I had an evening to learn this camera and you summed it up in 15 minutes, for that I thank you! It's my first venture into medium format photography and I hope it helps me slow down and craft my photos a little more.
Bought it yesterday and yup I think I'm in love, thanks to these videos I was able to thourghly check it out before I bought so again thank you. I'm so used to 35mm but cant wait to get my first 120 into the dark room.
great video, by the way if anyone is interested as of 1963-1972/75 bronica made a lineup of Hasselblad copies called the c/s /s 2/s 2 a & e c ; ALL of them were curtain shutters, ie shutter in the body, not the lens ( as the later e t r s i \ sq a/b \ GS models were), THIS is why the shutter speed dial is on the body like you see it in the video, as the e c model had the shutter in the body & electronically controlled, so it's a hark back to an older design, even though the leaf shutter is mechanically controlled in those models (the two pins sticking out on the lens mount).
Great video! I've become very wise now, I think I'm gonna buy one. By the way, you've got the same watch strap as i've got. Sand coloured nato straps, yeah! Greets, Louis
Hi Charles, I have a little question about minute 10:10 when you talk about the red light an the double exposition of the camera, which is the reason that being down the lever can not shoot photos?
Hi Camila. I was talking about using the multiple exposure lever to allow testing of the camera without any film loaded. Under normal circumstances, the camera will not fire if there is no film loaded. Pushing the multiple exposure lever into the down position will allow you to test fire the camera shutter. With film in the camera, the shutter will fire with the lever in either position; when it is up, the camera functions normally, when it is down, the shutter is re-cocked, but the film is not advanced, giving a double exposure. I hope that makes sense?
Also, to add... If you press the shutter release and it does not fire and you see a steady red light in the viewfinder, this indicates either the dark slide has been left in or the camera body and film magazine are not "in sync". To fix this, either remove the dark slide or turn the winding crank.
Hello, thanks for uploading videos. it really helps me to learn about it. I have a quick question. I got my bronica yesterday and when I first got the camera yesterday, it beautifully fired, but today it does not. I really don't know what the problem is. The camera won't fire without batteries?
michael wilde I have the PS 50mm and yes, it's very good. I use it a lot. I'd steer clear of the older one as it has inferior corrections and coatings. The PS 50 is very well corrected with 10 elements in 8 groups. It's very compact (second only to the 80mm) and gives you a nice true wide angle without being TOO wide like the ultra wide 40mm. It's very easy to find and not expensive. I was able to get one with caps and the hood for next to nothing at KEH.
Hi, I have a problem with the shutter not releasing on my SQAi. I think that it's something to do with the battery connection (I have checked the batteries and they are charged). It used to fire if I had it on a tripod but alas, no more. Have you come across anything similar?
Hi there. It might be worth giving the contacts in the battery compartment and on the battery holder a clean; they can sometimes get oxidised, which can effect the connection. The easiest way to do this is with a pencil eraser, or some very fine sandpaper (if the batteries have leaked).
I had the same problem and realised that the LR44's vary in depth, they tend to be a bit loose in the battery holder and therefore don't sit snug against the contact. Pack the top of battery with card and you will get a better connection and an end to intermittent shutter release
+Nugget Caldicott Hi. Yes, I am still around! Had some issues a while back with making new comments, but they seem to have been solved now. Ask away...
+Charles Fraser-Hopewell thank you for the reply! ok so my bronica has an intermittent problem where by it fires fine for 1-15 shots, then will not fire again. I've isolated the issue to the batter as when you then take out and put back in the battery, it fires again fine for a number of shots and then stops again. Do you have any suggestions about the terminals or connections that could help me use it more reliably? I've tried changing batteries etc and it has had no effect.. Thanks in advance!
+Nugget Caldicott That sounds really strange! I'm afraid that I'm not an expert on the internal workings of these cameras, but that does rather sound like it's something electrical. Perhaps one thing to check wold be that there is no corrosion on the battery terminals, as that can sometimes cause intermittent connection if the batteries move about. I've had some success using a pencil eraser to clean battery contacts in the past, but if the corrosion is persistent, you might need to use some fine abrasive to gently remove it. The only other thing I can think of is that there is a loose connection somewhere inside the camera, which would need the attention of a service tech. Sorry I can't be more helpful!
@fraserhopewell Exactly, they are very strong and are very easy to change. I own three colours. Sand, black and black with two white stripes. Like the typical James Bond-strap. ;-)
I had an evening to learn this camera and you summed it up in 15 minutes, for that I thank you! It's my first venture into medium format photography and I hope it helps me slow down and craft my photos a little more.
Thank you for making these videos! They've helped me so I can go out and use the bronica I've got!!
Such a good series. Very clear. Thank you.
