For Sale Extensive Bronica S2A system, lenses 40mm to 500mm, Tilt-shift bellows, lots more

[David A. Goldfarb]

After many years of building this system, weeding out less useful or lower quality items and saving the good stuff, building custom adaptations and acquiring some rare accessories, I need to shift some resources, and I'm considering selling it. I can post photographs, if there are any serious inquiries.

The body and backs have all been CLA'd by Frank Marshman. Everything is in good working order and in nice shape, except where indicated. A few dings on the backs, but none that affect operation. All backs have darkslides. Lenses all have front caps, and most have rear caps except for a couple of missing rear caps on the long teles. I have a few boxes and instruction sheets for some of these items, which will be included if someone buys the kit.

Bronica S2A Body with focusing helical Satin Snow ground glass--CB163859
S2 Waist-Level Finder
S2 5x Chimney Finder
Kiev Spot TTL Prism Finder (converted for S2A)
(2) Quick-Focus Rings (one for the main helical plus one for the 105mm LS lens)
Bronica L-Grip
Bronica 2-trigger Pistol Grip
(2) Original S2A neckstraps in excellent condition (purchased as new old stock)
S2A 12/24 Back--CM137630 S2A
S2A 12/24 Back--CM195201
S2A 12/24 Back--CM156688 S2A
S2A 12/24 Back converted to groundglass back (GG)--CM85057
S2A Polaroid Back

Nikkor-D 40mm f:4.0 with rare metal shade and rare Bronica Y1 light yellow filter--82656
Nikkor-O 50mm f:2.8 with a handmade plastic and wooden shade with 3x3" filter slots--32176
Nikkor-P 75mm f:2.8 with metal shade--131825
Nikkor-Q 105mm f:3.5 Leaf-Shutter lens (flash sync at any speed)--441654
Nikkor-Q 135mm f:3.5--27804 (great portrait lens, glass is clean, good working order, but barrel is ugly)
Nikkor-P 200mm f:4--65555
Komura 300mm f:5 with metal rear cap and Uni Focusing Helical II (scale in meters)--S 203059
Komura 400mm f:6.3 with metal hood and 67-77mm step up ring
Schneider 500mm f:4.5 Tele-Xenar and custom adapter by S.K. Grimes with 25mm extension tube for Komura Uni Focusing Helical II, (2) 105mmx70mm generic metal hoods--10881790
Bronica Bellows Type 2 with full view-camera movements on front standard
Bronica Extension tubes C-A (2), C-B (1), C-C (1), C-D (1)
Bronica 67mm Reversing Ring
Canon FD-Bronica bayonet adapter ring made by Frank Marshman for Canon FD macro lenses.

I can include one case that can hold the body and 3-5 lenses (depending on which lenses).

Asking $3000 including domestic US shipping for the whole kit. Request quote for foreign shipping. PayPal, money orders, and checks in USD all work.

 

[dande]

Awesome system

Wow, what a system. I had an S2A and I loved it. The bellows tilt was an awesome feature. Too bad it is out of my price range.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Here are some images I've made with this system--

This was with the Nikkor 135mm lens:

This is that great Nikkor 40mm lens:

And here is a little photo essay (I think I was using the Nikkor 50/2.8 on all of these)--

http://www.davidagoldfarb.com/photo/mta/index.htm

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Ad updated to include the L-grip (which has an accessory shoe and shutter release) and pistol grip (with separate releases for DOF preview and shutter), which I forgot when I originally posted, and I've removed a few duplicate items from the list and moved them to a separate ad--

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

 

[Brontest]

Excellent system

Hi, i do have a S2a and i love it! This is a really complete system: from wide to tele, the 6x6 and 6x4.5. Maybe the flash synchro is a bit slow. that's why the 105 from Nikor is great!

Don't hesitate choose the bronica S2a!

I recently get a 105mm from nikor, but the helical mount is a damaged. The optic is ok, but the mount is not straight, which cause an axe default... (sorry for my poor english )

Do you know if this kind of helical focus mount can be changed?
Is this the same as the helical II you sell? Do you have a picture of this helical II?

Do you know someone who can repair this mount? or have bronica parts.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Eric Rose]

Wow, hell has indeed frozen over! David selling his beloved S2A system.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Tony Hilton who wrote one of the better books on the Bronica system sold his Bronica gear, including some real rarities like Nikkor teles, a few years ago.

