Excellent review of this camera model. I have one too, with a similar setup and I managed to acquire all PE glass (the later, better iterations). I don't have a WL, but I DO have a 135W back. The wide format is a panorama along the horizontal length of the image area, the full 56mm of the long end of 645. Your groundglass is the 35mm one; the two lines running horizontally across are the film width and the two short vertical lines either side of center are the 36mm length of the "N" image area. Other commenters noted the leaf shutter (a nice advantage over the competition) with its requirement for cocking the system before lens removal and the need for the battery to get any speed other than 1/500 or T. If bigger negatives are desired, the SQ is the 6X6 equivalent and the GS-1 is the 6X7 equivalent. All three are similar modular configurations, and the SQ has the most flavors. The SQ also has 645 backs and the GS has both 645 and 6X6 backs to supplement the 6X7 for ultimate flexibility.
You're welcome Ahsan, credit where credit is due. I have actually recently purchased an ETRSi with a prism finder and a couple of backs and 50 and 75mm lenses. I'm still finding my way around it all. Take care.
I didn't read through all the comments so someone has probably mentioned this already, but with no battery the ETRS will only fire at 1/500 second. The shutter is electronic and requires battery power for all the other shutter speeds from 8 seconds to 1/500 of a second.
I have just bought a Bronica etrs and am looking forward to using it. I found your video extremely useful and has reassured me that I have made a good coice od m/f camera. Thanks very much. Regards Paul.
tip, you can use a T setting on the lens (lower switch with A and a red T on it, for this you need a flathead jewelers screwdriver to de-couple the locking pin, to allow the switch to move! - PS this leaves the shutter open!, so at the end of the exposure, return the switch to A!! and re-secure with the silver screw. ( the benefit here is that this method doesn't use the battery power (magnetic shutter hold_open) to do a B mode, but a mechanical hold_open).
@@ahsanabbasphotography yes, and one further tip, the 1,2,4,8 second timer is fine, and PREFERED as it is inacurate to do this in one's head, the T is for longer, >8seconds, timed with a watch, etc. also when dis/engauging the T setting, don't worry, about touching the camera!, the motion is dissolved in the long exposure like the old timers with the lens cap on their LF cameras.
It’s a beautiful camera to use I have the ETRS and SQA I like the 645 as I gives you option nice review thanks for sharing it in my opinion a very underrated camera system
@@ahsanabbasphotography I use my 6x6 indoor main shooting still life stuff doing a little project on Edward Weston so doing a upto date Weston style the ETRS I mainly use outdoors as I find it easy to work with doing landscape and abstract ideas I only a hobbyist so it’s my escape from reality
Great review thank you!! 💯 What lenses aside from the 75mm do you have for ETRSi and which do you consider sharpest? For wider angles which one is sharpest in corners between 40mm, 50mm and 60mm in your opinion? For telephoto do you prefer 135mm, 150mm, 180mm and 200mm. I think the 135 and 180 focus closer.
just thought of another tip, with the AE prisms, when set to A the shutter dial is 'disconnected' what ever happens!, as the prism has overriding control of exposure in this mode; M, on the other hand only powers the meter, you see the setting, and set mechanically using the dial on the left! a little like the hasselblad PM-E prisms (a key difference here is you see the EV setting, NOT iris/shutter values; and you set asa and max apature on the external knobs); ONE key point, if the meter dials' center button is not retracted fully, this causes the electrics to be bonkers!, so watch out, could be this, or battery is low volts.
@@ahsanabbasphotography you can't, at least the Etrs/si or the SQ/GS for other formats, earlier models (EC); you need to go to a Rollei SL66 or similar as the bronica is electro-magnetically triggered, the other makes are not, the Mamiya is electronic, the Hasselblad H's Definitely are (digital & film).
good video, but DON'T take the lens off, without checking to see the camera is cocked!!, this is IMPORTANT, as like the hasselblad, this has a leaf shutter, and although not mechanically tripped, or timed, the cocking is still mechanical, so this linkage needs to be correctly positioned to avoid damage during removal or insertion of a lens/accessory.
@@ahsanabbasphotography yes, and for Mamiya RB/RZ it is fine (they have telescoping pins on the linkage), but for Rollei's, Hasselblads, and others they have fixed contact pins, or in the hassy's case a screwdriver/socket drive, so NO mistakes can be made for the 500c\m's as this can and does cause a 'body jam', not the stuff you put on scones!!, but a mis sync of the gearing. Pentax 67 series is another one (BUT due to the meter coupling fuse` chain- like a clock)- this can break easily, so care in the lens state needs to be taken to deal with it safely.
