Who is Using Bronica Gear?

[glbeas]

I've had Bronica Sq cameras for a few years, very good to work with. I'd rather use them than 35mm. I have a 50mmPS, 80mmS, 105mmS, 250mmS, extension tubes, a bellows and a bunch of backs with my two SQAs and one SQAi. A neat thing to have is the external battery pack for the SQAi that uses AA batteries, great for cold weather shooting as you can put the pack in your pocket to keep it warm while shooting.

 

[glbeas]

I've been using my sqai which I first got for weddings in 1995 (and I have to admit, love not doing weddings anymore).

Have a 40mm which is excellent for landscapes. Recently got a 250 cheaper than I ever imagined, and am trying it on dune pix.

The one with a tilt-shift--was this mfg'd by Bronica, and is it available used??

And, does the rangefinder use completely different lenses?

Paul

The tilt shift was for the older style Bronicas and the rangefinder does use a separate series of lenses. I think if Bronica had built some cross compatibility into thier lens systems they would have an ever greater following now, possibly rivaling Hassies.

 

[manjo]

I have a bronica SQA, prism meter, 80mm and 50mm lens and 3 220 backs and one 135 (for 35mm film ) back. Works great for me. I need to add a macro lens some day. But I am throwing money at my LF gear instead.

 

[Samuel B]

I've got a Bronica ETR 645 with a 75mm lens and prism view finder & 120 back. It's in pretty rough condition but still works perfectly, (they don't make 'em like that anymore!) Been an exellent camera, easy to use hand-held, very good lens. I find the 645 a good compromise between portability and quality.

 

[Gay Larson]

I have a complete Bronica SQ-am kit with two lenses, a 120 back and a polaroid back. I haven't used it much in the past but took about 10 rolls of film with it recently. It seems to use up the battery fast but otherwise most of the negs looked good. I have another MF camera so I'm looking to sell this kit and will put it on the classifieds soon. anyone interested can pm me.

 

[stormbytes]

I was originally introduced to the Bronica line in 1998, when working as a light boy for a wedding photographer in Brooklyn, New York. At the time, Bronica was the logical Hassy replacement, given it's then relatively tolerable price tag. Some yeas later I acquired my own kit consisting of a Bronica SQ-A body, an S-Prism (non-metered), and 40, 80 and 150mm lenses, as well as mutiple 120 film backs.

Though I don't shoot professionally, or nearly as often as I'd like, I thoroughly adore this camera. The Bronica SQ-A MF Slr feels like a workhorse. It's well-made, durable, reliable, and these days, more then affordable. I've gotten some pretty impressive results using this kit. The only thing I'd point out to any potential buyers is to aim for the "PS" series lenses. These are Bronica's PRO series optics, and are supposed to be optically superior to the "S" series.

 

[Robert Budding]

My RF645 has become my favorite camera. Great lenses in a light and compact package. Nicely built, too.

 

[Soeren]

Bought my SQ-Ai kit 4 month ago from a friend, which for a brief moment was crazy enought to give up serius photography - he is still recovering from his magic bullet chasing, somewhere on APUG

The kit included PS 80 and 150mm and I have just added a PS 40mm.

And I just love this kit. It is so fun to play with and this BIG negative, WOW! (compared to 135-format)

Tom

***^"#@>+-:*¨~
Consider that "-FORMER-" pal
Cheers
Søren

 

[katcall]

Bronica Dark Slide Question

Hi all

Whilst on this topic I thought this would be the perfect thread to ask this question.

I think that whilst photographing with my Bronica ETRSi that I was able to take pictures even though the dark slide was in. I was wondering if this has happened to anyone else and what may cause the problem. I also have an ETR and have never experienced this problem with the ETR. I have left the dark slide in on many occasions and realised after I was not able to take a shot or advance the film. I always understood that if the dark slide was in place, the shutter would not open. The reason why I am not 100% certain is that I was distracted at the time by my two children, 4 and 18 months, plus quite a few bees in the tree that I was photographing, left the camera and when I came back noticed that the dark slide was in. I don't believe that I put it in before I walked away. I guess I will know for sure once I have the film processed but thought I would ask the question just in case I am not imagining it and it has happened to someone else.

Regards


Kathy

 

[brimc76]

Hi all

Whilst on this topic I thought this would be the perfect thread to ask this question.

I think that whilst photographing with my Bronica ETRSi that I was able to take pictures even though the dark slide was in. I was wondering if this has happened to anyone else and what may cause the problem.
Regards


Kathy

Hi Kathy, I also had this problem with one of my film backs. I took it in to the local Bronica distributor's service department at the time and they cleaned it out and adjusted it (no charge) and it has worked fine ever since. There is a lock or latch that the dark slide is suppose to engage to stop the shutter button from being depressed. They told me that sometimes when putting the dark slide in and out of the film back it can jam if there is piece of the paper backing from the film or a film bit in the slot and it will end up firing even though the dark slide is in.
At the time I was doing weddings and couldn't take the chance of leaving the dark slide in so I put a small piece of bright orange tape over the grip of the dark slides so it was pretty obvious if it got left in.

 

[bobfowler]

Hi all

Whilst on this topic I thought this would be the perfect thread to ask this question.

