Found out the crank on my SQ does not fit the SQ-Ai

m00dawg · Feb 14, 2019

I've been wanting to upgrade to an SQ with mirror lock and splurged a bit on an SQ-Ai with a motorized winder. It just came in today and it is indeed in lovely condition. The moto-winder will be great fro portraiture but it seems like it would get fatiguing real quick when out and about such as if I'm on vacation or going on a day hike.

I made the mistake of thinking the winder on my SQ would swap over to the SQ-Ai but that does not appear to be the case :/

Curious as to if anyone has any ideas? I can't find a knob or crank on all the usual suspects that I know of. I even looked to see if someone 3D printed one. In a pinch I could try to design and 3D print a knob, but without knowing much about the original knob that may prove difficult.

hsandler · Feb 23, 2019

The Bronica camera manuals for the SQ-A and SQ-Ai both refer to the same speed grip S accessory. I know the crank hub on the SQ-Ai is different, but perhaps the two little u shaped channels on the speed grip fit over the pins on the SQ-Ai hub if you align them.

I found a homebrew solution to make a knob disclosed here: https://www.flickr.com/groups/65011843@N00/discuss/72157658250498774/

Good luck.

m00dawg · Feb 24, 2019

Hah well that's clever! Thanks hsandler! Sounds like maybe I'm overblowing the complexity of 3D printing one if the dude just used wood and two holes. I was initially worried I might mess up the camera side of the winder with a custom part but maybe I'm overthinking it.

m00dawg · Feb 24, 2019

I need to take photos of it but I designed a simple knob today in FreeCAD and printed it out. Not as good as the original I'm sure (it just friction-mounts) but certainly better than nothing!

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3450737

hsandler · Feb 24, 2019

m00dawg said:
I need to take photos of it but I designed a simple knob today in FreeCAD and printed it out. Not as good as the original I'm sure (it just friction-mounts) but certainly better than nothing!

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3450737

That’s great. When you wrote that your winder from the SQ didn’t fit, I assumed you meant the speed winder S accessory, the thing with a grip, thumb winder, and flash shoe, pictured below. Did you mean that, or did you mean the crank handle that attaches with a pin? If you did not mean the speed winder S, then that might be a viable option for you. It adds very little weight and makes holding the camera like a 35mm SLR. They go for about $40.

Bronica SQ-A by Howard Sandler, on Flickr

m00dawg · Feb 24, 2019

hsandler said:
That’s great. When you wrote that your winder from the SQ didn’t fit, I assumed you meant the speed winder S accessory, the thing with a grip, thumb winder, and flash shoe, pictured below. Did you mean that, or did you mean the crank handle that attaches with a pin? If you did not mean the speed winder S, then that might be a viable option for you. It adds very little weight and makes holding the camera like a 35mm SLR. They go for about $40.

Bronica SQ-A by Howard Sandler, on Flickr

Yeah the one I had on my SQ was the crank (with pin) but the one that came with my SQ-Ai was the motorized winder. I really dig the shoe (means I can put my flash transmitter on it so I don't need a cable) but dang is it heavy! I thought I was buying one with a manual grip (is that what the above is?). Do you know how much a manual is versus the auto in terms of weight? SQ by itself is heavy but dang was it heavy with the motorized one!

hsandler · Feb 24, 2019

I dont have a sensitive scale, but the manual speed winder feels like about 350g. The manual one s what you see in the photo. No batteries; you wind with two strokes of your thumb.

mshchem · Feb 24, 2019

If you have a SQ-AI with the motor drive, try it for a while. The motor requires the dedicated hand strap to feel perfect. Those silly little original cranks got lost, hard to find . The pin on the SQ-AI slides out to allow attachment of the small original crank. So if you have access to a 3D printer and skills wouldn't be hard to fabricate something. The Speed Winder S works with all the SQ models. I love the speed winder on the smaller ETR series, but I prefer the SQ-I motor on my SQ-AI. It's not much heavier and very smooth.

The prisms are heavy I have the fancy AE-I auto exposure prism, but my favorite is the 45 degree prism with adjustable diopter .

Don't lose the waist level finder or original crank if you have a Bronica hard to find.

m00dawg · Feb 25, 2019

I weighted the motor crank and it came it at 566g or so. Half the weight of an Intrepid 4x5 MK2 SQ itself isn't a light camera but that's a good chunk. I'll see about the manual one though - I had a speed grip for my Mamiya 1000s and really liked it!

Found out the crank on my SQ does not fit the SQ-Ai

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