Bronica Medium Format Owners Thread

Ian in Lancs said:
well, its all arrived OK and took an hour or so to work out how it works, comes apart and goes back together. Film arrived yesterday so I'm all set. Can't decide whether to be brave and go to he studio after work or wait until the weekend and do some pebble beach, surf and breakwater or the old favourite windmill a short walk away. I did buy a second back so I can have B&W and colour options; nice feature after having the wrong film in SLRs!
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Be brave!!

I should have bought a second back for mine!!
 
Oh, well never made it to the studio! All taken apart carefully cleaned, put back together, films loaded and one B&W and one colour pi taken. Might be off to Harlow Carr at some point over the weekend....

Anyway, I inherited a Metz SCA 386 flash cable module in the Bronica ETRSi Camera & lens combo I recently bought but as I don't have the matching flash it's surplus to requirements. The outer black insulation on the camera to module cable has crumbled away (for about 5cm at the module end and about 2cm at the camera end) and the seven inner insulated wires can be seen. On closer examination the inner wires and insulation look intact - it should work but I have no way of testing so no guarantees! Otherwise it looks in great condition! It will list on eBay 5th Sep and not selling as such - whatever I get for it will go to Macmillan Cancer Support.
 
One roll of Portra 160 done and dusted and will be in the post tomo, lab on tues and hopefully S, M, L (67MB) TIFF scans back before the weekend. The load bang you'll hear is my computer RAM exploding...
 
All 3 are fine shots Ian, but I think the colour ones really jump off the screen. (y)
 
thanks. Quite pleased really. They are the second time I shot the Bronica in a studio (still waiting for the B&W to come back). Kinda weird really not being able to check the rear screen and 'only' having 15 shots / roll. Slows everything down and fun though. Interestingly, the good shot rate was higher than normal digital and I like the look much better than a D800 file.Did struggle with white balance so will use a gray card next time.

Model Jasmine Rainford
MUA Helen Clare
Shot at Cotton Studios Preston
Shot on Bronica ETRSi Kodak Portra 160s
 
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That's a very nice set, Ian. All good, particularly the path...
 
Very good shots Ian...but is it just me that thinks they are over sharpened.
 
Clarity
 
Bronica friends! I've been enjoying my SQ-A since I got it, and have an alert set up on eBay so I can drool over the 40mm lens when it pops up on there. Usually around £200 though, so I might be drooling for a very long time. The standard 80mm lens seems to be doing well for me so far. I do need a bit more practice though - what I see in the viewfinder and what actually comes out on film is often different. I think I need to get closer than I imagine is necessary.
 
Thanks for the comparison @Sir SR - so the faint square in the left pic is the viewfinder in your camera? I kept ending up with my subjects miles away!
 
mothdust said:
Thanks for the comparison @Sir SR - so the faint square in the left pic is the viewfinder in your camera? I kept ending up with my subjects miles away!
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Sir SR said:
Yup that's the waist level finder - took an iPhone pic of it!
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In that photograph, the square is actually the common area between two crossing rectangles (one vertical and one horizontal) showing the framelines for 6x4.5cm.

The whole area (i.e., everything that is visible through the viewfinder on the focusing screen) is what will be exposed on the film. I think that some of the viewfinders might cut off part of the screen, but you should still be seeing about 95% of what will be exposed on the film with only the extreme edges occluded.
 
skysh4rk said:
In that photograph, the square is actually the common area between two crossing rectangles (one vertical and one horizontal) showing the framelines for 6x4.5cm.

The whole area (i.e., everything that is visible through the viewfinder on the focusing screen) is what will be exposed on the film. I think that some of the viewfinders might cut off part of the screen, but you should still be seeing about 95% of what will be exposed on the film with only the extreme edges occluded.
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Ok - so I should take the whole viewing area as what will appear on my negative, not just what appears inside those guide lines? What are they for, then - do you know? I'm using the WLF if that helps.
 
mothdust said:
Ok - so I should take the whole viewing area as what will appear on my negative, not just what appears inside those guide lines? What are they for, then - do you know? I'm using the WLF if that helps.
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The guidelines are for 6x4.5cm, I believe, as you can buy 6x4.5cm backs for the SQ series. I always ignored them, as they're meaningless for 6x6cm unless you plan to crop to a rectangular ratio.
 
skysh4rk said:
The guidelines are for 6x4.5cm, I believe, as you can buy 6x4.5cm backs for the SQ series. I always ignored them, as they're meaningless for 6x6cm unless you plan to crop to a rectangular ratio.
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Doh, you said that in your post and it didn't quite sink in! Sorry - I see what you mean.
 
mothdust said:
Bronica friends! I've been enjoying my SQ-A since I got it, and have an alert set up on eBay so I can drool over the 40mm lens when it pops up on there. Usually around £200 though, so I might be drooling for a very long time. The standard 80mm lens seems to be doing well for me so far. I do need a bit more practice though - what I see in the viewfinder and what actually comes out on film is often different. I think I need to get closer than I imagine is necessary.
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Is the 40mm PS you're looking out for? They do seem to fetch strong money. The 40mm S is very nice though. I think mine set me back about £50 though it does have a little ding on its hood. The 50mm's are worth looking at too.
 
I have the 40mm for my ETRSI it is a very good lens indeed. If you do obtain one you will not be disappointed.

I do believe that is does excel in the wider landscape format 645.
 
gad-westy said:
Is the 40mm PS you're looking out for? They do seem to fetch strong money. The 40mm S is very nice though. I think mine set me back about £50 though it does have a little ding on its hood. The 50mm's are worth looking at too.
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Well at the meet at the peak, I used my MC 50mm for the first time so when I eventually get the film dev I'll know how good it is and post some shots.

H'mm just realised the topic isn't about the ETRS :eggface:
 
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gad-westy said:
Is the 40mm PS you're looking out for? They do seem to fetch strong money. The 40mm S is very nice though. I think mine set me back about £50 though it does have a little ding on its hood. The 50mm's are worth looking at too.
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Any 40mm lens for a SQ-A, really. All the examples I've seen on eBay seem to be turning up around £200.
 
mothdust said:
I got my XPan from there, and they were really helpful. Thanks for the link - I got the 50mm :)
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Yeah - they're super great. Went in there to buy a medium format camera back in July.

Super helpful - told them my budget and they showed me a Kiev, as Hassy and the bronica. The sqa with two lenses was the best fit re quality/value!
 
Wow they have a lot of items for sale! I'm not after anything at the moment (I have my GAS under control for now), but I'll add it to the bookmarks for later
 
Carl Hall said:
Wow they have a lot of items for sale! I'm not after anything at the moment (I have my GAS under control for now), but I'll add it to the bookmarks for later
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NO CARL, Just keep it under control. :)
 
Anybody used a 250mm ps? I just took a punt on one on eBay but not sure what to expect. I really like my 150mm and hoping this gives even meltier backgrounds.
 
gad-westy said:
Anybody used a 250mm ps? I just took a punt on one on eBay but not sure what to expect. I really like my 150mm and hoping this gives even meltier backgrounds.
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I haven't used anything longer than 180mm on the SQ series cameras, but I've never had a problem with any of the lenses in the Bronica system, so hopefully you find it to be a solid performer.

The only thing I'd note about the 250mm is the rather long minimum focus distance, which is why I had personally opted for the 180mm lens. If you want to do tight head shots, you might need to pick up an extension tube. I hope that you enjoy the lens.
 
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