Just how reliable is Bronica?

[joel_house]

It sure seems like you get alot of bang for your buck with Bronica. I

keep hearing from my pro friends that Hassy's are high maintenance.

Mamiya's are supposed to be reliable but expensive.

 

What is the inside scoop with Bronica? I want a 2 1/4 square camera

with Matrix metering and interchangeable backs. Optical quality is

very important and so is reliability of the componants. I would buy a

system with a wide angle, normal lens and modest telephoto.

 

Is Bronica a good fit? Someone mentioned Bronica used brass in the

winding mechs and it was prone to break under use.

[chris___10]

I just bought into the Bronica system (ETRSi, 40mm, 75mm, 150mm, prism, 2-120 backs, and speedgrip). I researched it before I did it and here is what I have found or heard. The new Bronicas hold up very well. The older ones did have weaker gears but that has been changed on the new models. The lenses are great, I am a student in school for photography and even though the school has about 60 Hasselblads, all the teachers recomend Bronicas. (Hassy just gave them the best price) Many students, past and present have boughten the Bronicas. One who now owns his own studio uses the SQ-Ai, and he compared the lens quality with Blad and said there was no difference. He also said he has found them very reliable. I have heard that the backs wear out a little more then other manufacturers, especially the 220 ones, but I think overall it is a very reliable system. I will say that I love my Bronica system. It is very easy to use, has all the features I need, and at a great price. I honestly think that, from the people I have talked to, that Bronica is right up there with Blad and Mamiya as far as lens quality and reliability. I say go for it.

[jim_chow]

BTW, speaking of the ETRSi, there is a 40th anniversary edition available in Japan...only a couple of hundred units will be offered.

[ted_brownle]

Joel,

 

I have had my ETRSi system now for 4 1/2 years, and have had no problems at all. I do primarily nature photography with a little industrial and portrait work for variety. I have used my system in the winter, in the rain and at the beach in a storm. Buy the most recent, the ETRSi, because it has a number of improvements over the ETRS. I am using both PE and MC (older) lenses. The PE lenses are superb. The MC lenses are quite good too, but lack the latest multi-coating technology. I shoot with a 200mm MC lens a lot, and am quite satisfied with it's performance.

 

My system gets hard use in the field, then pampered when I get home. This had paid off in the long run with no failures.

 

Good luck!

 

~Ted

[dave_schneider]

The history of Bronica is not a continunous evolution. There was a major break from the S, S2, S2A, EC series to the SQ and ETRS series. The brass winding gears are on the older S and S2 cameras. Those were a focal plane shutter camera with helical focus mount, split mirror and other innovative and sometimes disastrous features in the various models. Those camera are all at least 25 years old. Postings about mounting various lenses on the Bronica are all referring to this older camera series.

 

The new SQ cameras are a leaf shutter lens design with a more traditional and conservative design. But they are GREAT cameras. You hear some complaints about the backs but then again that's often from Hasselblad users getting defensive about the need to carry a winding key to repair jammed bodies or lenses. I love the SQ-Ai, I have backs of several vintages and all PS series lenses. The backs may need an occasional service after lots of use, the lenses are absolutely superb.

 

You are right in the fact that the Bronica is a lot of camera for the buck. I don't know if you can get a matrix meter for the SQ-Ai. I only use non-metered finders on my system.

[ken_heflinger]

I am glad to hear responses that Bronica is reliable. I purchased a Bronica SQ-B a few months ago .. so I cannot speak about the long term reliability.

 

As for optical quality .. I tested the lens and was able to get 80 lpm in the center with tech pan film (f/5.6). I have rented several other cameras (Mamyia and Hasselblad) and found the Bronica lens (at least in the center of the field) to be as good as these other cameras. The Bronica lens I have is the 80mm PS lens of course.

 

I selected Bronica over Hasselblad because the shutter in the Bronica is electronicly timed by the body, and should remain in calibration for a long time. I have heard that Hasselblad shutters can somtimes drift if not properly maintained. The Bronica also is cheaper.

 

Overall I am pleased with the camera.

 

I have not seen an option for Matrix metering in the Bronica. I use a hand held light meter of course (the SQ-B does not have the connectors for metering).

 

Ken

[david_henderson]

I have a SQAi system with several lenses and backs in frequent use for several years; so I'm highly committed to Bronica. But with cameras as with other things such as cars, reliability tends to be considered in terms of the aggregate performance. In reality there's probably more difference between one Bronica and the next in reliability terms than there is between the average Bronica and the average Hasselblad, Mamiya or MF Pentax. In short it depends on whether yours is a "good one" or not and whether you have access to a good technician who can diagnose and fix it properly when you do have a problem. Personally I've had a number of things go wrong; excessive battery usage; a circuit board problem leading to underexposure to varying degrees; film tails jamming the backs; light leaks on 220 backs; and the whole camera seizing up on a trip to France. All these problems are hopefully behind me, but I don't expect the future to be entirely trouble-free. I now take a second body on every trip, and I use a hand-held spotmeter as my prime exposure tool as well as to check the readings from the metering head.

