komura Telemore 66 2X for Bronica S

newcan1 · Jul 4, 2013

Does anyone have an opinion on how good (or not) the above teleconverter is for the Bronica S? I have the Nikkor 50, 75, and 135mm lenses and would like to expand the range, and have not had luck finding an affordable 200mm lens. I thought the converter could be useful, but I worry about noticeable image degradation with teleconverters.

David A. Goldfarb · Jul 4, 2013

Keep looking for that 200. I had the Telemore converter, and it wasn't so good.

Also keep an eye out for the Komura 300/400/500 set, which isn't so bad, and has its own helical with a screw mount on the front, if you want to adapt large format lenses to it. When I had one, I had SK Grimes make me a tube to mount a 500/5.5 Schneider Tele-Xenar on the Komura helical.

John Wiegerink · Jul 4, 2013

I just got mine yesterday and won't know how bad it is until after this weekend. Mine is in Hasselblad mount and I got it to see if it might be good with my 80mm and Zeiss softar I & II for portraits. I have the 150mm, but for $25.00 thought the Komura 2X might be fun to play with. We'll see! JohnW

newcan1 · Jul 4, 2013

John, please let me know what you think when you have had a chance to try it out.

John Wiegerink · Jul 4, 2013

newcan1 said:
John, please let me know what you think when you have had a chance to try it out.

I'm at my cottage until Monday and will shoot a couple of rolls up here since I'm also testing out a newly acquired ELM body also. When I return home I'll process the rolls and either post the shots or tell my experience. I don't expect much, but sometimes one can be pleasantly surprised. I'll know Monday evening. JohnW

John Wiegerink · Jul 16, 2013

Well, I stayed at the cottage longer then planned. I tested the Komura on the ELM with both the 80mm and 150mm chrome "non" T lenses. I can say it's not that bad! I went to my grandsons baseball game and add the 2X to the150mm for a cheap 300mm that I didn't have. Worked much better than I thought and seemed pretty sharp. I haven't printed any of these yet, but it does look as if the contrast might be on the light side. My 80mm at f4 with the Telemore is not as sharp as my 150mm wide-open at f4, but that's okay. What I really bought it for was to use with the 80mm wide-open for portraits. Shallow DOF and a little softness! Just what the doctor ordered. I'll test it out for that next weekend when my granddaughters are up to the cottage. John

rorye · Jul 16, 2013

I have the Komura 2X on my Hasselblad and I love it, plenty sharp.

John Wiegerink · Jul 16, 2013

rorye said:
I have the Komura 2X on my Hasselblad and I love it, plenty sharp.

I agree with you, but I'm sure my 150mm with the telemore would not be as sharp as a Zeiss equivalent 300mm lens. Of course I have been wrong once or twice before. At least it gives me a 300mm reach that I don't now have.

rorye · Jul 16, 2013

John Wiegerink said:
I agree with you, but I'm sure my 150mm with the telemore would not be as sharp as a Zeiss equivalent 300mm lens. Of course I have been wrong once or twice before. At least it gives me a 300mm reach that I don't now have.

Yes John, absolutely, I think the Zeiss equivalent would be sharper. Any port in a storm, right

newcan1 · Jul 17, 2013

Well I went ahead and acquired one of these, but it's for the S2A, not the S. My bad - I didn't realize the mount mechanics were different. I guess I'll just hold on to it as one day I'll probably acquire an S2A body....

John Wiegerink · Jul 17, 2013

newcan1 said:
Well I went ahead and acquired one of these, but it's for the S2A, not the S. My bad - I didn't realize the mount mechanics were different. I guess I'll just hold on to it as one day I'll probably acquire an S2A body....

If you didn't pay much then it might be wise to hang onto it like you say. I never owned a Bronica S, but my very first professional camera was a Bronica S2A and I shot many weddings with it. The interchangeable backs were a Godsend for me and I thought I was in Heaven. Of course, when you tripped the shutter everyone in the Church woke up. That camera, lens and backs never let me down and was extremely well built - fit and finish. I then went to a Koni-Omega for weddings and the noise problem was solved, but it was a bulky camera and I longed for and SLR again. Last stop was Hasselblad with several backs, finders, and three lenses and that's what I used until I stopped doing weddings. Still have that same outfit and I'm still impressed. Once Hasselblad got away from the model 1600 and 1000 they were king. It was a system you could grow with and the design was very well thought out as far as compatibility in the future. Now through some great Zeiss glass on the front and nobody could beat you. Of course I could get by now just fine with the Bronica S2A twin package. JohnW

newcan1 · Jul 17, 2013

JohnW, interesting to hear your experiences with the S2A. The S is similar - it uses the same Nikkor lenses, interchangeable backs, etc - but is considered less reliable than the S2A because the S's used brass instead of steel gears which wore out more quickly. I get the impression that my S was owned previously by a wealthy amateur rather than a professional, so it probably has quite some life left in it. But I always like to have two bodies in a particular set, so even before I acquired the telemore, I thought it would be good to have an S2A. We shall see.

How did the S2A kit stack up against Hasselblad?

John Wiegerink · Jul 17, 2013

newcan1 said:
JohnW, interesting to hear your experiences with the S2A. The S is similar - it uses the same Nikkor lenses, interchangeable backs, etc - but is considered less reliable than the S2A because the S's used brass instead of steel gears which wore out more quickly. I get the impression that my S was owned previously by a wealthy amateur rather than a professional, so it probably has quite some life left in it. But I always like to have two bodies in a particular set, so even before I acquired the telemore, I thought it would be good to have an S2A. We shall see.

How did the S2A kit stack up against Hasselblad?

Optically the 75mm Nikkor was very good and I had no complaints about that. The backs always worked just fine also and no complaints there. Noise? Well, I guess being a wedding photographer means trying to go unnoticed and the Bronica was like wearing a cowbell to a wedding. I also liked the fact that Hasselblad had a better selection of screens and finders. I never could locate very many goodies for the S2A, but had enough to get by.

NEWS FLASH

I took another look at the four test shots I took with and without the Telemore and it seems I had them mixed up! This might sound hard to believe, but the two shots with the 80mm Planar at f4 with the Telemore are sharper than the 'blad 150mm at f4 alone. I'm going to do another test with my heavy tripod and cable release just to make sure. If I can confirm this I'll scan the negs and post them. I thought I had the 80mm and Telemore on for the last two shots, but then remembered that I only had the 150mm on for the last two shots, which is still attached to the camera and that proves it. This could be very interesting! JohnW

komura Telemore 66 2X for Bronica S

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