shawn
Mentor
What are the two holes opposite the two screws on the eyepiece?
Retro-Grouch
Mentor
Not sure what you're referring to. Are we talking about the EC?
shawn
Mentor
My bad. It was on one TTL finder I saw, it looked like it had two circles facing up with the sliding wedge over it. Like on some cameras that cover a part of the meter based on ISO. Can't find the picture that showed it but looking at others I am not seeing that.
Meanwhile best S2A GAS video. (Be sure sound is turned up)
Meanwhile best S2A GAS video. (Be sure sound is turned up)
Retro-Grouch
Mentor
Great video! If only more so-called tutorials were like this one. Mostly, reviewers are just in love with the sound of their own (droning) voices.
And the video reminded me of why I so love my S2A's. There is an immense tactile pleasure involved in using them, more so, for me, than with any other camera. Even a Hassy!
Pál_K
Cameras. I has it.
Cool video.
The vaunted Hasselblad is a low bar to jump over in regard to pleasure of use. It is so clinical. Like an endoscope.
I've long favored the RB67 Pro S, which I believe is superior, rewarding, and enjoyable in every way to the Hasselblad.
Long ago I wrote about it here:
Praising the RB67 Pro S -- Hail the Emperor of Medium Format
I've spent part of this week making photos with one of my RB67 Pro S cameras and a 140mm f/4.5 Macro lens. This is a very nice combination. For someone wanting to enter medium format photography and have a high quality robust modular system, the RB67 Pro S is exactly what to get and cannot be...
www.photrio.com
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shawn
Mentor
That is also why I am enjoying the Pentax 6x7 so much too. Just such a satisfying beast to use.
Retro-Grouch
Mentor
Funny how subjective haptics can be. While I respect the RB67 as a well-made, capable tool, there's something about it that utterly turns me off. And that's true of all Mamiyas for me, despite owning an extensive collection of twin-lens goodies that I use often. It's the only show in town for a TLR with interchangeable lenses, so I just go with it.Cool video.
The vaunted Hasselblad is a low bar to jump over in regard to pleasure of use. It is so clinical. Like an endoscope.
I've long favored the RB67 Pro S, which I believe is superior, rewarding, and enjoyable in every way to the Hasselblad.
Long ago I wrote about it here:
Praising the RB67 Pro S -- Hail the Emperor of Medium Format
I've spent part of this week making photos with one of my RB67 Pro S cameras and a 140mm f/4.5 Macro lens. This is a very nice combination. For someone wanting to enter medium format photography and have a high quality robust modular system, the RB67 Pro S is exactly what to get and cannot be...
Describing a Hassy as being like an endoscope may get you banned from the forum. Oh, the humanity!
Pál_K
Cameras. I has it.
Perhaps it is the plastic trim on the RB that is unappealing? That's what I notice first on Mamiya 6's and 7's and why I like the older Fuji GW690's compared to my GW690III.
I just never "bonded" with Hasselblad, even though the modes of the 553ELX are fun and the SWC is spectacular. Earlier this month I used my 501C on a little trek. You know what was fun? Loading the film back.
Pentax 6x7 - a joy to use!
Retro-Grouch
Mentor
I don't understand. A proper cat would have his assistant load the backs and hand them off.
Moto-Uno
Moto-Uno
^^ Good lord do we never stop talking about the plastic on the Mamiya 7 cameras ! It's a covering , just like the
stuff they use on pretty much every other camera on earth . Check into it , the body is actually metal ! Those that
are lucky enough to have used them , understand why their resale is so high . But on another note , I love my Etrs .
Peter
stuff they use on pretty much every other camera on earth . Check into it , the body is actually metal ! Those that
are lucky enough to have used them , understand why their resale is so high . But on another note , I love my Etrs
.Peter
Pál_K
Cameras. I has it.
Yes, yes, just like the once-criticized Nikon F5 and so on, most camera enthusiasts realize the shell of the Mamiya 7 is metal and strong.^^ Good lord do we never stop talking about the plastic on the Mamiya 7 cameras ! It's a covering , just like the
stuff they use on pretty much every other camera on earth . Check into it , the body is actually metal ! Those that
are lucky enough to have used them , understand why their resale is so high . But on another note , I love my Etrs
Peter
However, unlike the F5 and many similar cameras, Mamiya made a faux pas which I'm sure they didn't realize: the appearance of the outer shell is like that of a 1977 Radio Shack TRS-80. Hence the neurological reaction upon seeing it.
