<p>All points noted, thank you all. David, TBH i got so nervous about the longevity of "mechanical" cameras in general (as opposed to the modern DSLR) that I looked around and found a virtually brand-new SQ-A body from KEH (it was advertised as "almost like-new" but I cannot find any sign that it's ever been used - no tell-tale scratches around the film back mounting slots, the leatherette is perfect - looks like it came out of the factory yesterday). Perversely and very ironically, the outfit I bought was from an Australian seller was delivered 6 days after being mailed in Aus. - and yet another item (metering prism) I bought around the same time from an American seller still has not turned up at all.</p>
<p>So... I withdraw everything I said about slow mail between Australia and North America, it seems like there is absolutely no hard rule.</p>
<p>Further to David's comments about the longevity of Bronica - Judging from the other gear included by the seller with my purchase I would have to guess that the previous owner was a Professional. The body (SQ-A as well) has seen some hard use judging by the cosmetic condition but it works absolutely flawlessly, fires every time, shutters on the 3 different lenses it came with works great, the shutter timing unit built into the body seems 100% accurate, everything in the manual works as advertised. I would furthermore then guess that the original owner had his gear serviced regularly, although I can't see evidence that the body was ever disassembled at all. The outfit came with 4 different film backs, (2 6X6 + 2 6X4.5) and I'm busy running some "cheap" film through it to see if any has light leaks (which I understand can be an issue as well).</p>
<p>Mark, thank you for the tips. I read just about everything I could lay my hands on in regards to the whole Bronica series (well at least the "SQ" 6X6 versions made after the old S/S2) and my impression was that the "B" model was really developed for Studio use, where hand-held light meters are used for the most part and the added cost of the AE circuitry was neither needed nor wanted... So I would assume that a SQ-B **should** theoretically be as reliable as a SQ-Ai, at least mechanically. The metal-bodied SQ series (SQ, SQ-A, SQ-AM) IMHO are a bit annoying in that you need to treat it a bit more carefully in order to preserve the cosmetic appearance - something I'm big on, but the average Pro would probably just shrug and laugh. I can't help wondering if the old Hasselblad 500 series were also prone to showing its age if it was "somewhat roughly" treated over a period of years.</p>