Bronica ETRS AE II Prism Finder issue - left red arrow blinking

Hi everyone,

 

I just received an AE Finder II for my Bronica ETRS. I installed it on the top of the camera, I set the ISO from the left dial and the set the M mode on the right dial. I pressed the AE button and I got a weird behavior: a short display of the bottom scale with shutter speeds, then the numbers disappeared and then the left red arrow continued to blink until I depressed the AE button. It's doing the same, no matter what. What do you think, it's something with the camera, with the battery or the finder? The seller says that the finder was tested and working perfectly.. (ebay seller)

 

I filmed the image seen in the prism finder with my phone through the eye lens and then extracted the frame that show the short appearance of the shutter speed scale. I am attaching the image. It seems that it doesn't matter if I am pointing the camera to a dark area or a lighted area, the short reading looks the same.

 

Have you tried cleaning the contacts between body and prism with an eraser?

Have you tried cleaning the contacts between body and prism with an eraser?

I tried that with a pen. But I think that pins that are sending the voltage to the finder are working as long some red arrow blinks. The problem is that the scale disappears after a short display.

Edited March 14, 2018 by bogdannicolescu

I am not sure if is the battery.. I am using four small ones in serial connection

 

I have ETRC with AE-II finder. The meter is off. Way off. In other words if I use ISO100 film, I have to set finder's sensitivity at 800. That's three whole stops. And in dimmed light I have to add one more stop. So I'm just using a hand-held meter.

 

I have disassembled the prism and found that photosensitive cells (there are two of them on either sides of eyepiece) have some kind of rust/fungus or whatever that killed off its sensitivity.

 

Of course your issue is different from mine, but what I'm trying to say is that it's better to use an external meter. These things aren't exactly long-lasting. At least I've got mine for 10 dollars, much cheaper than a regular prism.

 

P.S. I'm using the same setup in terms of batteries, although I'll be surprised if single 4LR44 cell will fix the problem.

Mine was 100 euro .. For 10 bucks I wouldn't even bother to find a solution :)

Mine was 100 euro .. For 10 bucks I wouldn't even bother to find a solution :)

 

Here people are dropping various options and in the end it was a completely different issue:

 

AE II Prism problem.. Help | Bronica | Flickr

 

Looks like metering electronics is a weak spot of otherwise nearly perfect 6x4.5 LEGO toy.

I am not sure if is the battery.. I am using four small ones in serial connection

 

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ive never seen an etrs use lr44s before. i tried this with my etr, an etrs and an etrsi an no way do those batteries work in that battery compartment. the lr44s will flop around even if you expand the spring.

 

the correct battery is a px28 6v alkaline or lithium.

 

using lithiums makes no difference in any of my bronica 645s. im not sure if it effects metered prisms but certainly not the operation of the camera n lens.

ive never seen an etrs use lr44s before. i tried this with my etr, an etrs and an etrsi an no way do those batteries work in that battery compartment. the lr44s will flop around even if you expand the spring.

 

the correct battery is a px28 6v alkaline or lithium.

 

using lithiums makes no difference in any of my bronica 645s. im not sure if it effects metered prisms but certainly not the operation of the camera n lens.

What original poster has posted here is indeed an expanded spring and it works like a charm on my ETRC as well, when I don't have a proper battery. But meter reading is same whether I use alkaline 4LR44 or four pieces of LR44. Must be a thing with alkaline.

Hi,

 

I changed the battery with a Duracell one. It didn't change that much. I was receiving a red left light and a very weak 4 number from the scale of exposure times. This 4 was always shown when I was trying to measure the light through the lens. I disassembled my Bronica (left side, right side, bottom side) trying to see if maybe there are some faulty pins or contacts. Nothing wrong, at least from the perspective of an ETRS repair manual found on orphancameras. I reassembled it again, re-tested the finder and have the same results. Maybe it's something with the finder, maybe it's something with the camera.. I will never know. I returned the metered prism to the e-bay seller and that was it. I lost the shipping though, but that's it. I didn't want to open the prism because I was afraid that i could not return it anymore. Maybe next time I will have more luck, but I have the feeling that I will not order a metered prism very soon :)

Well, guess you'll have to stick with handheld meter. Can't go wrong with that! Weak and overly complicated electronics are such a turnoff for otherwise nearly perfect system. People around the net are talking that AE-III is the most reliable metered prism. Too bad it won't work on old bodies.

 

One bad thing with modular machines like ETR is that electronics are scattered throughout the body, lens and the prism, which means you can never be sure what's faulty unless you have a second set of items to replace and test.

That's true, the inside wires are pretty scattered and if you want to check the body top pins (for the finder) you literally have to open the whole camera. Everything but the lens, of course. In the end, I found those old cameras like Bronica or Hasselblad very overpriced for what they offer. And I am not comparing with my 7D. I am comparing with a Nikon F100, a camera that I bought 6 years ago for 100 euros. Really, a Bronica ETRS or a Hasselblad 500 are waaaaay back on any aspect. I really don't get this hype around them anymore. I have friends with Hasselblads bought from ebay for more than 700 euros .. Full of light leaks, the lenses are barely rotating, it takes ages to make a focus. And for what? For just a little less grain in order to scan the images and post them on Facebook.. For this money you can buy 15 Zenit cameras or more. No light leaks, fine lenses, and they even have integrated light meter.

That's true, the inside wires are pretty scattered and if you want to check the body top pins (for the finder) you literally have to open the whole camera. Everything but the lens, of course. In the end, I found those old cameras like Bronica or Hasselblad very overpriced for what they offer. And I am not comparing with my 7D. I am comparing with a Nikon F100, a camera that I bought 6 years ago for 100 euros. Really, a Bronica ETRS or a Hasselblad 500 are waaaaay back on any aspect. I really don't get this hype around them anymore. I have friends with Hasselblads bought from ebay for more than 700 euros .. Full of light leaks, the lenses are barely rotating, it takes ages to make a focus. And for what? For just a little less grain in order to scan the images and post them on Facebook.. For this money you can buy 15 Zenit cameras or more. No light leaks, fine lenses, and they even have integrated light meter.

There's no "hype" for me personally, the reason I bought my ETR is that it was listed for 70$ - very cheap. For now it works and it delivers high quality prints on large paper.

 

As for F100, I've never owned it, but my F80 is two steps below F100 and it's a great performer. I just don't like it to be so automatic and digital-like.