The sq-ai has a bulb mode. The drawback being it drains the battery whilst the shutter is open.
I have both sq metred prisms. They are heavy and cumbersome and make the SQ-a hard to hold without the speed grip. The AE prism can set the shutter speed for you, the non AE prism can't. The AE prism has an additional shutter speed dial attached to it. The readout in the finder is hard to read and dim on my SQ. I've cleaned the contacts but never get a bright meter
Once you add the grip and prism finder it gets very bulky related to the crank with WLF.
There is also an SQ-Am that does have motor drive. It's like the speed grip on steroids. It's also pretty bulky.
I use my SQ-A with the WLF pretty much exclusively. The speed grip and prisms stay at home. I like the WLF on a tripod for landscapes. For studio style portrait stuff the prisms would be better, but I don't do that kind of photography.
The more automated MF SLR cameras like the later Pentax and Mamiyas all seem to be 645.
For better portability, the Mamiya 6 seems to be the ultimate 6x6 for automation and relative portability.
But the Sq is a nice system and being modular you can make it how you like it.
I'd be happy to upgrade to an Ai one day for bulb mode. T mode is pretty fiddly in practice, especially with cold hands...
The 40mm lens is lovely. I have the PS version which is better for filters as the S version has a built in petal hood. But due to its size, using filters with it is still tricky. The Colin Z filter holder just about fits (they make a 95mm ring for it) but it still doesn't slot on perfectly. The 50mm only has a 72mm ring and the same holder definitely fits better. I think you need a special holder for the Lee system, their rings don't go up to 95mm.
But for the price, the 40mm is amazing.
And that's the crunch. All of the above is quite affordable. I paid £100 for my 40mm in excellent condition. Try getting a similar lens for a different system for close to that! Even the backs I complain about are under £100.
My entire SQ set up has cost under £500 and I have the 40, 50, 80 and 150 lenses, WLF, 2x prisms, speed grip, 3 dodgy backs and some other bits and bobs.
I was neutral on SQ lenses in my previous post, but the 40mm is quite cheap and I do already have a cokin Z filter system. Plus I need a good wide, for any format, right now. This is making the SQ sound good.
After carting an RB67 (with left hand grip) around the streets for months, I bet an SQ w/metered finder wouldn't be too bad. But the real portability dream (something I can put a strap on, drop over my neck, and not have to constantly hold up) might not be achievable with the AE prism attached, eh? I can't find an SQ locally to handle myself.
I was initially looking at the Ai - it's newer and has bulb mode, plus the option of a motorized grip. And a better AE meter prism, too?
But the heads in this thread say that the SQ has better guts, unless I'm mistaken (maybe it was the S2a vs the EC?). (Stuck posting from my phone so it's hard to go back and refrence.) I'm sticking with the assumption that SQ-As have more metal and less plastic in Their clockwork parts. I think that's right. Plus the AI is a couple hundred $$ more, on average.
Gosh, that GA645Zi was such a consumate street camera, though. I guess for general shooting I could get away with sunny 16 and WLF, but urban photography can be challenging around the morning and evening hours, when I do the most of my shooting. The light changes fast. I have a handheld meter, but it's just enough to slow me down.
I could afford an SQ-A and one of the older Fuji 645 RFs. Maybe that's the answer; just spend more money, y'know?
... Or I could commit to liquidating a lot of the crap I've got sitting around (not that I could fairly ask that much for a lot of it... And not to mention my own personal preference for not reintroducing 'generally working but subtly flawed' used camera gear back into the market... A lot of which I wish I hadn't bought, but couldn't return...) Even though the wider used film camera market is a shambles right now in my opinion (not to cast any shade on the fine folks in the APUG classifieds who I can only assume are trading in well-cared-for gear or are otherwise completely upfront about any issues)
But if I did, it would clear up the shelf space for s Mamiya 6. Of course, if I'm spending the money on a 6, I might as well get a 7 instead, and if I'm spending the money on a 7, I might as well get a technical field camera with a roll film back instead, and if I'm spending the money on a field camera, I might as well makes it a down payment on a Subaru BRZ instead, and if I'm spending the money on a down payment for a Subaru BRZ, I might as well make it a pickup truck instead, and if I'm spent the money on a new pickup...
Alright, guys, I think I've got it now. I'm buying a condo.
But I guess I still need to think about whether I should get the bronica or not.
Edit: joking and blathering aside, one aspiration I've had, since getting the GA645Zi and realizing how much faster and more precise it was compared to the RB or Kiev, is to do some paid portrait & event work on the side. People like the square format, but they don't like waiting for you to meter the scene and futz around with focus. I've taken some nice pictures of my friends' weddings with the Kiev, but I would never trust it. The RB67 could be a worthy backup, but not a main event camera. All told, this is another reason I'd choose an SQ w/AE over an automated 645 option.
It follows, then, that I'd need a good portrait lens for the SQ. (It's a shame my CZJ 180/2.8 is stuck to such a flawed camera as the Kiev.) Ideally, it'd be f/3.5 or faster, a little softer wide open, razor sharp past f/5.6, and produce very nice bokeh. What comes closest to fitting the bill among lenses for the SQ? According to the 'medium format lens testing' website's table, the 200mm f/4 is quite soft all across its aperture range, which discounts it from use in my mind. Maybe the tester got a bad copy, but I'd rather not spend the time and money to figure out if that's actually the case or not.
Edit 2: But my immediate want is for a camera that works for expressive photography. I'd like to win a theoretical leandscape photography competition, or even sell a print, more than I'd want to get a paid portrait job. That's where I get back to the lens sharpness thing. I will be cropping to 3:2 relatively often if I get an SQ. I hope the wide angles (especially the 40mm) can handle being blown up after cropping and keep good detail.
... One crazy thing that gives the whole SQ system a halo effect for me is the existence of the 500mm f/8 PS lens. I'd love to do wildlife photography with medium format. (I think there was an article about someone trying to do it on Luminous Landscape at some point. It didn't work out that well, but still.) Wildlife photography is what keeps me in digital gear at all.
TestGardens-8
