Bronica ETRS AE-II Finder Question

[steve_gabbett]

I recently made the jump from 35mm to medium format with the

purchase of an ETRS system. Dispite getting my hands on the

manuals for both the body and prism (AE-II) I could still do with a

little help.

 

I understand that the prism has two setting 'A' and 'M'. 'A'

selecting an aperture priority mode and 'M' selecting a manual

mode with the sugested shutter speeds displayed in the view

finder as a flashing number. My question is this - does the

exposure compensation dial take effect in the manual mode?

 

I'd also like to hear from anybody who uses an ETRS with slide

film on the best way to achieve accurate exposures. I know from

experience that 1/3 of a stop can mean the difference between a

correctly exposed shot or not yet the camera (in manual) only

allows full stop settings. I appreciate that the 'A' mode allows

shutter speeds that are more precise but this is not always the

best option - any advice would be appreciated.

 

Thank You!

[david_henderson]

I think I can help with the second part of your question. You're right insofar as the camera will only set full stops on shutter speed when set to manual. However the newer (PE) lenses have half stop detents so you can set the more accurate exposure by adjusting aperture. Even with older (E) lenses, whilst there are no intermediate detents the lens does close down as you move the f-stop towards the next setting, so you can still set intermediate values in manual mode by eye. So, all told there's no reason why you can't achieve your desired exposure level with this camera.

 

Measuring the light with the prism is of course a different thing entirely. My AE prism -for the SQAi- gives only an average reading. I found this inadequate in many circumstances and now use a handheld 1 degree spotmeter all the time. I still use the prism- it gives a laterally corrected view - and I use it as a sense-check for the inevitable mental calculations I have to make to convert multiple spotmeter readings to an exposure on the camera. But my own view is that contrasty scenes can easily fool an average meter.

[trevor_littlewood]

Steve

 

Simple answer - yes the exposure compensation does take effect with mannual use as well as with auto.

 

Although an ETRSi user for many years I had to get the camera out and try it to find out. Try it for youself. Set the AE prism to M and with no expos. comp. dialed in point at a subject, then dial in +1 and point at the same target, you'll find that the recommended expos. has altered by one stop.

 

I didn't know that beforehand bcause I rarely use auto expos. with the camera. Nearly all of my shots are from a tripod and almost invariably with mirror lock up which pretty well precludes auto use. I also use a hand held meter taking incident readings to which it's not usual to apply compensation anyway. If I want to I, just apply it directly in the mannual setting of the camera's controls.

 

I commented recently in this forum about intermediate f-stop settings on ETRS series lenses. Half or third stops can be set intermediately with ease on the older E lenses as there are no half stop detents. This is just like 35mm Nikkors. But with the current PE series, half stops are there as click stops. Setting those is thus perfectly easy, the setting of third stops is a little less easy as the ball bearing, (or whatever the sytem is holding the clicks stops), would tend to drop into the nearer half or full stop notch. Setting middway between a half full and a full stop would of course be on a quarter stop! In practice I find that sticking to full and half stops is for me perfectly satisfactory.

 

Trevor Littlewood.

[ken_burns1]

Steve:

 

There are actually 3 settings. In addition to A and M, there is an unmarked setting that is between them. This unmarked setting is "Off". When not using the camera, set it to the unmarked middle setting to avoid exhausting the battery.

[mauricio_lara]

Hi there,

 

I'm so tired to look upside down the net to found a manual for using the meter that I created my own. I hope that it will help a bit.

 

http://zebegining.blogspot.com/

 

Have fun

[rick_mason]

<p>Great work for posting that manual on the Bronica AEII Finder. I too got one of the auction site and via your manual was able to get it operating and it works! Aces. Thanks!</p>