[via Mirrorless Rumors]


Filed Under:

Tagged With:

Find this interesting? Share it with your friends!

John Aldred

John Aldred

John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Join the Discussion

DIYP Comment Policy
Be nice, be on-topic, no personal information or flames.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

One response to “This Nikon SP review is about 60 years too late, but what a beautiful camera”

  1. Lorelei Avatar
    Lorelei

    Your tips inspire me, tell me are you making black and white photo? It seems to me interesting this direction of professional photography.
    https://fixthephoto.com/online-photoshop-editor.html