Suggested ETRSi Set Up

[mike_vine]

Hi - appreciate this is a variation on the the 'what MF camera should I buy' question but I am looking to acquire a Bronica ETRSi as a first

venture into MF - it seems to be the best value for money system available for a budget of £250 or so... But being new to this MF world I

would appreciate some advice on the 'components' I should be looking for in a system.... What's the equivalent general purpose lens for instance. Photographic interests are wide ranging but mostly landscapes and people... I would be looking for a SLR type viewfinder

and on board metering... Hope this all makes sense. Don't be afraid to tell me if it doesn't or if there is a better option out there - very

much in learning mode... Many thanks.

[paul ron]

<p>First you read the manual...<br>

<a href="http://www.butkus.org/chinon/bronica/bronica_etrsi/bronica_etrsi.htm">http://www.butkus.org/chinon/bronica/bronica_etrsi/bronica_etrsi.htm</a></p>

<p>Now that you seen the camera n how it works... Normal lens is the 75mm, a good all round lens for general use.</p>

<p>A nice portrait lens is the 150mm which I tend to use almost everywhere as my normal, I just love the results I get.</p>

<p>For landscapes I like the wide 40 or 50mm lenses (50 is cheaper). But again when talking outdoors I like details more than vistas so my 150 is the one that rides up front most of the time.<br>

The camera fits your hand very nicely when using a speed grip, it feels more like a 35mm camera instead of a brick. Most ETRS cameras come with a prism, I prefer non-metered since I use a hand held. I hate the flip up WLF, a waste of money. The metered prisms do ahve some auto features you may like but again I like full control in my hands not leave it up to the system.</p>

<p>To make the system much nicer to handel, get the focus levers for your lenses (KEH has em for about $12). Combined with the speed grip it makes it such a sweet street camera, more like a lady in your hands.</p>

<p>Be sure the crank and the battery cover is included as these are the parts that tend to get lost.</p>

<p>When you get your camera change the battery so you are sure to be off to a good start.</p>

<p> </p>

[henryp]

<p>The ETRS was my primary med format system for more than a decade. The 75mm is the "normal" lens.<br>

<a href="http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Zenza_Bronica_ETR">http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Zenza_Bronica_ETR</a><br>

<a href="http://www.tamron-usa.com/bronica/slr_archives.asp">http://www.tamron-usa.com/bronica/slr_archives.asp</a></p>

<p>Finder choices included waist-level, prism and prism + meter. I never found the metered prism all that reliable and usually used the non-meter prism with a hand-held incident meter. With the prism, the speed grip is IMO a necessity and makes the camera handle like an over-sized 35mm slr. There's also a motor grip but I prefer the speed grip.</p>

<p>The speed grip includes a hot shoe. I added a Nikon AS-15 and connected my flash PC cord there rather than to the body.</p>

<p>Film options include 120, 220 and there are 2 35mm backs. One is standard and the other is panorama -- very tricky to load but it uses the full height of the film so results are excellent. With the 35mm backs they offered a focus screen with standard and panorama fields etched. Very handy.</p>

<p>The camera requires a battery and I got into the habit of removing it between jobs because I burned too many out accidentally. The camera can be operated w/out film but to do so you have to actuate the body's double exposure lever and then you have to remember to switch it back for shooting or you will be sorry. Learn from my experience. </p>

<p>Bronica & NPC made Polaroid backs. Bronica's was more expensive but with the NPC the bottom of the back interferes with some tripod connections. Annoying but not insurmountable.</p>

<p>From "£250" I presume you're not in the USA. Too bad. I'd offer to sell my rig -- 3 bodies, 50, 75 & 150 lenses and a stack of accessories. I love the camera but never use it anymore.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>When you get your camera change the battery</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Nothing to charge. Used a single 6-volt silver oxide or alkaline-manganese 544 or PX-28 battery -- <a href="http://www.tamron-usa.com/bronica/batteries.asp">http://www.tamron-usa.com/bronica/batteries.asp</a>.</p>

<p>Henry Posner<br /><strong>B&H Photo-Video</strong></p>

[mwmcbroom]

<p>Hey Mike, well Paul and Henry have certainly hit all the high points. Not much else I can add, really. But I'll give it a go. Seems like both Paul and Henry prefer using hand-held meters, which is fine. I have a good hand-held meter that I've been using with my ETR-Si. But I just recently purchased an AE-II prism, and I'm looking forward to trying it out. The AE-III goes for quite a premium still these days -- mostly I think because it has a spot mode? -- but the -II can be had for a much more reasonable sum. I've only had my -II for about a week now, and haven't even had a chance to use it yet. So I suppose the jury is still out.</p>

<p>One oddity about Bronica's prisms is their selection of the standard eyepiece diopter. It's a -1.5, which is quite strong for somebody with normal eyesight. I'm somewhat near-sighted (about a -2.25) and when I'm wearing my glasses, I have quite a bit of trouble focusing on my subjects. I actually have to remove my glasses and squint a bit, and I can get by with the -1.5. Bronica offered a -0.5 as an optional accessory, which appears on eBay from time to time. Except that often the -0.5s are really -1.5s that people pulled off their prisms, and stored in the -0.5's boxes after installing the -0.5s onto their cameras' prisms. Then some years later, these boxes with the incorrect eyepiece diopters periodically wind up at estate sales or what have you and are resold to the unsuspecting public as the wrong power. Ask me how I know all this. :) So if you feel the need to step down a notch to the -0.5 (as I did), double check that it actually reads "-0.5" on the diopter. The OEM -1.5s don't have any writing on them at all.</p>

<p>Oh a couple of other things having to do with the older and newer ETR gear. Regardng the lenses, the consensus I've come across pretty much is that it doesn't really matter whether its an earlier or later lens. They're all good, so no worries there. But with the backs, stay away from the earliest ones -- those are the backs with the single release. The first double release back, the "E" back, is good, but the latest, the "Ei," which was introduced with the ETR-Si, is even better. The Ei back has a locking darkslide and its handle is gray in color. The handles for the other two series are black. There were other internal improvements to the Ei backs as well, making them much more desirable to use, in my book.</p>

<p>You can find out more about the ETR system from the archive at Tamron's website. Go here:</p>

<p>http://www.tamron-usa.com/bronica/slr_archives.asp</p>

 

[mike_vine]

<p>Thanks very much all - very helpful.... But... I have just come across a Bronica RF 645 at a very good price and couldn't resist it (even with the vertical orientation!).... Yes it was lot more than £250 but so much more portable for country walks.... Many thanks though and if I get hooked then a ETRSi or a SQAi will definitely be the next stop....</p>

[mwmcbroom]

<p>Hey Mike, be sure to check back in after you've had a chance to put a few rolls through your RF645 and let us know what you think. It sounds like a very interesting camera, although I'd imagine you'll have a devil of a time finding lenses and accessories for it.</p>

<p>Good thing about the ETR-Si, should you decide to add one later, is it is affordable. That's one of the funner aspects of medium format these days. A guy with an average income can afford to own more than one MF camera! Currently I own the ETR-Si, a Yashica Mat 124, a cool old Agfa folder, and a Pentax 6x7 is in my immediate future. As will another Zeiss Super Ikonta be someday (I've owned two and like a fool, sold both at times of too much gear and not enough money).</p>