I think that whilst photographing with my Bronica ETRSi that I was able to take pictures even though the dark slide was in. I was wondering if this has happened to anyone else and what may cause the problem. I also have an ETR and have never experienced this problem with the ETR. I have left the dark slide in on many occasions and realised after I was not able to take a shot or advance the film. I always understood that if the dark slide was in place, the shutter would not open. The reason why I am not 100% certain is that I was distracted at the time by my two children, 4 and 18 months, plus quite a few bees in the tree that I was photographing, left the camera and when I came back noticed that the dark slide was in. I don't believe that I put it in before I walked away. I guess I will know for sure once I have the film processed but thought I would ask the question just in case I am not imagining it and it has happened to someone else.

Regards


Kathy

One of my 120 backs for my SQ-series cameras has an interlock problem that allows the shutter to fire and film to advance when the slide is still in the back. It bit me in the ass once, but fortunately it wasn't on a wedding job and I caught it after the second frame. That same back is also a pain in the ass to get off the camera. The interlock that fails to work also makes it difficult in that you have to monkey with the slide to get the little tab just right so it will release the back from the body.

I really should get it fixed...

 

[asaphoto]

One of my 120 backs for my SQ-series cameras has an interlock problem that allows the shutter to fire and film to advance when the slide is still in the back. It bit me in the ass once, but fortunately it wasn't on a wedding job and I caught it after the second frame. That same back is also a pain in the ass to get off the camera. The interlock that fails to work also makes it difficult in that you have to monkey with the slide to get the little tab just right so it will release the back from the body.

I really should get it fixed...

I have the same problem with my 120 back on my SQ-Ai. The little metle peace sometimes dose not engage the lockup if presure applied in the rong direction. It can be avoided if presure is plaaced in the other direction but it is easy to forget. I think the metal peace on the slide could be bent slightly to ensure that it triggers the lock but i have not tried it yet.

 

[katcall]

Hi all

Thanks for letting me know about the dark slide problems, at least now I know I'm not just imagining things. I'll know for sure when I get my film back but am pretty sure that is what happened. Might have to take it and get it looked at. It's not a big deal if you can remember to remove the dark slide but I get so distracted that I can't rely on myself to do that, as I proved yesterday. Get's expensive to have film developed that only has three images because I keep to forget removing the offending dark slide. Once again, thanks for letting me know and including ways to fix the problem.

Beside that, I love using the ETRS and ETRSi, the Bronica's are great cameras. I have only recently purchased my ETRSi and it came with a macro lens so that is what I was testing yesterday, looking forward to seeing the results, even if there are only three images on the film.

Regards


Kathy

 

[tgb12]

I've had an SQA for about five years now, exclusively for landscape work. I have a 50, 80 and 150 mm lens--each quite excellent. I use a Pentax spot meter, as I find it works best with the color zone system I employ. I understand the Bronicas were popular with wedding photographers--maybe still are--but I would hate to have to heft the SQA around all day on that sort of assignment. And once in a while, I cuss out the square format, but over-all the camera has served me quite well, and I have no desire to get rid of it.

 

[nworth]

I have an ancient S2A that I love. l've had to repair some light leaks in the magazines, but it works great. The old Nikkor and Zensa lenses are outstanding. One interesting note: the shutter sounds like a cannon when it fires, and the camera jumps, but it must all happen after the exposure because the results are very sharp, even hand held.

 

[blackmelas]

I'm loving my Bronicas: an SQ-A with 50mm, 80mm and 150mm lenses and an RF645 with 45mm and 65mm lenses. I'll look soon to get the 100mm for the rangefinder and a macro lens for the SQ.

James

 

[bjorke]

RF645 with the two short lenses. If anyone wants to get rid of a 100mm, let me know.

Hasn't been used for a while... days, at least.

 

[fatboy22]

Love my Classic Bronicas, 3- S2A bodies, 2 C bodies, lenses from 50mm to 500mm. Just about every accessorie ever made for them and still have less than $1500 invested in the system. 120/220 backs are great! Very addictive camera!

Jamie

 

[kdanks]

I bought an ETRSi with the 75mm PE lens a couple of weeks ago. So far I've only had time to put one roll of film through it, which I then managed to under develop a bit, but even so I'm impressed with it. I've just ordered a spot meter, so I don't have to use one of my 35mm cameras to do the metering, which I'm very much looking forward to.

I think mine has only seen amateur use and is virtually unmarked. Not sure where I would go if I did need a repair. Any ideas? (I'm in the UK)

Kevin

 

[David Henderson]

Regarding the request for repair info fo the UK.

The European distributor (as was) is based at Maidenhead and has a factory trained technician. http://www.intro2020.co.uk/pages/bronica.htm

 

[JohnArs]

Bronica GS1 since over 15 years never a problem its a real workhorse!

 

[kdanks]

Regarding the request for repair info fo the UK.

The European distributor (as was) is based at Maidenhead and has a factory trained technician. http://www.intro2020.co.uk/pages/bronica.htm

Thanks David. Does anyone have a source for Bronica serial numbers and manufacture dates? I've Googled endlessly and found nothing that actually lists numbers and dates.

Kevin

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

I think there is some serial number info on Bob Monaghan's huge Bronica site. Start here--

Dead Link Removed

 

[Nick Zentena]

If you have an ETRSI with a PE lens you can make some guesses.

The ETRSI was released in the late 1980s I think. The PE lenses around 1995? If the lens is stock which is likely for a 75mm then odds are the combination is post the release of the PE lenses.

 

[kdanks]

Thanks David, that is a great site. I found some information on the older Bronicas, but nothing so far on the ETRSi. It could be in there somewhere, so I'll keep looking.

Nick, thanks for that. I do have the 75mm PE, so that gives me a rough date range.

Kevin