Recommended Bronica ETR lenses

[agphotography]

Hello everyone,

I've really been enjoying reading through these forums and getting a lot of information from you all.

I got my ETRSi with two lenses, the 75 and the 150, both the PE version. I really like the two of them and once I start shooting with the camera I imagine they will work nicely.

What I'm curious about is other lenses to add. It's my understanding that the 40mm is quite good, but are all the generations the same?

I was intending to also buy the 50mm f/2.8, but I am also considering the 60mm as it's pretty much a 35mm lens in 135 terms, which coincidentally happens to be my favorite focal length (35 and 50mm are my favorites)

I'll probably do some portraiture, but I don't think I'll be doing a ton of real close up stuff, so the 150 will be fine for now (I think) but if I do decide to get a longer lens, which would be the best for portraits or closeups? (not necessarily macro)

So, ultimately what I'm asking is what's the best kit to build? Figure the general usage will be a lot of landscapes, street photography, candid portraits, I'll use it in the studio setting sometimes, but that area is dominated by my DSLRs.

 

[agphotography]

Yeah I've read through the tamron site a number of times. I have a general idea of the lenses, but I am interested in what real users have to say

When I shot film rangefinders my totally favorite combo was 28/35/50 and on SLRs it was 28/50/85

From what I gather on the site the 75 is about a 45mm, and the 150 is about a 90mm, so the 50 being a 30mm would definitely round that out nicely.

I'll plan on the 40mm, EVENTUALLY.

PS - I take it by your name you're a fan of the Pentax LX, that was/is on hell of a good camera!

 

[wiltw]

PE lenses are designed to MTF measurements, and provide the best resistance to flare and the improvement in contrast when the lens is wide open. There are only a couple of lenses that had a design in between the MC series and the PE series, and are designated with the -II.

50mm on the ETRS is like using 35mm on 135 format, the 40mm on ETRS is like using 24mm on 135 format.

 

[jamesgignac]

I really like my 50mm PE and really HATE my 40mm MC (ugh). Honestly, it seems I can't get a decent shot with that lens, nothing is ever crystal-clear. The 50 is wonderful though and of those two is the only one I put to use. I also have a 150mm PE which has always delivered for me as I'm sure you know.

Best of luck! (PM me if you want to buy a cheap 40mm MC

 

[agphotography]

I really like my 50mm PE and really HATE my 40mm MC (ugh). Honestly, it seems I can't get a decent shot with that lens, nothing is ever crystal-clear. The 50 is wonderful though and of those two is the only one I put to use. I also have a 150mm PE which has always delivered for me as I'm sure you know.

Best of luck! (PM me if you want to buy a cheap 40mm MC

Well I don't know much about either lens yet as I just picked up the camera yesterday and haven't been able to run a roll through it yet!

I've heard that the MC lenses were "OK to Pretty Good" But the PE lenses were significantly better.

It sounds fairly unanimous then that the 50mm will be my next lens and that kit will be very sufficient for a while.

Now to consider a longer lens? Should I look at the 200 or 250? Or should I look at something like the 105 macro for close-up portraits?

 

[lxdude]

Yeah I've read through the tamron site a number of times. I have a general idea of the lenses, but I am interested in what real users have to say

When I shot film rangefinders my totally favorite combo was 28/35/50 and on SLRs it was 28/50/85

From what I gather on the site the 75 is about a 45mm, and the 150 is about a 90mm, so the 50 being a 30mm would definitely round that out nicely.

I'll plan on the 40mm, EVENTUALLY.

PS - I take it by your name you're a fan of the Pentax LX, that was/is on hell of a good camera!

Sorry, I deleted my post after I wrote it, because I misread your post and was going to rewrite mine, but I see you saw it and replied before I deleted it. I should have just edited my post.
As Popeye used to say, "How embarraskin'!"

For the record, I recommended the 50 over the 40.
As you stated your favorite in 135 format is the 35mm, and I somehow misunderstood that, I was going to say the 60mm f/2.8 could be better for you.

Now after reading your next post, I'm back to the 50. You have the 28 in both setups. (28-35-50. Man, you know what kind of shots you're after! )

Though aspect ratios make equivalencies approximate, I think the 50 is the logical next step. From there you'll know if you want the 60 or 40 next. Or something else.


In the E glass there's a 100 f/4 (60mm equivalent) macro that I've heard good stuff about. I don't think it goes down to 1:2 without a tube; I think it's 1:4. I have the PE 105mm 1:1 macro, which is awesome, except that it's big and heavy. It balances well on the camera, though, so it isn't too bad, really.

PE lenses are the latest, and are supposed to be the best. The MC 150mm f/3.5 was really well regarded, and other than coatings I don't think they changed it except superficially when they designated it PE. I say that because the PE is the same dimensions as the MC and goes to f/22 like it, while the PE 135 f/4 is 20mm longer than the 150, and heavier, and goes to f/32 (as do the PE 180 and 200). The MC 150 f/3.5 was itself a newer design. The MC 150 f/4 was an earlier version, and I've been told was not as good as the MC 150 f/3.5.

