ETRS Meter question, AE II??

stradibarrius · Sep 17, 2010

I just traded some stuff for another camera kit. A very nice Bronica ETRS with 3 lenses, extention tubes, Teleconverter, righthanded grip, 4 back on and on. It seems like a nice camera but....
The AE II prism meter is all over the place? it shows over exposure most of the time. I changed the battery in the camera and the green battery check light works.

Any Ideas or are these meters just screwy? I also have a Mamiya M645 1000s and a prism/meter and it is dead on.

I hope that maybe there is some little thing I missed when I read through the manual.

jime11 · Sep 17, 2010

if it is a lithium battery it may not work -- have you checked the voltage with a meter.

stradibarrius · Sep 18, 2010

No I did not check the battery with a meter. I opened the battery from a new pack but I guess it could still be old.

5stringdeath · Sep 18, 2010

I've never found them to be very accurate -- its the perfect time to get a nice handheld meter I just have a regular prism on mine. Given the age of most of the ETRS gear, the meter could be faulty. You can always get another one dirt cheap.

stradibarrius · Sep 18, 2010

I do have a good hand held that I use with my RB67. But the prism meter in my Mamiya M645 is very good. I was hoping for the same with the Bronica. It makes life much easier.

jamesgignac · Sep 18, 2010

The AE III I had on my Bronica ETRSi was fantastically accurate when tested against my Gossen LP so...not sure what to recommend here as I've never used the AE II but I would be very surprised if it wasn't any good. Perhaps the film speed dial is messed up and permanently set on a much higher speed? If there's nothing wrong with the battery then I would have to assume that it would be a problem with that particular meter. I had an SQAi as well and have never had any problems with the metered prism on that one. I've always found Bronica stuff to work just as it should. I'm sorry it's not working out for you. If all else fails you could try your hand at opening it up - I did this once with a Mamiya prism and they're not overly complicated (though I don't know how the AE II is sealed), that way you could check to see if the film speed dial is functioning. I would only bother doing that once you've exhausted all other options of course.

stradibarrius · Sep 18, 2010

I have a Mamiya RB67 and an M645. The M645 has a prism meter that is very accurate. The Bronica gear is new to me and they whole kit looks almost new. The best thing would be for me to find out that the battery is the problem. Even if it is this particular AE II prism I can replace it. I hope that I do not find that the next AE II or III is just the same. The Bronica build quality seems to be very good and it has some nice features that my M645 does not have like interchangeable backs and the speed grip is nice too.

stradibarrius · Sep 18, 2010

5stringdeath said:
I've never found them to be very accurate -- its the perfect time to get a nice handheld meter I just have a regular prism on mine. Given the age of most of the ETRS gear, the meter could be faulty. You can always get another one dirt cheap.

How many have you tried? did they all act in a similar manner?

CD55 · Sep 18, 2010

I have an ETRS with an AE prism(not II or III) and for some reason it does get stuck at a particular reading on mine. When it does I take the prism off the body and install it back since maybe the contacts aren't seated right. Also of course make sure the contacts are clean. However like you I'm starting to question if the meter on mine is still any good and might to have just use a hand meter.

5stringdeath · Sep 18, 2010

stradibarrius said:
How many have you tried? did they all act in a similar manner?

I've owned two. Could be because of their age, and I've never found any (including my regular prism) to sit very tight on the bodies, so it could have been a contact issue. Anyhow, I generally always use a handheld with MF anyways so I didn't bother trying out another one or an AEIII.

So my statement "in general" may have been based on a limited sample

wiltw · Sep 18, 2010

I once owned an AE-II, and later purchased an AE-III. Within the fundamental limitations of using any reflected light meter, the AE-II and the AE-III are perfectly accurate meters! I shot many weddings professionally with both meter prisms, as well as shot many color transparencies (and we know that has very little lattitude for exposure error!) using those meters.

The AE-II and AE-III are equally accurate; the AE-III is more precise (1/12EV metering precision with 1/6EV exposure control for AE-III, 1/6EV metering precision with 1/3EV exposure control for AE-II.

I know the AE-II and AE-III meters were accurate, because I had test standard of Minolta Spotmeter F and Minolta Autometer IVf to compare readings of gray cards against.

The mechanical fit of any of the Bronica prisms is a bit loose even when both camera and prism are new, but I have never found the looseness to have any affect on connections between body and metering prism and the resulting accuracy.

stradibarrius · Sep 18, 2010

5stringdeath said:
I've owned two. Could be because of their age, and I've never found any (including my regular prism) to sit very tight on the bodies, so it could have been a contact issue. Anyhow, I generally always use a handheld with MF anyways so I didn't bother trying out another one or an AEIII.

So my statement "in general" may have been based on a limited sample

I appreciate the information.

Katie · Sep 18, 2010

Just wondering about the battery thing ... if the shutter fires under the 1/500th shudder speed, doesn't that mean the battery is working? I just got mine, and the AEII seems to be stuck on 8. Don't know if it's the battery or what.

wiltw · Sep 19, 2010

If battery is dead, the ETR(Si) fires at 1/500. Verify battery is good via battery check button. And since the battery powers the prism meter, the fact that you get any reading is inherently an indication of a functional battery.

EdColorado · Sep 23, 2010

Stradibarrrius, I too just picked up an ETRSi system but mine has the AEIII prism. I've only shot a couple rolls so far but both were metered pretty much spot on, no problem at all. It seems a really nice system and I'm looking forward to many enjoyable days with it. It just feels so good to use.

stradibarrius · Sep 23, 2010

Ed, I think you will really enjoy this camera. I have an RB67, and a Mamiya M645 1000S, and so far I am in love with this Bronica too. The lenses have a nice contrast and some characteristic that I cannot put my finger on but I like it.

spolly74 · Sep 23, 2010

I've had the AE II prism for a while, and it works fairly well. Mine is kind of flaky - in manual mode, the shutter speeds just flicker, it never really settles on a recommendation - but I get more consistent exposures with the AE II than with a chimney finder and the Sunny 16 rule.

I do love the camera though.

ETRS Meter question, AE II??

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