Bronica SQ-i & AE III prism owners

Well, I have acquired a near new AE III prism for good money, but with rubber eye cup covering the lens, it turned out it came with no eye correction lens (rubber cup won't stay on without it either, but one can take a photo so it looks like everything is good to go). Prism is near pristine and appears to work, at least in Auto mode I know shutter changes speeds in different lighting situations and at this point I'm taking it. Without the eye piece though, it cannot be used as eye optical path is incomplete and cannot be even fully tested (as in case there is a problem I will be sending it back)

So now I am looking for the "S" eye correction lens, and cannot find any yet at a reasonable price, but can get one for SQ-i prism for far less.

For those who happened to own both, AE III and SQ-i AE prisms:

1. does the eye correction lens fit / can be swapped size wise? From comparing photos they appear to be at least very close in physical size.

2. Does the SQ-i lens work all the same on AE III, or is it so optically different, it is completely useless on the AE III?

For testing I could live with some fuzziness and wait for proper piece when I find it.

Of course, if there is anyone who has no use for the S lens for AE III, please pm me and perhaps we can make a deal. Thanks.

I sold all my Bronica stuff, for the SQ-AI. I had the AE-I auto finder with spot and average metering, has an adjustable diopter built in. Mine had a rubber eye cup, not sure where you would find parts. Look online, seems there's more Bronica used dealers in the UK. These are beautiful cameras.
Here's a picture from KEH camera of the AE-I


AE-III refers to a similar finder for the ETRSi

I don’t know if these guys actually have these things in stock, but I stumbled across this place in Turkey recently:

https://www.sanfo.com.tr/kategori/110_bronica--aksesuarlar

mshchem said:

I sold all my Bronica stuff, for the SQ-AI. I had the AE-I auto finder with spot and average metering, has an adjustable diopter built in. Mine had a rubber eye cup, not sure where you would find parts. Look online, seems there's more Bronica used dealers in the UK. These are beautiful cameras.
Here's a picture from KEH camera of the AE-I
View attachment 238250

AE-III refers to a similar finder for the ETRSi

Click to expand...

You can still get the parts, just cost is holding me back until I'll have no choice. Even at current prices, given what I had paid for the prism, it would not be all that crazy, but I'm just reeling from what I have found in the box. Had I known the ye lens was not there and bought it anyway, it would have been a different mind set. I'm thinking of ordering that lens for SQ-i if I cannot get anyone to confirm it will fit and/or will work sufficiently to fully test the prism.

mshchem said:

I sold all my Bronica stuff, for the SQ-AI. I had the AE-I auto finder with spot and average metering, has an adjustable diopter built in. Mine had a rubber eye cup, not sure where you would find parts. Look online, seems there's more Bronica used dealers in the UK. These are beautiful cameras.
Here's a picture from KEH camera of the AE-I
View attachment 238250

AE-III refers to a similar finder for the ETRSi

Click to expand...

I have the AE III, diopter adjustment works fine (mechanically), sadly it has no front element to complete the optical path. The rubber eye cup covers the front element, which can be exchanged for different eye sight. I'm getting close to splurging up on the missing piece.

abruzzi said:

I don’t know if these guys actually have these things in stock, but I stumbled across this place in Turkey recently:

https://www.sanfo.com.tr/kategori/110_bronica--aksesuarlar

Click to expand...

Thanks for this link. Seems they have a lot of them for the GS-1 finders, but none of what I need. But looks like a place worth knowing about.

They are not compatible. I believe this finder and the ETR AE III use different lenses. So can't swap either.

Bronica makes two eye cups, the small ring type and the large cup. It also makes different eye correction lenses. Some are very hard to find.

The SQ AE-i (AE III) was made toward the end of its production. So not many were made and sold. But it is the best piece of Bronica (along with the 135 W back for SQ) ever made. So it is near impossible to find any replacement parts for this finder. Is it worth your time to search for a year? Or just bite the bullet and buy one if you can find it. For people who can afford this, it is not worth the time counting beans...

RedSun said:

The SQ AE-i or the AE III uses a round eye level lens. All other SQ prism finders use square lens. So they are not compatible. I believe this finder and the ETR AE III use different lenses. So can't swap either.

Bronica makes two eye cups, the small ring type and the large cup. It also makes different eye correction lenses. Some are very hard to find.