Bought it yesterday and yup I think I'm in love, thanks to these videos I was able to thourghly check it out before I bought so again thank you. I'm so used to 35mm but cant wait to get my first 120 into the dark room.
hoping to pick one of these up this weekend I'm pretty damn excited my first medium format :)
great series you have made here thank you
great video, by the way if anyone is interested as of 1963-1972/75 bronica made a lineup of Hasselblad copies called the
c/s /s 2/s 2 a & e c ; ALL of them were curtain shutters, ie shutter in the body, not the lens ( as the later e t r s i \ sq a/b \ GS models were), THIS is why the shutter speed dial is on the body like you see it in the video, as the e c model had the shutter in the body & electronically controlled, so it's a hark back to an older design, even though the leaf shutter is mechanically controlled in those models
(the two pins sticking out on the lens mount).
can't wait to get my hands on one :D
Appreciate your videos I was wondering if you could do a video on cleaning this camera just pick one up and it is very dirty and I’d like to clean it
Thanks David, I'm glad that the videos have been helpful! I keep meaning to try and redo some of them using a decent camera!
Great video! I've become very wise now, I think I'm gonna buy one.
By the way, you've got the same watch strap as i've got. Sand coloured nato straps, yeah!
Greets, Louis
Hi Charles, I have a little question about minute 10:10 when you talk about the red light an the double exposition of the camera, which is the reason that being down the lever can not shoot photos?
Hi Camila. I was talking about using the multiple exposure lever to allow testing of the camera without any film loaded. Under normal circumstances, the camera will not fire if there is no film loaded. Pushing the multiple exposure lever into the down position will allow you to test fire the camera shutter.
With film in the camera, the shutter will fire with the lever in either position; when it is up, the camera functions normally, when it is down, the shutter is re-cocked, but the film is not advanced, giving a double exposure.
I hope that makes sense?
Also, to add...
If you press the shutter release and it does not fire and you see a steady red light in the viewfinder, this indicates either the dark slide has been left in or the camera body and film magazine are not "in sync". To fix this, either remove the dark slide or turn the winding crank.
Hello, thanks for uploading videos. it really helps me to learn about it. I have a quick question. I got my bronica yesterday and when I first got the camera yesterday, it beautifully fired, but today it does not. I really don't know what the problem is. The camera won't fire without batteries?
could u still use the double exposure lever and do a double exposure with a polaroid back?
fantastic video! thank you for sharing
Great video! Thank you :)
Hello, Sorry for the silly question but, would this camera work just fine without a battery?
Thanks!
Fantastic video thanks
Thanks Charles... All good!
thank you, you are a star and a gent, very helpful indeed, do you own the 50mm if so how good is it
michael wilde I have the PS 50mm and yes, it's very good. I use it a lot. I'd steer clear of the older one as it has inferior corrections and coatings. The PS 50 is very well corrected with 10 elements in 8 groups. It's very compact (second only to the 80mm) and gives you a nice true wide angle without being TOO wide like the ultra wide 40mm. It's very easy to find and not expensive. I was able to get one with caps and the hood for next to nothing at KEH.
Hi,
I have a problem with the shutter not releasing on my SQAi. I think that it's something to do with the battery connection (I have checked the batteries and they are charged). It used to fire if I had it on a tripod but alas, no more. Have you come across anything similar?
Hi there. It might be worth giving the contacts in the battery compartment and on the battery holder a clean; they can sometimes get oxidised, which can effect the connection. The easiest way to do this is with a pencil eraser, or some very fine sandpaper (if the batteries have leaked).
Thanks. I'll give it a shot.
I had the same problem and realised that the LR44's vary in depth, they tend to be a bit loose in the battery holder and therefore don't sit snug against the contact. Pack the top of battery with card and you will get a better connection and an end to intermittent shutter release
Are you still active on this channel?! I have a question for your about my bronica sqai and why it is not firing? Thanks!
+Nugget Caldicott Hi. Yes, I am still around! Had some issues a while back with making new comments, but they seem to have been solved now. Ask away...
+Charles Fraser-Hopewell thank you for the reply! ok so my bronica has an intermittent problem where by it fires fine for 1-15 shots, then will not fire again. I've isolated the issue to the batter as when you then take out and put back in the battery, it fires again fine for a number of shots and then stops again. Do you have any suggestions about the terminals or connections that could help me use it more reliably? I've tried changing batteries etc and it has had no effect.. Thanks in advance!
+Nugget Caldicott That sounds really strange! I'm afraid that I'm not an expert on the internal workings of these cameras, but that does rather sound like it's something electrical. Perhaps one thing to check wold be that there is no corrosion on the battery terminals, as that can sometimes cause intermittent connection if the batteries move about. I've had some success using a pencil eraser to clean battery contacts in the past, but if the corrosion is persistent, you might need to use some fine abrasive to gently remove it. The only other thing I can think of is that there is a loose connection somewhere inside the camera, which would need the attention of a service tech. Sorry I can't be more helpful!
@fraserhopewell Exactly, they are very strong and are very easy to change. I own three colours. Sand, black and black with two white stripes. Like the typical James Bond-strap. ;-)
that camera looks huge in your hands, its actually pretty small.
edit: haha sorry man thought its an ETRS :)
No bother! I think there is a bit of perspective weirdness going on too, as the camera I was filming with was quite close to the Bronica.
Charles Fraser-Hopewell nah i made a mistake, its a 6x6 model, i ve got the 645 etrsi which is tiny compared to the 6x6 and 6x7 versions
You forgot to put a "you" in the end of the title
That took me a lot longer than it should have, to work that out!