Still, those Mamiya's have the best viewfinder/rangefinder ever devised (my opinion only) and I think it would be a wonderful camera to own - if I could afford one these days.
But the Bronica... that video does a masterful job demonstrating the sounds and tactile pleasures of the camera. This seems to be an aspect of camera usage that is almost totally overlooked.
jbielikowski
Jan Bielikowski
Great write-up! Nikkor-P 75/2.8 is one of the finest standard lenses I used, and close focus abilities of S2A make me like it even more.
I have a darkroom print, a vertical crop of this picture 40x50cm shot wide open and handheld, you can count every bit of the fur on her face:
I have a darkroom print, a vertical crop of this picture 40x50cm shot wide open and handheld, you can count every bit of the fur on her face:
hsandler
Member
Great overview of the Bronica square SLR line. They are my favourite medium format cameras. I started with an ETRSi, then moved to an SQ-A in order to "downsize". Downsize? What? Yes, with a square format camera, a lighter tripod can be used, because the camera never has to be cantilevered over to the side for verticals, and a light waist-level finder can be used more often, while the 6x4.5 ETRSi really needs the prism and speed grip for verticals.
I have built up a fairly complete SQ-A kit. For tight portraits, a great lens is the Zenzanon-PS 110mm. There are two flavours. The f4 model is not really macro, but does provide 1:4 magnification, which is great for portraits. It's fairly inexpensive. I have the f4.5 version, which is a true 1:1 macro lens. It's a serious chunk of glass, as shown here Tony Montana-style.
Last year I bought an S2A, purely for the cool chrome Chevy streamliner style. The Nikkor-P 75mm lens is great. I also have the Komura 2X teleconverter for it, which is useful mainly for close ups with the 75mm lens. I have the Komura 200mm telephoto, but it's not particularly impressive and vignettes a lot. The S2A needed foam replacement to focus correctly, and I would point out that the foam mirror backing in addition to the ground glass rests also plays into the focus and may need attention.
Say hello to my little friend by Howard Sandler, on Flickr
I have built up a fairly complete SQ-A kit. For tight portraits, a great lens is the Zenzanon-PS 110mm. There are two flavours. The f4 model is not really macro, but does provide 1:4 magnification, which is great for portraits. It's fairly inexpensive. I have the f4.5 version, which is a true 1:1 macro lens. It's a serious chunk of glass, as shown here Tony Montana-style.
Last year I bought an S2A, purely for the cool chrome Chevy streamliner style. The Nikkor-P 75mm lens is great. I also have the Komura 2X teleconverter for it, which is useful mainly for close ups with the 75mm lens. I have the Komura 200mm telephoto, but it's not particularly impressive and vignettes a lot. The S2A needed foam replacement to focus correctly, and I would point out that the foam mirror backing in addition to the ground glass rests also plays into the focus and may need attention.
Say hello to my little friend by Howard Sandler, on Flickr
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Retro-Grouch
Mentor
My newest! On pe-order, not arriving until April 1.
(Shawn, you gonna get one, too?)
(Shawn, you gonna get one, too?)
shawn
Mentor
Nahh, got this one on the way....
Pál_K
Cameras. I has it.
Retro-Grouch
Mentor
Good luck. That's the Krasnogorsk model, not very well regarded by Ken Rockwell.
shawn
Mentor
shawn
Mentor
I was also able to dig up almost all of the S2As TTL prism meter. It is missing two pages (archive.org doesn't have them it seems) but not the pages that explain the compensation circuit. The circuit does actually attempt to cancel light coming through the eyepiece but the trick is the user has to zero that function out with the compensator dial on the side of the prism. If light significantly changes you have to recalibrate the compensation.
Attachments
Retro-Grouch
Mentor
I'm impressed by your digging skills! I spent hours looking for this, with no success. But in the end, I found the meter operation quirky but intuitive, and got by fine without a manual. However, it's nice to know what those colored squares represent.
Thanks for sharing!