heller_harris

Wow, you guys are tough.

I'm the happy owner of a Bronica ETRS system, but I have to agree with Derek.

I picked up an ETRS system: body, two finders, two backs, 40mc, 75PE, 180PE, plus all sorts of extras, for a fraction of what it would have cost in Hasselblad, or even Mamiya. It's an amazing value. There are digital backs available, but it will be a few years before the price drops into an amateur's price range.

BUT, here in Los Angeles, the prime pro users of Bronica seem to be Wedding Photogs, for whom it is a camera of choice. No idea why, but was told that by a top photo district repair shop when I asked about the paucity of Bronica dealers. Samy's, the number one photo supply house in town, no longer stocks Bronica - which says plenty.

Can't get into a cat fight about who uses what, or what I'd buy if I were Bill Gates, but I can recommend Bronica for a serious amateur user.

Good luck.

L.A. is the hot-light capital of the world. With so many movie productions going to Canada and other cheaper shooting locales, the lighting and grip companies are begging for business. You should be able to get hot lights anywhere in town. Look further than the traditional still photog rental companies.

good luck.

Hi -

The 180 f/4.5 focuses nearly 2 feet closer than the 150mm lens. If that's enough space, you might try to trade in your lens for the 180mm.

Hi everybody -

I ended up getting a Bronica system, but it was 6X4.5, not 6X6. I got an ETRS body, back and WF Finder from a Physicist in Germany (too many wedding photogs here!), then added a Rotary Finder. For lenses, I picked up a 75mm/f2.8 PE, a 40mm/f4 MC, and a 180mm f/4.5 PE. I also grabbed a 135W back. I've just run a few rolls through it to test everything, but it all looks great.

Thanks for your advice.

Heller

Hi -

If you go to the Schneideroptics.com website, then click on "Info", you'll find a link to determine the age of your lens by using the serial number. Another link gives info on lens coatings. Chances are, a Tele-Arton is single coated, but may not be multi-coated. You'll also find a link for technical info on the lens (flange focal distance, image circle, etc.)

Good luck.

try www.skgrimes.com steve grimes has a link to a manual for that shutter. if you can't fix it, he can.

good luck

Hi -

I need a little help in choosing some inexpensive medium format

equipment.

I'm an amateur and I like to shoot a little bit of everything. I

have a nice Graphic Century that I have set up as a portrait rig, with

the rangefinder set for the 180 f/4 Schneider Tele-Arton. The lens

is spectacular, but a rangefinder is never great for portrait work and

I'm itching to shoot something with a WA lens. I can put together a

WA rig, perhaps something with a Graflok back, or I can sell the

Century and get a system with interchangeable lenses. I was thinking

about a Mamiya Press system, but that has some of the same limitations

as the Graphic. I could also leave 6X7 and 6X9 entirely. The Russian

stuff doesn't seem dependable, so I was thinking about maybe building

an old Bronica S, S2, SA setup. That seems fairly inexpensive.

Anyone have any thoughts on this? How about on older Bronica

equipment? Are the Wide Angle lenses available? Are the Nikkors

better than the Bronica lenses? Is the equipment dependable?

Anything that I must get? Anything that I should avoid?

thanks in advance,

Heller

Hi -

I'm considering a Mamiya Press outfit of one configuration or another,

but was worried that it wouldn't be good for portrait work.

Apparently, the 250mm lens won't focus at portrait distances. How

about the 150mm? How close does it focus accurately? Anyone have any

strong feelings on this, one way or the other?

thanks in advance,

Heller

I used to use a Weston by taking a reflected reading off of the palm of my hand, then opening one stop more than the reading. Rumor had it that the famous cinematographer Gordon Willis (Godfather, etc.) used to set light levels this way on all of his movies.

You might try the site put up by John DesQ -- http://www.westonmaster.com/ -- which offers loads of Weston info.

Hi -

Took me a little while, but I just put a Century rig together.

It's fairly easy to find a Century with an Ektar 101mm f/4.5 on it. The Ektars can be very, very sharp and show nicely against modern lenses on those Chris Perez lens tests. 6X7 backs are plentiful on Ebay, and the crank backs don't seem to have the film flatness issues. I do have a knob back 6X6 with the flatness problem, however. The crank back 6X9 backs are harder to come by and cost more. The aluminum viewfinder masks aren't too hard to get, and you can mask them for 6X7.

For a longer, portrait-length lens, the short bellows are definitely a problem, which is why you have to go to telephotos. Teles are probably less sharp and are definitely bigger and heavier. I found a mint 180mm f/4 Schneider Tele-Arton to work with. It's way heavy and too long to allow the camera to close, but it's sharp. Steve Grimes mounted it on a new board that's available through Midwest Photo Exchange. Fred Lustig, the famous Graphic guru, set up the whole camera around the lens, adjusting the RF to the 180 and mounting new focusing scales. He did a great job.

The main drawback is that you're locked into one lens with the rangefinder. There is no cam, so you can't change lens and still use the RF. (Have to go to Linhof and $$$ to do that in folding 6X9) If you're used to the ease of swapping lenses on a 35mm camera, then it's going to be an adjustment.

The big advantage is money. It's a very inexpensive way to get into Med Format, and gives you the gg, tilts, and rises to experiment with. The cheap box lets you put your money where it does the most good - in the lens.

Have some fun with it.

Try Graflex.org. They should have all of the info you want, plus a forum dedicated to Graflex View cameras.

Heller

Anyone have any experience with the Calumet house-brand tripods and heads?

thanks.