The SQ AE-i (AE III) was made toward the end of its production. So not many were made and sold. But it is the best piece of Bronica (along with the 135 W back for SQ) ever made. So it is near impossible to find any replacement parts for this finder. Is it worth your time to search for a year? Or just bite the bullet and buy one if you can find it. For people who can afford this, it is not worth the time counting beans...

Click to expand...

On paper they are different lenses, SQi one is so marked, the other has only S on it. The request was for those who have access to both, to swap and see result.

It's not really about beans or any other edibles, just looking at market , options, and going with what I think is best course.

The official name of this finder is "Bronica AE SQ-i". (BQ1310, AE III). The other is "AE Prism Finder S" (BQ1307, AE).

RedSun said:

The official name of this finder is "Bronica AE SQ-i". (BQ1310, AE III). The other is "AE Prism Finder S" (BQ1307, AE).

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Yeah, thanks. Only looking at the latest for each, as you have them. Both look very close size wise, likely same threads, but lens might be ground different. While is larger and prism would also be, they should not be much different focally.

Just to complete this story, in case someone gets in the same jam I did. These prisms have adjustable diopter, so it is a two lens arrangement with inner permanent lens moving for fine tuning to user's sight.

1. Eye piece lens for SQ-i AE prism does not fit the AE III eye piece. Physical difference in thread is very small, almost impossible to see by eye, but it is different. So while lens itself looks very similar in shape to AE III piece ( both standard lenses), it cannot be mounted even, if it looks like it would have worked optically. The difference is so small and overall shape identical, it is hard to believe Bronica set up different production for this. But these two prisms are physically different, so perhaps optical path required a larger lens, even if so minutely. This eye piece is also prominently marked with Q-i on its rim in addition to diopter rating ("S" for standard as supplied with new prism).

2. AE III eye piece lens is very hard to find, high in cost for what it is, but it was placed on the market as spare for direct purchase, so it is not impossible to locate it. I have received it as new in original box.

3. If you do end up looking for one, keep in mind box is NOT marked as "for AE III prism", it is an ETRSi box simply stating "Eye correction lens" and then which one (so an "S" or diopter number). To be clear, all other correction lenses DO state what they for, so it is Waist Level Finder, Rotary Finder. AE III lens is so much smaller in size, it cannot be mistaken for any of the other ones (speaking of round lenses of course as some older finders had rectangular shape)

One point of caution for those looking for the AE III prism and that particular part, which is not so obvious that lack of it kills the whole prism dead. There are at least a couple right now on ebay without it, one seller mentions it lacks diopter, but not saying prism is useless without it. To add insult to the injury, rubber eye cup can be stuck on without it for taking a photo. Cup will not really remain on as that eye piece lens provides required rim to hold it in place. But it will stay on long enough to take a photo. Now, I could tell the difference even with cup on, as there is a definite empty cavity before inner lens. However, to the uninitiated it is not so obvious. With eye piece lens mounted, it is essentially there within the inner plane of rubber eye cup.

If the seller is either a crook or simply resells a piece without being familiar with it, a great looking prism can draw attention and end up being a disappointment.

So watch out for this part, or account for $50 and possibly extensive time to find it. Certainly might be a good bargaining point. I do mean prism cannot be used without this lens.

There is one AE III "S" eye piece lens from an Italian seller listed for 19 EUR, but he figured postage within EU is another 60 and did not reply to address my request for sanity checks.

I wound up OK with total price after lens add on, but certainly not what I bargained for originally. Prism looks great with a couple of small scuffs, hardly used otherwise, and it has fast response, clear view and I'd say very simple to operate on top of ETRSi. That is whenever I do not want WLF, which I often prefer anyways.

Thanks for the follow up. This is good information. Bronica support is very hard to find. This will save someone time in the future.

Let me add to it that if seller claims "tested all working as it should ... blada jada" and you see there is no eye piece lens ... good time to ask how he tested, cause he ain't seein' jack through it when such is mounted on the camera.

Also, the rubber eye cup when installed covers the rim of the eye piece lens, while rim has white inprint on it, cup remkoves it from view. Without rubber cup it is actually easy to tell, if there is a lens or not.

You got fooled and the seller committed a fraud. Seller can't remove any essential internal part without fair disclosure.

RedSun said:

You got fooled and the seller committed a fraud. Seller can't remove any essential internal part without fair disclosure.

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I would not go that far and I'm glad it got resolved rather quickly. I did get substantial part-refund that covered the expanse, but this was not what I started this thread for.

There are some who may fall into such a category, but in my particular case I'll take it easy on the seller. I wish things would get sorted with some others in similar fashion.