bob_mann

I had a Mamiya 7II - sold it and bought a Bronica rf645. I am very happy about my decision. I have no experice with the Mamiya 6.

Reasons for switching:

I mostly was shooting verticles - about 9 out of 10 times - So, the Bronica easier to hold. Neither one is easy to hand hold in the opposite direction - so hand holding was a major factor in my decision to switch - using some type of grip helps holding either one.

The Mamiya red LEDs were hard for me to see in viewfinder, Bronica info is very clearly visible. Both rangefinders are easy to use.

I rarely enlarge prints over 8x10 - so, 645 film size is fine + 16 per roll does make a difference when using color.

The lower cost of the Bronica was a factor - rebate helped too. I lusted after a full set of lenses for the Mamiya, but could never bring myself to pay the price - I sold the Mamiya 7 for almost the price of the full set of lenses for the Bronica.

I really like the auto exposure feature on the Bronica - it seems to be right on under "normal" conditions. The Mamiya metering was harder to trust. If you bracket, 10 shots go by in a hurry.

The camera controls of the Bronica seem to be much easier to work with. The exposure lock feature and the bracketing switch are right where your hands are.

I like the small auto Bronica flash for fill-in outdoors - an extra Mamiya does not offer. But, it is too small to be the only flash.

The build quality is about the same, both are solid and heavy. The Bronica lenses are smaller, so the total package is somewhat smaller for the Bronica.

I do like the built in auto film shade on the Broncia, on the Mamiya you need to do a seperate action when changing a lens mid roll - makes a lens switch on the Bronica much faster and easier to do.

All three lenses on the Bronica have produced very good negatives, put it on a tripod and they are very, very sharp - I see no difference in the negatives I have produced with either Mamiya or Bronica lenses. Both need to be used very carefully for close up work - focusing closer than 10 feet can be done - but if you are trying to follow action, focus and check exposure, neither of these are as easy to use as a point and shoot 35mm. If your subject will "hold still" for a while, you can get some very nice portraits.

I have the 100mm lens and have had no problems using one 58mm filter - the lens hood seems to be more of a limiting factor as I can not put two filters on the lens and use the Bronica hood. Maybe two 62mm filters would work - but I don't have any that size to try. Great lens but you do have to really watch your focus when closer than 5 feet. Also, I have the other two lenses - super camera - nice sharp results even when hand holding.

I sold my Mamiya 7 to move to the Bronica and have never looked back with a regret. Main reason was I would be doing vertical cropping on the 6x7 Mamiya and end up with a 645 format anyway. The Mamiya is a bear to lug compared with the Bronica and it is not that easy to hold for a verticle shot - but then the Bronica is not that easy to hold for landscape shot. Now I get 16 shots instead of ten. The Bronica auto exposure mode beats the Mamiya meter hands down - I never liked the tiny red leds on the Mamiya - too hard to see. Bronica viewfinder seems much easier to look at - bigger font helps. Not the mention the price difference - the whole 3 lens Bronica kit goes for what a Mamiya body & wide lens would cost.

Has anyone had experience with the "e-Flash" battery units by

Paterson/Interfit? A sort of flat panel, AAA powered 5"x7" flash

unit from the information I have been able to get a hold of. Thanks.

Could anyone enlighten me about a sync cord for the Bronica flash

(RF20) & RF645 camera that would allow for mounting the flash on a

camera grip? Is there a source for these other than Bronica (with

does not make one that I am aware of) - or is there a source for the

parts to wire up one on your own? The hot shoe has 4 contacts in

a "y" pattern - would that match some other make of camera?? Thanks

for any insight on this.