Buying a Bronica in Seattle - need advice

[elmar001]

Help please. I am going to be in Seattle and am thinking of picking up some

Bronica gear from Kenmore Camera

(http://www.kcamera.com/main/invusd/usedbr.htm).

 

Any recommendations regarding the stuff they have listed for sale would be

appreciated. I am looking for a body and a lens to shoot general scenic motifs.

 

I am also wondering if local photo shops stock 120 film, and who does

processing for this size.

 

Thanks for helping a newbie to MF.

 

Lawrence

[akajohndoe]

I don't know if Kenmore Camera still stocks MF film (120/220) or not. Probably. If not, Glazer's on the near North end of downtown Seattle (8th and Republican) did last time I was there. And Ivey, right next door to Glazer's, processes 120 still (I hope!).

 

As for the gear ... looking at it and handling it is part of the fun!

[lawrence_plummer]

Kenmore still sells 120. For a quick turn around, Capital Hill Photo (on 15th Ave., between Pine and Pike sts.) does an excellent job on 120. I typically get process only in an hour.

[akajohndoe]

That is good to know. Thanks!

[browncam]

Good choice for MF. Bronica's are bullet proof. ETR's were made from 76 to 80. ETRS's were made from 80 to 88. ETRSi's were made after 1988. My recommendation would be to get a basic outfit then buy more lenses on EBay, because they are going for very reasonable prices. Get a metered prism if you can. One more thing,If they have a Polaroid back in stock,you could test the outfit before you buy it.

[elmar001]

Thank you for your comments. I was wondering what you thought of the deals on the Kenmore website. The two ETRS kits for $300 look interesting, what do you think? They don't seem to have a metered prism there, but they may have others not listed on the website. Thanks.

[browncam]

Lawrence, There is only one ETRS listed. The price seems reasonable. On Ebay backs or bodies go for $50,lenses $100, metered prisms $100, complete kits $250. Of course you can not see them before you buy, and you will have to pay shipping.

[johnw436]

I have a pile of Bronica ETR series stuff. I absolutely love all of it. I have an early ETRs and a later ETRsi. The ETRs I bought from a coworker as a complete kit which included the speedgrip, metered prism, 75mm lens, and a film back. I paid 350 about two years ago.

 

Since then I have bought a ton of other stuff. Some from KEH, and a lot off eBay. If you go the ebay route for stuff, I highly recommend "Shutterblade" as a seller. Nothing but great things to say about them.

 

Being able to handle the complete camera outfit before you buy it and give it a thorough shakedown is worth fifty bucks over the price of the same kit on Ebay in my opinion.

 

You absolutely cannot go wrong with Bronica. The image quality will floor you. Under a microscope there might be some minute difference between MC and PE glass, but in reality I've never seen it. Don't judge images on the internet for photo quality. My prints when shown to friends just blow them away.

[robert loop]

Be aware that many medium format cameras are not for "travel light", they are kinda heavy...

An Iskra, a Fuji even the traditional Rolleiflex are better if you wan to travel with. I have had a

complete Bronica SQam, good camera , but shot 2 films and then was taking the dust... too

heavy !!

[g._armour_van_horn]

I've been thinking about a Bronica ETR-Si as a balance to my digital work, but even though I could drive to Seattle easily enough, I'll probably get the hardware on eBay. However, I've looked at a ton of information about this camera, but one fact eludes me. When the camera is held normally, do you get portrait or landscape images out of it? I'm used to landscape, a la 35mm, but medium format was so commonly used for portraiture that I don't feel confident assuming that this tells me anything about the Bronicas.

 

Van

[Bob K]

I will throw another iron in the fire. Look at the GS-1. None are at Kenmore but I am sure they are around in Seattle. Big plus is you can go 6x7,6x4.5 and 35mm pana. Pricing is only a little more than the etrs and worth the money for format flexibiliy and larger 6x7 size. I have 2 of them and love them. I used them for weddings, product photos, portraits etc when I was in the business. I agree with the others that you need to lay you hands on what you buy. The etrs is a great camera but consider the possibility of the larger format.

 

Bob

[elmar001]

I appreciate everyones help on this. Tomorrow is the big day, we are taking the 2 hour plus drive south to Seattle. On the way we will be stopping at Kenmore's, I got a new plastic that hasn't even been used! LOL I plan to go to Jim's and Glazers on Friday, if I can drag my wife out of the malls for a bit. I have them all programmed in the Garmin so even an old guy like me should be able to find my way around. I will let you know what happens when we get back. Thanks again.

 

Lawrence