Marilyn Monroe 1955 - Which camera is this?

<p>I have a question for you experts, which camera is it that the NY photographer Ed Feingersh is using in this shot to photograph both himself and Marilyn Monroe, in early 1955.<br>

Kind regards and thanks for your help!<br>

/Marcus Lundahl</p>

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<p>It looks as though it is taken in a mirror so everything is reversed. I'd guess a Nikon S with a turret finder.</p>

I'd say a Contax II. Seems too big to be a Nikon and the chrome top is too long for the postwar model!

I'd say a Contax II. Seems too big to be a Nikon and the chrome top is too long for the postwar model!

<p>To me it looks like a Nikon S2, introduced in 1955, the VF/RF window is bigger then on the Nikon S.<br>

The small RF window is placed too close to the lens for it to be a Contax II or IIa</p>

<p>Mounted on top is what looks like a Leica VIOOH or Imarect finder..</p>

<p> </p>

<p>It's a Contax II! The Nikon S2 has a larger viewfinder window on the right and the Nikon S has the accessory shoe more to the left side on the top. Of course I could be wrong? JohnW</p>

<p>Oh, it probably isn't just a Contax II, but a Contax IIa or IIa color dial since it was being used in the mid fifties. I don't know and maybe Rick is right.</p>

<p>John, the image seems to be taken in a mirror so left and right are reversed.</p>

<p>John, I'm no expert. The images of the S2 I could find with google seemed to fit best with the picture above. It could be a totally different Contax-like camera that I haven't heard of before.</p>

<p>It's a mirror-reversed image, as can be seen from the buttoning on the jacket of the man at the far left of the picture.<br>

<br />The camera is not a Contax II, the rangefinder windows on the Contax are farther apart, and the smaller of the two Contax R/F windows is farther away from the lens. The camera in the Monroe picture is also missing the delayed action lever present on the front of the Contax II. <br>

<br />It looks far too like a Nikon S2, which has the second R/F window immediately adjacent to the left side of the lens (right side in the Monroe picture). The accessory shoe on the Contax would be farther to the left of the (reversed) picture, whereas the accessory viewfinder on the camera here is pretty central, which is where it is on the S2.</p>

<p>Here's a reversal and a blow up of the nameplate area, with some exposure jimmying. any help? Not much there.<br>

Jim</p><div></div>

<p>This is terrible. Answering the question would have been much easier if the photographer had focused on the camera, rather than on Marilyn ;>) </p>

It's so clear to me now. ... She was murdered because SHE KNEW !

Someone mentioned the distance of the RF window and indeed that is shorter than a Contax it should be further (in this view) to the left! The IIA though fits for the date has shorter chrome on this "left side" Although the RF window is further right than on the pre-war model. I now am convinced it must be the Nikon S as suggested by Rick!

<p>It hurts me to say, but I agree that it is a <a href="http://www.taunusreiter.de/Cameras/Nikon_RF.html"><strong>Nikon S2</strong></a>.</p>

<p>I'm curious - when shooting at a mirror shouldn't all the elements in the field be equally in focus?<br>

Why is Marilyn in focus but the camera out of focus?</p>

<p>It is not like taking a picture of a film screen or a poster. The mirror extends the focus distance, in this case, from the camera to the mirror + the distance from the mirror to the subject.</p>

<p>Can't explain it so well in English I'm afraid.</p>

<p>Nikon S2 in a mirror.</p>

<p>There's no self timer, so it's not a Contax at all. It must be a Nikon S2.</p>

<p>I've managed to do a little image enhancement, and I can finally make out the name on the front of the camera, though only just. Here it is.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>It's an S2.</p>

<p>Let's see if it uploads this time...</p>

<p>One more try</p><div></div>

<p>The lost S2.</p><div></div>

<p>or:</p><div></div>