#BRONICA SQ FOR TRAVEL PHOTOS PROFESSIONAL#
#BRONICA SQ FOR TRAVEL PHOTOS SERIES#

The second hand prices at where an attraction as was the 100-220 zoom and to a lesser extent the 45-90 zoom. I did the transition from olympus om4ti to bronica etrsi medium formatĪbout 6 months ago and have no regrets at all.

They make a nice 40mm you could use to get nice and close. Good luck! Look forward to seeing some cool skate shots. Look out for a clean camera with as many accesories as possible included, such as motor or speedgrip, and prism. They are dead cheap on FleaBay these days. I agree with the poster that said go for an SQAI. I am still on the lookout for a 220 insert for the back though. For eye level use, the camera is light and easy to use. I got the simple AE prism, very boxy, looks heavy, but its weighs nothing, and cost close to nothing! The speedgrip was cheap too. I have no problems with the plastic, I love plastic on medium format cameras (with the exception of the Fuji 645, which started sprouting cracks!), because it makes them lighter. Well, it is light, no doubt about that, and that is a big plus. Having said that, for skate photography fill flash would seem to be very important, so the SQAI would be the way to go.Īs for advantages to the SQAI. There are pros and cons with both, but if you are sure you do not need fill flash, and you have strong arms, I would say get the EC instead. This is handy if you use it at eye level and gives you a hotshoe, but actually it is a hinderance when using the camera at waist level. One person mentioned the Speedgrip for the SQ. Also, the SQAI backs only do 220 or 120 not both.Įrgonomically, also, I much prefered the EC. The dark slides for the EC back slide into a holder on the back, the SQAI backs do not allow this, you end up having to figure where to stick your dark slide. The EC back allows 220 and 120 film with a simple flick of a switch. The EC back is way more sophisticated than the junky plastic back that comes with the SQAI. The Bronica EC can focus very close with the standard 75mm lens, I need close up rings for the SQAI to do the same thing. The only reason I upgraded to an SQAI was because I wanted something lighter and that could do fill flash. I started with an EC a couple of years ago, and loved that camera to death. The Bronica is simpler to operate than some mf systems, and there's nothing especially fiendish about them, but most people need some help in working things out initially and used cameras mostly come without instructions - though you can buy them on eBay. Otherwise you'll have a lot of questions. When you get a camera try and get/download a set of instructions. If your are intending to use this camera hand-held ( and arguably even if you don't) get a speedgrip.

None of them are as smart as the matrix metering on a modern slr none of them have a vey narrow spotmeter. The vehicle for in-camera metering is a prism and there are various types with different capabilities. In parallel you need to decide whether you want in-camera metering or use a separate meter. Prisms generally- but not always- present a laterally correct image. Some people spend a lifetime moving the camera the wrong way when they want to change their composition. Some people get used to this easier than others. The wlf is cheaper but can't meter and gives you a laterally reversed image. If the latter you get to choose between a prism and a waist level finder. The first question is whether you want to have the camera at eye height or waist height when photographing. Not that it gets me any guarantees, but it tilts the odds in my favour a bit. But I guess I have to say that given todays used pricing I'd rather buy a used SQ-Ai from 1990 to approx 2004 with PS lenses than an old one.

Now medium format cameras have never been made in the quantities that tend to produce a lifetime of use without repair or servicing, and cameras of any and every brand vary a lot on the reliability issue- we all buy hoping we're going to get a good one, and if not, then a warranty.

#BRONICA SQ FOR TRAVEL PHOTOS SERIES#

Also its lens is likely to be the older S series rather than the newer PS series which are multicoated and supposedly superior.

#BRONICA SQ FOR TRAVEL PHOTOS PROFESSIONAL#

That increases the chance that somewhere in its life there's been a period of hard professional use. So any camera you buy is going to be at least 15 years old and maybe 25 years old. There's nothing about a Bronica that is going to get you worse photographs than any other 6圆 slr, so if you like it, get it. I've been using a Bronica SQ-Ai as my main camera for nine years, which of course makes me biased in some respects but realistic in others.

Bronica sq for travel photos