Bronica SQ-Ai Pros & Cons

Hi all.

Now before I start 2 things. First off, I know there's a few posts on

here already for the SQ system, but they don't really have the info

I'm looking for. Secondly, I've used medium format for ages & know of

the other systems that are out there (and for the 'BUY HASSELBLAD!'

fans I already own them).

I'm looking for objective info on the Bronica SQ-Ai system as I have

had my eye on them as a Hasselblad alternative for a while. 6x6 fan

you see.

Can people comment on the pro's & con's of the camera & the system as

a whole. Any essentials missing? The essential Mirror lock up & Bulb

exposure are now fitted as standard I presume? I know the old SQ was

missing some of these obvious features.

People have questioned the reliability of the body. Anyone had one

break? Cheap/expensive/easy/quick to fix? If so how often has it gone

wrong? Anyone owned them for years & had no problems?

Does it rip through Batteries or do they last more that a few rolls?

(it matters in the mountains!).

Lenses, (I know they are sharp & don't wish to start the Zenzanon vs

Zeiss debate). Feedback on the good & bad ones in the system?

Probably looking at a 50mm, 80mm & a 150-ish. I believe the PS is the

multi-coated right?

Generally I'd like to glean as much info on the good & bad points of

the SQ-A & Ai from the people in the know with actual experience of

the cameras.

Thanks in advance guys & play nice now ;)

Gavin

www.urban-landscapes.co.uk

Hi Gavin,

I love my SQAi. In case you missed it, there's a substantial review at: http://www.photo.net/bronica/sq-ai

In any event, here are a few answers to your questions:

The small batteries last a goodly amount, more than a few rolls but I've pretty much avoided the hassle of trying to find a Walmart or Radio Shack to replace them by using a non-metered prism and the Motor Drive which takes standard AA batteries.

I have the 50mm, 80mm, and 150mm PS Lenses, all are sharp - and multicoated. I prefer the F2.8 80mm - simply because I prefer normal lenses.

The SQAi has both mirror-lockup and Bulb. So does the SQA. The only difference is that the SQA can not integrate information from the Back, Lens, and Metered Prism.

In regards to the pro's & con's of the camera & the system as a whole, I guess my biggest gripe is Rental availability - I have friends and associates that I can borrow components from - but I can't walk into any pro-stores and rent a fish-eye, or a 500mm lens (at least here in Boston).

All of my Bronica Equipment is used - purchased from others when they switched to Digital, Large Format, or have Retired. I need to have my bodies and Lenses CLA'd but nothing has gone South on me. That said, one of my friends's system is 10-15 years old (purchased new whenever the Ai and PS lenses were released) and he beats on his equipment. One of his lenses or a bodies will go on him once or twice per season - but he's used his stuff day in and day out since purchase. Not sure what the turn around time is or expense for his repairs since he didn't usually send the stuff out right away.

Flat out, the system isn't as comprehensive as Hasselblad, or solid metal built - But it's held up for me, and I love it. Hope that helps,

Tony P.

I own an SQ-A, bought used. The lenses are 50mm S, 105mm S, and 150mm PS. The SQ-A does not have a B setting, but the battery-less T setting on each lens works pretty well. Without battery (I do not have any problems as I do not use any metering prism that consumes additional power), the SQ-A is limited to 1/500s, but it would work. Compared to the SQ-Ai, the SQ-A misses the B setting and the TTL flash metering capability. SQ-A and SQ-Ai both have mirror lockup and multi exposure capabilities.

Battery consumption is no problem (at least if you do not use a metering prism). It is easy to carry some spare batteries to be safe. For minus degrees, Bronica offers a wired battery compartment.

All lenses (the S and PS ones) are multi-coated, the newer PS ones have a different lens layout (I cannot say if it really improves quality). From my point of view there is no need to buy the PS lenses.

My used SQ-A is very reliable. The light sealing foam on the back needed replacement but that was no problem at all, and one very heavy used back needed some adjustment (transporting problems).

I've used the SQ-Ai for years with the 50S and 80/150/250 PS

lenses, all bought used . I use these professionally and to be

frank if I'd had any real regrets or reservations I'd have changed

in a heartbeat.

I use the cameras mainly for landscape/urban landscape

transparencies, from which I have prints made which are sold

mainly to corporates. I could get decently sharp 18" sq R types

but now have LightJets produced that are very sharp up to 36" sq

and maybe beyond- i haven't tried. For conventional/analogue

prints, the lenses seem sharper than the print-making process

though I wouldn't claim that they are unique in this respect.

