Nikon Cameras SP

1957

The Nikon SP is a professional level, interchangeable lens, 35 mm film, rangefinder camera introduced in 1957. It is the culmination of Nikon's rangefinder development which started in 1948 with the Nikon I, and was "arguably the most advanced rangefinder of its time." It was manufactured by the Japanese optics company Nippon Kogaku K. K. (Nikon Corporation since 1988). Three other lower featured rangefinder models were subsequently produced on the SP frame, and production continued into the 1960s, but further development of Nikon's professional rangefinders ended with the introduction and success of the single lens reflex Nikon F in 1959.

In 2005, 2,500 models of a reproduction model were manufactured under the name of "Nikon SP Limited Edition". The camera was exclusively sold in Japan and came with a (modern multi-coated) W-Nikkor 3.5 cm f/1.8 lens.