So the first roll of 120 is nearly finished in my newly acquired Bronica ETR-Si.
What a learning curve though - some of yesterday evenings events are laughable, i'm so used to automatic everything and the wastefulness that is digital (ie shoot, look, delete, try again !!).
The plus points...
+ very enjoyable experience using something so different to a conventional shaped SLR![Big Grin :D :D](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
+ film loading is very easy
- one look at the instruction diagram and i was away. A real bonus as i did wonder whether loading film out in the field would be a pain in the ass.
+ viewfinder; its like watching HD TV !
The mistakes !!
- first shot i couldn't get the shutter to fire, dark slide still in !
- removed dark slide still, no response, film advance handle needed another 2 clicks, presumably to cock the shutter![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
- first pic taken
then realised i'd forgotten to focus
but fortunately was set to infinity so correct for the shot ![Wink ;) ;)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
Went to several local locations as the light of the late evening was fading, mainly to test out the Weston Master V lightmeter readings (ebay £5.50
)
The frustrations..
one thing i did find frustrating was that using 125ISO Ilford FP4+ film i was always struggling to find a combination shutter speed and aperture value. This is no doubt partly due to the limited range of shutter speeds on the Bronica but i do find it a bit disconcerting, especially when you can't check the results immediately! Maybe a different iso film would have given me somethign more aligned to shutter and apertures on the camera ?
I did take some shots using aperture settings between the click stops of the lens - it was a bit of a gamble at the time as i didn't know for sure what setting i would get
. The manual suggests there are intermediate settings (provided no metered prism in use), so i think i'm OK. ![Thinking :thinking: :thinking:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.tp/thinking.gif)
Could someone confirm this ?
What a learning curve though - some of yesterday evenings events are laughable, i'm so used to automatic everything and the wastefulness that is digital (ie shoot, look, delete, try again !!).
The plus points...
+ very enjoyable experience using something so different to a conventional shaped SLR
+ film loading is very easy
![Woot! :woot: :woot:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.tp/woot.gif)
+ viewfinder; its like watching HD TV !
The mistakes !!
- first shot i couldn't get the shutter to fire, dark slide still in !
- removed dark slide still, no response, film advance handle needed another 2 clicks, presumably to cock the shutter
- first pic taken
![Woot! :woot: :woot:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.tp/woot.gif)
Went to several local locations as the light of the late evening was fading, mainly to test out the Weston Master V lightmeter readings (ebay £5.50
![Clap :clap: :clap:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.tp/clap.gif)
The frustrations..
one thing i did find frustrating was that using 125ISO Ilford FP4+ film i was always struggling to find a combination shutter speed and aperture value. This is no doubt partly due to the limited range of shutter speeds on the Bronica but i do find it a bit disconcerting, especially when you can't check the results immediately! Maybe a different iso film would have given me somethign more aligned to shutter and apertures on the camera ?
I did take some shots using aperture settings between the click stops of the lens - it was a bit of a gamble at the time as i didn't know for sure what setting i would get
![Thinking :thinking: :thinking:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.tp/thinking.gif)
Could someone confirm this ?