 

So why do I keep using Bronica? Well I guess the answer is twofold. First I'm very pleased indeed with the images I get. Lens quality, as other responses have indicated, is a real strength, especially with the newer PS lenses. I can even use the 2x converter on the 250 PS and get a 18" sq. print that I'm happy to sell. The second reason is that the camera works well. Nothing about the controls causes any irritation and it just feels right. It's got what I need and nothing that I don't value. I guess that if someone were to guarantee that a Hasselblad wouldn't break down then I'd be there like a shot, but chances are there wouldn't be much difference. MF cameras are quite tough but they are not trouble free. You need to go into this with your eyes open, and if you're the sort of person whose enjoyment of the camera will cease the first time you get a problem, then I suggest you think hard now.

 

By the way, I'm not sure you can get matrix metering with the SQAi. My head gives me average metering and I think the newest ones add spot to this.

[tom_johns]

I have used a Bronica ETRSI for about five years now. I shoot

primarily weddings with a bit of wildlife in the spring (nesting

birds). My gear consists of - ETRSI, AEIII prism, Auto Winder, 50mm

MC, 75mm PE, 150mm MC, 100MM Macro (Sweet!), 250mm PE, all ext. tubes,

and 3 - 220 backs, 3 -120 backs, and the controversial 35mm back. The

system is reliable considering the running of an average of (15) 220

rolls per wedding! There are some areas you must be ready to deal with

when shooting the ETRSI - The dark slide on some backs sometimes will

not "seat" properly, allowing the advancing of film with the dark

slide in. This has happened to me on several occasions. Usually it's

only one or two shots. But if it's a hit or miss shot (one that can't

be reproduced, you're dead.) Another glitch happens when you are

shooting available light shots with the meter, and have to switch to

quickly to flash mode and you don't turn off the meter, the shutter

will "hang" for a second or two. You must hit the reset button on the

winder handle to correct this. It can be very un-nerving in a pressure

situation. One very important fact I found out the hard way - NEVER

PIECE TOGETHER USED PIECES OF EQUIPMENT! ALWAYS BUY NEW! Especially

backs! They always develop an incompatible issue sooner or later. But

I stil love the ETRSI. I'll probally add one last lens to complete

[jared_purdy1]

I feel compelled to add my $.02 worth. I too have recently purchased a Bronica ETRSi with a couple of lenses, the speed grip, AEIII prism finder and a 120 and 220 back. I would say that I have put through roughly 100 roles of film through my system, and so far there have been no real problems (with the exception of a minor adjustment on the speed grip so that the shutter release would engage when pressed). I am fortunate to live roughly 15 minutes from the national distribution and service centre in Toronto, Canada, though, should a problem come up. Before I bought this sysyem I did a lot of research, held a lot of cameras, and asked a lot of quesitons. I came to the conclusion roughly early on in my quest that money aside, Bronica is probably the best bet out there in medium format. There is wide availability of accessories and parts, the unit functions extremely well mechanically (not to downplay the problems of earlier versions), the lens quality is reportedly as good (now) as Hassey (at a fraction of the cost)and it works with all available flash systems (for camera mounted flash using sca or equivelant adapter). I have no doubt that the Rollei system is also superb, but you also pay a lot more and the availability of parts and service is a big issue, as, from what I read on this site, is the reliability of the electronics of the 6000 series cameras. Without a doubt, the Contax needs refinement, as a 1/125 flash sync won't cut it with wedding photographers, and the auto focus is no where near as fast as the human hand. The Mamiya is, well, as one respondent on another posting stated, feels like a toy. I have used the Nikon system for about fifteen years and until I saw the results from the Bronica, thought the images were outstanding. How wrong I was. I'm not sure if its the size of the negative, or the lens, or a combination of both, but the image quality from the Nikon (using top of the line primes or zooms) just does not stand up to the image quality coming from the Bronica. The only caution I have is related to a comment from another reader: the AEIII prism finder. Be careful when using the AE function indoors or outdoors under low light. You can't override the shutter speed by cranking the shutter speed dial, if you're not careful, you'll end up with images that are blurred from movement. I realized this after the fact when I was using my flash and the camera set to AE. All of the images taken indoors were useless. I now make sure that the camera is set to manual whenever I'm using flash, duh. My only regret with the Bronica, is that I didn't buy it fifteen years ago, and that it can't fire 8 frames a second! Regards, Jared Purdy.

[robert_monaghan]

I believe the brass gear issue relates to the older classic bronicas prior to the Bronica S2a (steel gearing); soft brass gears were used to protect stripping rest of mechanics, but tended to wear out in heavy use. The classic bronicas are inexpensive relative to quality and esp. low cost nikkor medium format optics and backs - except polaroid backs are hard to find as the pros are keeping them ;-)

 

many medium format users use hand held meters including spot metering functions which can give superior results thanks to the human in the loop (vs. programmed computer guess)... HTH bobm

[tom_morris1]

They really are a nice camera to use. I currently use an ETRS,75/2.8 in complement to a Pentax 35mm fully-manual system. My father uses an SQAi with the 80/2.8 to complement a Nikon FE/Nikkormat system. Both are fantastic cameras, and although we haven't had them long, they seem to be very reliable and easy. To put it this way: my father bought his SQAi after having a go with a friend's Hassy. After being dissapointed because of the Hasselblad Problem (trademark), he was pleased with the Bronica. Having put through 30 - 50 rolls, only one has been problematic. And that was due to user error (yeah, it was me), who put the film in the wrong way round.

 

We have had no problems with them. I just with Zenza would make the ETRS' 75/2.8 the same diameter as the SQAi 80/2.8. Buying all these ruddy filters is getting expensive...