Hey man i just bought mine and when loading a film into it i realized that there’s no iso dial on the camera at all, ive red that if there is no light meeter build in the camera that i should be worrying about the iso setting, but i still don’t understand how does it know what film speed im using can you explain to me? 😅
Hey Fred, download a light meter app on your phone. Dial in the ISO on your 120 film roll in and it will tell you what aperture and shutter to dial on the camera! Hope this helps!
hm! you do NEED a battery, these cameras ONLY work at 1/500th mechanical speed without one!, and with one you get the other magnetic timed speeds. but ONE benefit of these is that the METERED PRISM uses this BODY battery, not a separate LR-44 or CR style battery, so no need to carry extra's of these exotic batteries.
@@ahsanabbasphotography one check for this is at 1/2 or 1/4 second, you must hear TWO clicks, indicating the time between open and close, as for the faster speeds you CAN'T diferenciate between 1/500 & 1/125th !! so Test first, then you Know the battery is good, esp. if you use the AE prisms, as these eat the battery too. Also with the 135 N/W backs you also need a viewfinder mask, as they are 90 deg. oposite (aka the long and short sides of the frame).
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Best review on the ETRS...thx for sharing!
Thank you, you’re welcome! Are you thinking of getting one?
Excellent review of this camera model. I have one too, with a similar setup and I managed to acquire all PE glass (the later, better iterations). I don't have a WL, but I DO have a 135W back. The wide format is a panorama along the horizontal length of the image area, the full 56mm of the long end of 645. Your groundglass is the 35mm one; the two lines running horizontally across are the film width and the two short vertical lines either side of center are the 36mm length of the "N" image area.
Other commenters noted the leaf shutter (a nice advantage over the competition) with its requirement for cocking the system before lens removal and the need for the battery to get any speed other than 1/500 or T.
If bigger negatives are desired, the SQ is the 6X6 equivalent and the GS-1 is the 6X7 equivalent. All three are similar modular configurations, and the SQ has the most flavors. The SQ also has 645 backs and the GS has both 645 and 6X6 backs to supplement the 6X7 for ultimate flexibility.
Thank you, Mike! Anyone who stumbles across the thread will know the value of your information! Thank you!
Excellent and thorough review. You have a very relaxed and 'easy' manner in front of the camera - definitely BBC newsreader worthy. Atb.
Thank you Russell, do you have a Bronica ETRS?
You're welcome Ahsan, credit where credit is due. I have actually recently purchased an ETRSi with a prism finder and a couple of backs and 50 and 75mm lenses. I'm still finding my way around it all. Take care.
@@russellsprout2223 Brilliant! Happy shooting!
I didn't read through all the comments so someone has probably mentioned this already, but with no battery the ETRS will only fire at 1/500 second. The shutter is electronic and requires battery power for all the other shutter speeds from 8 seconds to 1/500 of a second.
Thank you, very useful to know!
I have just bought a Bronica etrs and am looking forward to using it. I found your video extremely useful and has reassured me that I have made a good coice od m/f camera. Thanks very much. Regards Paul.
Great choice Paul! What lens did it come with?
tip, you can use a T setting on the lens (lower switch with A and a red T on it, for this you need a flathead jewelers screwdriver to de-couple the locking pin, to allow the switch to move! - PS this leaves the shutter open!, so at the end of the exposure, return the switch to A!! and re-secure with the silver screw. ( the benefit here is that this method doesn't use the battery power (magnetic shutter hold_open) to do a B mode, but a mechanical hold_open).
Awesome, super helpful Andy! Thank you!
@@ahsanabbasphotography yes, and one further tip, the 1,2,4,8 second timer is fine, and PREFERED as it is inacurate to do this in one's head, the T is for longer, >8seconds, timed with a watch, etc. also when dis/engauging the T setting, don't worry, about touching the camera!, the motion is dissolved in the long exposure like the old timers with the lens cap on their LF cameras.
@@andyvan5692 brilliant, thank you 🙏🏽
It’s a beautiful camera to use I have the ETRS and SQA I like the 645 as I gives you option nice review thanks for sharing it in my opinion a very underrated camera system
Thanks Jonny, how have you got your ETRS setup? With or without the handle grip?