It is a great system, but I haven't been using it so much since I got the baby Linhof a few years ago, so if I don't use it, then it becomes a maintenance project. For now, I've made it the camera I keep in the office to keep everything exercised and running smoothly. I don't really feel like taking the trouble to part it out, but if there's someone who wants the whole kit, I'd consider offers.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Hi, i do have a S2a and i love it! This is a really complete system: from wide to tele, the 6x6 and 6x4.5. Maybe the flash synchro is a bit slow. that's why the 105 from Nikor is great!

Don't hesitate choose the bronica S2a!

I recently get a 105mm from nikor, but the helical mount is a damaged. The optic is ok, but the mount is not straight, which cause an axe default... (sorry for my poor english )

Do you know if this kind of helical focus mount can be changed?
Is this the same as the helical II you sell? Do you have a picture of this helical II?

Do you know someone who can repair this mount? or have bronica parts.

Thanks for your help.

In the US, the people who repair classic Bronicas are Frank Marshman (CameraWiz) in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Koh's Camera (www.kohscamera.com) on Long Island outside New York City. If you're lucky, it may be repairable with parts from the standard helical.

The Komura Uni Helical II is a long focusing helical made for the Komura 300mm, 400mm, and 500mm telephoto lens heads. It has a simple screw mount, so it is possible to adapt other long lenses to it, as I've done (well, as Mr. Grimes did) with the Schneider 500/5.5 Tele-Xenar. It wouldn't be of any use to repair the 105mm LS lens.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

I've attached a quick photo of the whole shebang. More available upon request.

Here's another nice color slide made with the Bronica system--

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidagoldfarb/5956769919/lightbox/

--and this one is an albumen print (contact print, same size as the neg)--

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidagoldfarb/5956770015/lightbox/

 

[Ken Nadvornick]

Here are some images I've made with this system--

Wow. This brings back 30-year-old memories.

In my university days as a Geological Sciences major at USC I spent four weeks camping in Deep Springs Valley while completing my senior-level Summer Field course requirements. It's a ritual academic requirement for all baby geologists, and is usually the final course of study in the major.

If you look down at the southwest corner of the valley on this map (to the west of the alkali flats) you will see an area of highlands characterized by a series of bluish appearing, arrowhead-shaped folds of rock layers. This area was long ago set aside by the professionals and universities as reserved for student study and reporting each year in the various university Summer Field courses.

In those highlands on any given summer day you will find scores of students from just about any western US geology program tramping through the brush in 115F/46C temperatures while trying desperately to unravel the subsurface structure of, and hand-map, those outcroppings and folds, and taking detailed notes for their final USGS-formatted reports.

Not too many places to find shade or hide out there. And if you find do find shade you will often be sharing it with the indigenous Great Basin rattlesnake. But that's OK. He's just trying to stay cool like you.

Oh yes, nice Bronica system... bump...

Ken

P.S. Do you notice the roughly north-northeast trending eastern boundary of the valley itself? If you zoom in one can see a series of distinctly triangular "faces" to the hills that mark that boundary. Those faces are actually the manifestation of uplifted displacement along a high-angle dip slip fault line that passes only a few feet to the east of the Deep Springs College campus itself.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Ah, yes, the geologists. I'd forgotten about them. I was a student at Deep Springs from 1984-86, and I think Doug Powell, a lecturer in geography from Berkeley who visited regularly, must have explained to us at some point that we had these "textbook" geological formations that were used for field research courses. There were also the biology students down at the lake visiting Bufo exsul with some frequency.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Images of S2a body, WLF, Nikkor 75mm/f:2.8, and one 12/24 back.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Here are the two grips and three finders, including the Kiev TTL Spot adaptation.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Two more 12/24 backs, groundglass back, and Polaroid back.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Extension tubes, reversing ring, Frank Marshman custom Canon FD-Bronica bayonet macro adapter, T/S Bellows Type II

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Lenses (except for the 75mm, which is shown on the camera body above), including S.K. Grimes 500/5.5 Schneider Tele-Xenar adaptation and custom 25mm extension ring for the Komura helical. Shown with shades and a light yellow filter for the 40mm.

 

[Argenticien]

Wait, I missed something...

So in the 9 months since this was initially listed (and 7 months since the last post in January), nothing sold? Is it still listed only as an entire package for USD 3000, or what's the program? I could be interested in some bits & bobs, but can't afford the whole kit. (Nor would I easily find use for some of it, like the ultra-longs.)
--Dave

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Sale pending on the full kit.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

SOLD