Bronica Prism Help

A dioptre correction allows correct focus for your eye if you wear spectacles or your eyesight is not quite 20/20. That may be the problem you are experiencing but if so you will need to know whether you require a '+' or '-' correction - and indeed how much correction. Good Luck.

 

I own one but haven't done much with it, it does seem a bit on the dull side. I've wondered if it might use mirrors instead of a prism, but don't really know. So far I use the waist level finder about 99.7% of the time. The one time I wished I had the prism and didn't have it with me was when I found myself raising the camera so high my short fat little body couldn't get my eye up to the WLF! Necessity succeeding as the mother of invention, I flipped the camera 90º -- what the heck -- it's a square format.

DaveT

 

I have a metered prism for my SQ-a and with the bronica focus screen its hard to focus because of the lack of brightness and contrast. With a bright screen or interscreen its much much easier to use. If the prism didn't have the meter in it I would sell it off and stick with the waist level only.

 

As intimated, Bronica viewing screens aren't the brightest and the best solution IMO is to change the standard screen for a brighter, third party version. Although they are simply user exchangable it is not a low cost solution. I have used screens by Maxwell and Beattie, and found the former much easier to compose and focus with. The configuration of focus aids also matters. For me I like a split prism feature, find a microprism collar a waste of time, and actually like to be able to focus well on the plain glass. The Maxwell does all this, the Beattie doesn't do the latter.

 

Hmmm.... I have three prisms that I use with my GS-1s (metered, non-metered, and rotary/meter) and they all are quite bright and allow for quick and sharp-tack focus. The w/l finder is great for street shooting and candids.

 

I had the same problem, focusing with the non-metered prism. I found that a speed grip helped me hold the camera more steady when using a prism finder and I could nail the focus.

I would also recommend a waist-level finder. Without changing screens I was blown away by how much brighter the wlf was then the prism. The image seems to jump out at you, making focusing much easier. It also has a flip-up magnifier that helps.

 

Check to see if the diopter is correct, a -1.5.

http://www.tamron.com/bronica/prod/sq_eye.asp

http://www.tamron.com/bronica/prod/etrsi_eye.asp

The mirror in the prism finder or focusing screen in the camera may be out of alignment.

Good luck.

 

Hi: I had the same trouble until a couple of years ago. I was thinking of selling my Bronica & getting a Mamiya auto focus camera. On the site Photo dot net some posters recommended the Maxwell screens. I called Maxwell (a likeabele guy) and had him do a "HI Lux" process on the screen I already had. It greatly improved my ability to focus even with zoom lenses indoors. The price was about half that of a new screen. I would guess that one of his new screens would be even better but for the price this worked well for me.

 

I bought my camera with a brighter screen than bronica, not sure what brand it is. I bought a bronica screen because the one that came with the body had some scratches, and the difference is about 1 stop. It really makes a big diiference especially when you stop down the lens for depth of field preview. I would recomend any 3rd party screen as long as it's brighter than the bronicas.

 

I once did a test with a Brightscreen in my Bronica ETRSi with metering prism. I found that the viewfinder was brighter, but focus accuracy remain unaltered...a dozen focus attempts with both stock and Brightscreen yield no difference in accuracy of focus. I did not try to quantify speed of focus. I did assess the Brightscreen's effect on metering and found that the meter could not be compensated with the compensation control...it had to be done via ISO adjustment. Since I was doing weddings at the time, using multiple speed films during a wedding via the interchangeable film backs, I decided it was too much asking for problems dealing with adjusted ISOs for multiple films at the same shoot, particularly in the fast pace and pressure of weddings.

I have a Maxwell for my large format camera, and love its brightness improvement over the standard ground glass with Fresnel lens for my Horseman. But then again I am not metering thru it.

No Bronica finders use mirrors...all the Bronica finders (except WL) use pentaprism. Mamiya used pentamirror in the 645E.

 

Another recommendation for the Maxwell treatment here. I had mine done last year and it made a huge difference in my ability to focus in low-light situations.

 

I see that www.mxvphotographic.com have a Beattie for a SQ at £10. At that price it might be worth a try.

 

Ooops -- Sorry for being late; I hope it solves the problem then.