Just bought a bronica sqa...

Just bought a standard bronica sqa kit, with 80mm and WLF, was

wondering if there was anything I should know? I'm familiar with 35mm

film, I've been using a fully manual pentax k1000, so I hope it's not

going to be too much of a leap (like from auto digital compacts) But

are there many little quirks, certain ways of doing things, any faults

I should look out for, simple maintainance I could carry out (like

when you flock and tape a holga for eg.) basically anything that's not

going to be in the instructions?

 

Also, I'm planning on eventually getting a 30mm (haha, I know they're

like gold dust) but I've only seen them advertised as zenzanon 30mm

for ETRS. Are these still compatible with SQA? Or do you have to get a

30mm for SQA?

 

Thanks

The ERTS and SQ series lenses are not interchangable. For the SQA you really do need SQ series lenses. The 30mm for the SQ by the way is a fisheye. The widest rectilinear one is 40mm.

Well, ERTS was a typo of course. Should have read ETRS..

Hmm, thought so. Thanks for clearing that up. I'm gonna be using this mainly for skateboard photography, and probably around 80% of skate photography uses fisheyes, and most skaters are used to looking at distorted images, so the distortion isn't an issue. I don't think 40mm is wide enough for my purposes.

In which case I think you might have a problem because the Bronica web site makes no mention of a 30mm lens for the SQ series; there's nothing in the Hove guide to the Bronica system, and eBay in both US and UK seems to indicate only a very rare appearance of a 30mm for the ETRSi- which won't fit your camera.

 

At the risk of telling you something you already know, you are aware that a 40mm lens on a medium format camera is a lot wider than on 35mm? It has an angle of view just less than 90 deg. and focusses down to 0.4m.

There is a <b>35mm</b> full frame fisheye for the Bronica SQ series. You can see example shots on my website. It's just incredibly difficult to find, and even if you do you're looking at paying at least $1000 for it. Rectilinear wide angle lenses are no good for skate photography.

FWIW, here is the Tamron page on the SQ fish: http://www.tamron.com/bronica/prod/sq35.asp

I've been troubled by occasional dirt on my films since I bought my SQ-A more than a year ago, giving me unexposed spots. I wasn't sure what was causing it, and thought at first that something might be wrong with the film, giving me pinholes. I cleaned the insides of the backs carefully, but it didn't help.

 

Finally, today, I think I found the source of the problem. I unscrewed the frame on the side of the back that connects with the camera (10 small screws) and found a lot of accumulated grunge in the slot the darkslide goes in. I took me 8 Q-Tips to clean two backs.

Yep, David and Lee are right, the FF fisheye for the SQ line is 35mm. While the FF fisheye for the ETRS line is 30mm.

Thanks for all the responses. Just as well I asked bout the fisheye, I would have spent the next year searching for a non-existent lens aha. I'll look out for the 35mm, and I'm aware of the cost, but I'm justifying that by the quality. Nice site btw Lee, I've seen that before.

 

@Peter S: I'll check that when it comes through. cheers.

 

Thanks again everyone!

Joe - try Koh's in New York. They might have the 35mm for your sqa, or be able to get it. I got hold of a 30 for my ETRS through them a couple of years ago. Had to buy it new - which hurt a bit - but then again, everything else is 2nd hand and pretty cheap, so it sort of works out OK in the end - I imagine you're in the same situation?

i have a bronica etr, will the 30mm work on it. or is it just for the ETRS? i would

love to have full frame med format fisheye , but don't want to spend the money

for the hasselblad fisheye, is this lense good?