Bronica S2 problems

[PrinceB]

Hi there,
I am new to this forum, and have recently bought an old Bronica S2A camera. In order to test it, I loaded a Foma 100 film and did some random shots, not caring much about exact light metering, just guessing mainly. The results are, however, extremely disappointing even considering this.

Do any of the experts here have any idea of whether there is something wrong with the camera, or is it all due to not using a proper light meter and not holding the camera still enough, maybe?

I have worked with different 6x6 cameras before, like the Pentacon 6 or the Rolleiflex, but never had results as bad as this, even when just guessing aperture and shutter speed.

Any comment will be highly appreciated, since I never had any experience with Bronicas.

Cheers everyone.

 

[reddesert]

First, putting a roll of film into a camera and just randomly firing it off is no way to judge if there are issues. We can't tell if problems are due to issues with the camera or the randomness.

There are several things that you can check, since you physically have hands on the camera and we don't:

- Is the shutter firing at the correct speeds (doesn't have to be exact, just make sure that it's for ex about 1/2 sec at 1/2 sec, and that it is faster at 1/30, 1/125 and so on). Do this by looking through the camera with the back open and pointing at a light.
- Is the aperture opening up and stopping down properly (look from front while firing shutter).
- Is the focus screen loose or fixed.
- Is the focus properly set - focus on a far away object and see if the lens focus scale is at infinity. Same with an object at 1 meter or so.

The latter two are because for some of the Bronica S-type SLRs, you can get focus errors due to deterioration of foam that presses either the focusing screen or the mirror against a stop to set its position.

Finally, test with a roll of film but taking care to steady the camera and to expose correctly, use a light meter or phone light meter app or sunny 16. You also have to load the film correctly; since you have used 120 film before this shouldn't be a problem, just make sure to route the film correctly around the insert.

 

[koraks]

or is it all due to not using a proper light meter and not holding the camera still enough, maybe?

You definitely have lots of motion blur in all 3 images. If you shot these hand-held, then that's definitely part of the problem.
Frames 1 & 3 are probably grossly overexposed; this may be due to guessed exposures. Problems with the shutter may also play a part, but this can only be established after doing some more controlled tests.

Time to put this camera on a tripod and use a light meter for another attempt!

PS: when asking for input on failed images on film, it's always a good idea to include some photos of the actual negatives. So not just scans of the images, but photos that show the film as it looks to the naked eye, preferably shown against a light box or light table.

 

[PrinceB]

Thank you for this detailled feedback, highly appreciate it and will proceed accordingly, with light meter, tripod and a different kind of film, too. The negatives, alas, are still in the lab - I'll have to pick them up yet. Have a good day!