I got the 135 as part of a deal but I don't use it much, as my MC 150 is smaller, lighter and a little faster. But if you find you want an 80mm equivalent instead of a 90, the 135's a very nice performer.

I do indeed have an LX. Great machine, great feel.

 

[lxdude]

PE lenses are designed to MTF measurements, and provide the best resistance to flare and the improvement in contrast when the lens is wide open. There are only a couple of lenses that had a design in between the MC series and the PE series, and are designated with the -II.

50mm on the ETRS is like using 35mm on 135 format, the 40mm on ETRS is like using 24mm on 135 format.

I think those in-between lenses are the E series, with the 75mm the E-II.

The equivalency factor for 645 to 135 format used by Bronica is .6; using that 50mm is equivalent to 30mm, and 60mm=36mm.

 

[Uncle Goose]

I love my 50mm and since you already have the 75 and the 150 I strongly suggest to get this wide-angle. Once you got this one I don't think you need any other lenses, sure you could throw in a 250 or so later on but I don't even use my 150 that much, let alone a 250.

 

[Steve Smith]

My favourite ETRS lens is the 50mm. I also have the 75mm. If I were to get another lens it would be 150mm. That should cover everything I would ever need.


Steve.

 

[c.w.]

I've got the 150 f3.5 PE, 75 EII, and 50 PE. The 50 is a great lens - my only issue is that i find it a little hard to get perfect focus when using it in really dark conditions, but it's hard to fault the lens on that.

I had been planning on getting some extension tubes for my 150, but the 110 macro looks mighty tempting since i'd probably rather have something a little shorter than 150 most of the time, not to mention my 150 is a bit flat and a touch soft wide open (which is mostly gone at 5.6, but i shoot in low light essentially all the time).

 

[lxdude]

For mainly closeup portraits I don't think the 105 1:1 is what you'd want. Its 135 equivalent is just 63mm. It's a heavy, bulky, slow lens for its focal length, with a 67mm filter size instead of 62mm. It's a great macro; very high image quality. I just think for all that bulk and weight, a longer lens would be more suitable for portraits.
For closeup portraits, the 150 is limited without an extension tube. The 150 focuses to 1.5 meters; both the 135mm (81mm equivalent) and the 180mm (108mm equivalent) focus to 1 meter. So for close portraits I think the 180 is the way to go. Not that I actually have one; I'm going by the specs.

I did a quick check, with three of my lenses, of what is seen top to bottom in the viewfinder in portrait (vertical) orientation at closest focus:

75mm: approx. 11.5 inches @ .6m/2ft.
135mm: approx. 11 inches @ 1m/3.3ft
150mm: approx. 15.5 inches @ 1.5m/5ft.

The 180 has the same close focus distance as the 135 so it's obviously going to get you tighter. My guesstimate is it would get you to between 8 and 8.5 inches top to bottom. The downside of the 180 is it's larger and heavier, and slower at f/4.5, than the 135. The 200 only goes to 2 meters, and the 250 to 3 meters so they're not going to get you closer without an extension tube.
An extension tube would work to get closer with any lens, if you don't mind the hassle of losing distance focus.

What could work well with portraiture, where some softness can be a good thing, would be to use the PE 2X teleconverter with the 75mm f/2.8 lens. That would give you a 150mm f/5.6 that will still focus to .6 meter. That gets you about 6 inches top to bottom in portrait orientation. I've found some pleasing effects with teleconverters on lenses at their close focus limit; just a sort of smooth softness. I don't know if the 75 will give pleasing results close up on the converter, but you would probably not be all the way at closest focus. Depth of field won't be as shallow wide open at the same magnification compared to the 135, 150, or 180, but should still be pretty shallow, as this is medium format. You could get an idea by seeing how it looks through your 150 at f/5.6 at closest distance. At closer focus DoF will decrease more, of course.
If you didn't like the results, you could still use the converter to turn your 150 into a 300 f/7.

It's hard to say, other than the 180, what longer lens would most useful to you. I got the 250mm because I wanted the reach, and it was the longest before going to 500mm. A 300mm f/5.6 (180 equivalent) would have been nice, if they'd made one.

 

[agphotography]

Ok well I really appreciate all the info from everyone.

Yes I do have very specific shooting styles. I always have. I've also always been an Ultra-Wide fan, but I can do that with my DSLRs. I think having the 50 / 75 / 150 will be a really great trio. I may add a 60 in there eventually.

I'm just going to have fun with all of this, It's been so long since I've shot film I have to start all over, I don't know if I have my old processing stuff anymore. Probably got lost in storage over the years.

 

[agphotography]

I have one more question.

