QUOTE=Nokton48;540729]Something that hasn't been mentioned here. Any, and I mean ANY camera that has electronic functions, rather than mechanical functions will need servicing of the electronics eventually. It is a fact of life that capacitors, which are used in timing circuits in cameras, fail. This is component level electronic repair. Repair centers are used to repairing by replacing sub-assemblies, rather than diagnosing and replacing individual electronic parts. When the supply of repair parts dries up, without concise electronic schematics, individual component diagnosis and replacement becomes next to impossible, and the average camera technician does not have the training to do this anyway. For the long haul, it is wiser to choose a mechanical camera. I am not suggesting brands here, as most medium-format camera brands have had all mechanical models.
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Phototone
I want to second this sentiment. I know, that even though I paid more for my "blad system (I have just about 50% of all the available accesories), I -KNOW- that I will always be able to get it repaired. Maybe not by Hasselblad USA, but by -just about- any competant reapir shops. Right now, everybody has plenty of spare parts. And, there are plenty of broken cameras around to be canibalized. That is what David Odess did for me, when my (new to me) 150mm Sonnar (from Adorama Ebay) had a broken rear mount. Turning the focus ring would fire the shutter
Point is, more 'blads (and parts) are around, than any other system. This may or may not be important to you. It is to me, for the long haul.
-Dan[/QUOTE]
I've thought of this myself and I'm aware of the repair concerns for the electronic cams. I made my living as an electronics bench tech for a while so I'm painfully aware of the vagaries of component level repair.
My thinking on this as far as the Bronica is concerned is that with the prices as low as they are and what a competent bench tech is worth per hour most components are basically disposable and replaceable via KEH or eBay. This is partly based on the fact that I live off of KEH's BGN rated stuff. For others the numbers may not work the same.
Jim
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Phototone
I want to second this sentiment. I know, that even though I paid more for my "blad system (I have just about 50% of all the available accesories), I -KNOW- that I will always be able to get it repaired. Maybe not by Hasselblad USA, but by -just about- any competant reapir shops. Right now, everybody has plenty of spare parts. And, there are plenty of broken cameras around to be canibalized. That is what David Odess did for me, when my (new to me) 150mm Sonnar (from Adorama Ebay) had a broken rear mount. Turning the focus ring would fire the shutter
Point is, more 'blads (and parts) are around, than any other system. This may or may not be important to you. It is to me, for the long haul.
-Dan[/QUOTE]
I've thought of this myself and I'm aware of the repair concerns for the electronic cams. I made my living as an electronics bench tech for a while so I'm painfully aware of the vagaries of component level repair.
My thinking on this as far as the Bronica is concerned is that with the prices as low as they are and what a competent bench tech is worth per hour most components are basically disposable and replaceable via KEH or eBay. This is partly based on the fact that I live off of KEH's BGN rated stuff. For others the numbers may not work the same.
Jim