Help, I've bought a Bronica

[Jared]

Ok, so I'm having a clear out, so naturally I've just bought a Bronica ETRS

So I know nothing about these at all, anything I should buy to make using it easier, and what film should I go and order I'm going to take it to the Peak district so landscape photography.

From what I'm told it's got two 120film backs, a prism, some variable lens hood device, and the 75mm lens (already looking for a 40mm lens).

Owes me £175, no idea if I was ripped of or if I got a steal. It looked like fun.

So tips on using it and what do I need to buy? here's the sellers picture.

 

[Steve Smith]

Sounds like a good deal to me.

If you are planning on using it hand held, you might find it easier to use with a hand grip. I have one which isn't in the best condition and needs a bit of ingenuity to make it fit but this is reflected by the asking price. £0. If you want it for just the price of postage, send me a message.


Steve.

 

[Yellowbelly]

Whilst I can't give any advice on using your Bronica, would you please excuse me if I express a great degree of envy. I always desired the camera when I was a struggling student but I could never afford one. Enjoy it.

 

[steveclem]

Cracking camera, if you can, get a WLF for it, I was amazed how much difference a simple change of perspective made. And the slides were great.
Also, get an incident meter if you don't already have one.

 

[tikkathreebarrel]

Oooh nice. I can't vouch for Bronny being a Mammy man myself but a lightproof and functioning body, two film backs with dark slides (and film transports?), one lens and hood and viewfinder sounds like you've got your money's worth.

Advice?
1. Get the vendor to demonstrate how to use the body & film backs if you can.
2. Invest in some 120 fillum. Prices on EBay for pre-owned film can be higher [the lomo effect] than new from places like AG, 7dayshop.
3. Remember you don't get 36 or even 24 exposures off a 120 film so practice dry firing without a film in until you're confident of how the system functions.
4. Unless your viewfinder provides metering advice take a meter or a 35mm metering SLR with you and use that to dial in shutter speeds etc.
5. Get your film dev'd to prints to begin with. To get the best out of that great big negative, MF/120 film benefits from higher res scans than you often get with 35mm film. It seems to cost a lot to get MF scanned to CD at high resolution.
6. Take your time and enjoy!

 

[excalibur2]

***Help, I've bought a Bronica***

Don't be ashamed it's a very good camera

 

[Steve]

Nice to see so many people going MF recently.

 

[Jao]

Looks like a very good deal to me, I am sure you will have a lot of fun with it!

 

[skysh4rk]

Looks good to me!

I'm definitely a fan of Bronicas myself and I'm sure you'll enjoy using it. I'd consider picking up a waist level finder; they're loads of fun to use and a great change of pace from the normal prism finders.

 

[KayJay]

Whilst I can't give any advice on using your Bronica, would you please excuse me if I express a great degree of envy. I always desired the camera when I was a struggling student but I could never afford one. Enjoy it.

I have one for sale in the sale section

I'll be sad to see it go, it's a beautiful camera.

Jared, you will love it. It'll bring a whole new dimension to your photography and will put a smile on your face.

 

[magicolor1]

Definitely a good deal for £175. Is the prism plain or metered? If it's plain you'll need to get a handheld light meter as the body doesn't have one built-in. I'd also recommend the speed grip which makes handling a lot easier on these.

 

[Nguss]

Never used a Bronica, but congrats, medium format is ace. Personally, I think for film you can't go wrong with Velvia 50 and perhaps Portra 400 and Ektar for negative film. You will have ND filters already I presume?