There's nothing "missing" that I'd find useful. It has MLU which I

use all the time, and bulb. Extension tubes are quite

unreasonably expensive. PS lenses are multicoated. I suspect

that S lenses may also be multicoated though the coating on the

PS is claimed to be better. The most obvious difference is that s

lenses don't have half stop clickstops on the aperture ring

though you can position apertures between clickstops. I can't

see much difference in the quality and look of images made

with different lenses. I use an S 50 simply because it uses the

same filter thread as my other lenses whereas the PS version

uses larger filters. Anything S must be 1985 or earlier.

Servicing. The UK service centre is in Maidenhead which is only

ten minutes or so from me and I get good service which has

always been timely, albeit not cheap. However when I compare

to a £95 charge from the importer to look at a Mamiya 7 and a

charge of £550 plus VAT to replace a front element group on the

50mm lens for same camera, maybe it isn't too bad. I've got to

know the Bronica people and they don't give me the impression

of looking for ways to extort money.

Reliability. Well I did have some problems in the first year which

are now history and I get the some wear and tear issues now-

replacing springs in the speedgrip (get a speedgrip!) seals in

the backs, that sort of thing. I'll get a couple of weeks or so hard

use out of a set of batteries- I use a metered prism - but huge

battery usage was one of the issues I faced when i first got the

camera and I suspect that one of my bodies had fairly

fundamental electronic control problems when I first got it.

Strangely enough ever since I bought a back-up a year into

Bronica, I've had far fewer problems and I haven't had an

irresolvable problem in the field in five years. It survives many air

journeys a year as checked baggage inside a Pelicase. My own

view is that reliability is a function of individual cameras much

more than it is of marques and so you can't protect yourself

against breakdown problems by buying a "reliable" brand. I'd

be interested to hear what the wedding /portrait photographers

have to say on the reliability score since they almost certainly

shoot many more frames than I do. There was a time in the

months after I bought the Bronica gear when i wondered about

ditching it but having persevered and got the problems sorted

out I'm now very glad I didn't. I've had a loan camera from

Hasselblad UK in the field and I found it quirkier/less intuitive to

use, so I think moving the other way would be easy.

A couple of final points. First, several times a year someone

approaches me and asks whether the camera is a Hasselblad.

There are people that wouldn't feel good about telling them that it

wasn't. I'm clearly not one of them but if I was it would spoil the

ownership experience. Second despite the fact that the

Bronica's lenses are sharp there seems to me to be a slightly

different look about a Bronica photograph than you get from a

Hasseblad . I can't explain this; it isn't something you note on

every shot. It might be a colour thing. Obviously I don't feel the

Bronica's "look" is worse but it is just a little different.

www.photography001.com

hi gavin,

i used me bronica sqai for years for advertising and commercial photos and never ever had any problems are malfunctions. In years i can only remember one or two times changing the batteries. It was a very reliable and good camera. the lenses seem very good to me. I could not think of one thing that the camera lacks. I am glad I dind´t spend the money on a hasselblad(wich I did consider). sadly since i moves up to 4x5 for architectural work I haven´t used it since some years now - if your are interessted in a used bronica and lenses let me know!.

regards stefan (mail@architekturbild.de)

Hi Guys. Thanks for your replies on this one. You've me helped a lot in assessing the system. You can read the brochures all you like but until you havr used it for 6 months I don't think you really know a camera.

Stefan, feel free to mail me details of the kit & a price.

Gavin

www.urban-landscapes.co.uk

I'd strongly advise you to rent one for a while before putting down your hard earned cash, or buy a second hand one at a price that lets you get out cheaply if you don't like it.

I tried one for several months but in the end I just didn't like it as much as a 'blad. It just didn't seem as nice to use as a 500 series. Also, the 'feel' of the images from the Bronica lenses is different from what you get from the Zeiss ones. Not better or worse, just different. I didn't like it (though others here obviously do). I'm not suggesting you shouldn't get one, just that you need to be wary of the comments of enthusiasts, you may join their ranks or you may, like me, go back to Hasselblad.

Actually, there's no 'going back' as I'm staying with Hasselblad. It pays to keep an eye on what else is out there though :)

Gavin