Regarding the 50mm f/2.8 lens, is the MC version acceptable? Or is the PE significantly better? Would I be unhappy with the MC 50mm?

Only reason I ask is there is a rather enormous price difference. The PE 50mm lenses on ebay seem to range between $395-800 which is way way more than I'm looking to spend currently.

 

[Uncle Goose]

I have one more question.

Regarding the 50mm f/2.8 lens, is the MC version acceptable? Or is the PE significantly better? Would I be unhappy with the MC 50mm?

Only reason I ask is there is a rather enormous price difference. The PE 50mm lenses on ebay seem to range between $395-800 which is way way more than I'm looking to spend currently.

the only advantage you have with the PE is a better coating and the possibility to use half-stops. Other then that there is little difference. I use the MC and can say it's an excellent lens, wouldn't want to spend several hundreds of dollars more for a PE.

 

[lxdude]

Keep looking. Some of those vendors will be sitting on those Buy-It-Now lenses for quite a while. The 'bay can be a strange place anyway, as you probably know. I've seen thrashed cameras or lenses go for more than a pristine example. On February 7th a 50mm PE looking to be low-BGN on the KEH scale went for $76 on ebay. That's unusually low, but shows what's possible. KEH has an MC 50 in BGN for $76. That will get you a great lens at a great price. As I recall, when they have 50 PE's they go for around a hundred bucks more than an MC in similar condition, maybe somewhat more.

 

[agphotography]

Well as luck would have it, I just found a 50mm f/2.8 PE in 9+ condition (pics looked good but we'll see when it gets here) on eBay and won it for $140. Considering the closest one I could find on eBay was $395 I'd say that's a good deal

Now I just need to find that crank arm.

 

[dynachrome]

The 105/3.5, which was not made in a PE version , focuses to 3 feet and is nice for portraits.

 

[lxdude]

Well as luck would have it, I just found a 50mm f/2.8 PE in 9+ condition (pics looked good but we'll see when it gets here) on eBay and won it for $140. Considering the closest one I could find on eBay was $395 I'd say that's a good deal

Now I just need to find that crank arm.

Crank arm? Do you mean the winding crank? If you do, Koh's should have it new for, IIRC, $31.

 

[agphotography]

Crank arm? Do you mean the winding crank? If you do, Koh's should have it new for, IIRC, $31.

Yes I meant that, and no They don't. Talked with Jimmy this morning. I waited too long!!

I need to get a bunch of little things actually, such as: body caps (full set), prism cap, winding crank, waist level finder, hoods for all 3 lenses.

 

[lxdude]

KEH. www.keh.com They don't have everything right now, but you could get a lot. Keep your eyes open and you'll locate everything you need.

They presently have:

Crank.

Hoods for 50 and 150.

Back and top body caps.

Prism cap.

WLF, though Koh's has them new, at a great price.

 

[agphotography]

KEH. www.keh.com They don't have everything right now, but you could get a lot. Keep your eyes open and you'll locate everything you need.

They presently have:

Crank.

Hoods for 50 and 150.

Back and top body caps.

Prism cap.

WLF, though Koh's has them new, at a great price.

Can you pm me the link to the crank? I couldn't find it on the keh site. I'll buy it right now!

 

[lxdude]

A strong recommendation, as you have the ETR-Si. Order new MLU and multi-exposure levers from Koh's. They're 5 bucks each and shipping to Calif. is about two bucks. Those levers are made of plastic and can break fairly easily. I replaced both on my older Si already. Age or use or both weakened them and they broke on me. Or find a couple of junk ETR's or ETRS's with the metal multi-exposure levers- those will fit either spindle and are symmetrical, so will look fine.

EDIT-for the wind crank-
Look on the ETRS page under Miscellaneous Accessories-far lower left (scroll down if necessary).

 

[agphotography]

Side note: Found it. Thanks LXdude! Now that i got my 50mm in the mail. Just need to get those body caps and lens hoods and I'm set! (and at least 1 more film back)

 

[agphotography]

My PE 50mm arrived today! It's as described which is a good thing. It's very clean overall, no damage/haze/fungus to the lens, there are a couple small knicks on the lens barrel, but that's minor. I did notice 1 tiny fleck of dust inside the glass though, but It's so small I'm not going to worry about it.

I have another question now regarding the lenses I've got. Which lens hoods should I be looking for? I've seen some that are specifically for the MC and the E lenses, but all of mine are PE, does it matter which hood you get? Are they all interchangeable?

 

[Uncle Goose]

I have another question now regarding the lenses I've got. Which lens hoods should I be looking for? I've seen some that are specifically for the MC and the E lenses, but all of mine are PE, does it matter which hood you get? Are they all interchangeable?

They are interchangeable, the PE shades just use a different push system (one button instead of the 2 button type) then the older shades but the older shades fits the PE lenses too.