@@ahsanabbasphotography without handle at this time but I do have the AE prism finder for it though I do like the WLF handle is on the shopping list
@@JonnyEnglish-gu1cs Nice! Are you shooting different things with each Bronica? Do you find you use one more for portraits or landscapes?
@@ahsanabbasphotography I use my 6x6 indoor main shooting still life stuff doing a little project on Edward Weston so doing a upto date Weston style the ETRS I mainly use outdoors as I find it easy to work with doing landscape and abstract ideas I only a hobbyist so it’s my escape from reality
@@JonnyEnglish-gu1cs That's awesome Jonny, would I be right to guess you shoot predominantly in BW? If so any recommendations?
Great review thank you!! 💯 What lenses aside from the 75mm do you have for ETRSi and which do you consider sharpest? For wider angles which one is sharpest in corners between 40mm, 50mm and 60mm in your opinion? For telephoto do you prefer 135mm, 150mm, 180mm and 200mm. I think the 135 and 180 focus closer.
You’re welcome James! That’s the perfect lens for me! I’m afraid I don’t have any experience with the other lenses :(
@@ahsanabbasphotography Thank you!
There is a motorized drive for this camera also
That’s right, an added luxury!
just thought of another tip, with the AE prisms, when set to A the shutter dial is 'disconnected' what ever happens!, as the prism has overriding control of exposure in this mode; M, on the other hand only powers the meter, you see the setting, and set mechanically using the dial on the left! a little like the hasselblad PM-E prisms (a key difference here is you see the EV setting, NOT iris/shutter values; and you set asa and max apature on the external knobs); ONE key point, if the meter dials' center button is not retracted fully, this causes the electrics to be bonkers!, so watch out, could be this, or battery is low volts.
Maybe just best to work with a non-electronic one 😂
@@ahsanabbasphotography you can't, at least the Etrs/si or the SQ/GS for other formats, earlier models (EC); you need to go to a Rollei SL66 or similar as the bronica is electro-magnetically triggered, the other makes are not, the Mamiya is electronic, the Hasselblad H's Definitely are (digital & film).
good video, but DON'T take the lens off, without checking to see the camera is cocked!!, this is IMPORTANT, as like the hasselblad, this has a leaf shutter, and although not mechanically tripped, or timed, the cocking is still mechanical, so this linkage needs to be correctly positioned to avoid damage during removal or insertion of a lens/accessory.
Thanks Andy, a mistake that is easily made!
@@ahsanabbasphotography yes, and for Mamiya RB/RZ it is fine (they have telescoping pins on the linkage), but for Rollei's, Hasselblads, and others they have fixed contact pins, or in the hassy's case a screwdriver/socket drive, so NO mistakes can be made for the 500c\m's as this can and does cause a 'body jam', not the stuff you put on scones!!, but a mis sync of the gearing. Pentax 67 series is another one (BUT due to the meter coupling fuse` chain- like a clock)- this can break easily, so care in the lens state needs to be taken to deal with it safely.
@@andyvan5692 super, thank you!
Great point, well delivered. Thanks.
Hey man i just bought mine and when loading a film into it i realized that there’s no iso dial on the camera at all, ive red that if there is no light meeter build in the camera that i should be worrying about the iso setting, but i still don’t understand how does it know what film speed im using can you explain to me? 😅
Hey Fred, download a light meter app on your phone. Dial in the ISO on your 120 film roll in and it will tell you what aperture and shutter to dial on the camera! Hope this helps!
@@ahsanabbasphotography yes i already do that and i did realize how stupid my question was lol thanks anyway!
hm! you do NEED a battery, these cameras ONLY work at 1/500th mechanical speed without one!, and with one you get the other magnetic timed speeds. but ONE benefit of these is that the METERED PRISM uses this BODY battery, not a separate LR-44 or CR style battery, so no need to carry extra's of these exotic batteries.
Thank you, Andy! Very helpful!
@@ahsanabbasphotography one check for this is at 1/2 or 1/4 second, you must hear TWO clicks, indicating the time between open and close, as for the faster speeds you CAN'T diferenciate between 1/500 & 1/125th !! so Test first, then you Know the battery is good, esp. if you use the AE prisms, as these eat the battery too.
Also with the 135 N/W backs you also need a viewfinder mask, as they are 90 deg. oposite (aka the long and short sides of the frame).
@@andyvan5692 amazing, thank you! How long have you been shooting with yours?