Bronica s2a

[wclavey]

Hmmm. MF SLRs doesn't seem to be too popular of a thread, so I guess I'll bump it up a bit.

I just got a Bronica s2a from Ebay. After 30+ years of shooting mostly Mamiya TLRs as my "go to" equipment, I decided to see what this modern newfangled SLR business was all about. I check it out visually and have just started putting some test rolls through it - - nothing to upload - - just the most photographed back yard in Houston, and a roll of my garage door, which is the perfect shade of beige for doing shutter speed tests and measuring for 50% density. Hopefully work schedules will let me go out for some real shooting, but probably not until after Christmas.

More to come...

[byuphoto]

You are very correct about the MF forum as a whole. I shoot a lot of MF. Even though I use digital for my pro work when it comes to studio or bridal portraits, where there is the possibility of very large prints, I go to my Mamiya 645 PRO. I can get scans of over 100 MB from it. With Kodak Portra 160 at ISO 100 The prints are outstanding even at over 2 feet in size. I have one bridal shot that is 3x5 feet and at viewing distance it is still exceptional. I have only tried a Canon 5D once and never the new 1DsMKII so can give credance to the claim it rivals MF. For now it is my big gun when it comes to portrait work. I also use a C220 for my fun landscapes with the 55mm lens.

[GeneW]

kamera said:

For some reason...I just tend to grab a 35 format camera.

Ron Head
Kalamazoo, MI

This happens to me too. I have a couple of dandy MF cameras and think often about using them, but a 35mm camera always ends up in my bag.

Gene

[wclavey]

I have always felt more at home with MF, and even when I worked as an archaeological photographer and used 35mm for work, I carried a TLR for my own pictures. I guess that explains why my right shoulder is 2 inches closer to the ground than my left...

Perhaps we should all arrange a MF camera swap so that we could try other equipment without going through the expense of buying it to try... that's why I bought the Bronica - - to see if I would find using it much different from using the Mamiya TLRs. I read these threads occasionally about people getting a MF SLR and finding their lives changed... was it the negative size (much more impressive than 35mm) or the fact that it was an SLR? I guess I'll find out... besides, how will I ever know if it is worth buying that Hassy if I don't try an SLR? ...shhh, don't tell my wife...

[wclavey]

As I promised earlier in this thread, I am posting some pictures from the first 2 rolls of film through the Bronica s2a. I guess from years of using TLRs, it has taken almost no time to get accustomed to using this camera, although I will say that it is quite a bit louder than the c220 or the c3.

I have also added to my Bronica kit; careful watching of the 'bay has yeilded a 50mm and a 200mm, both at very reasonable prices. I am ready to take on the world.


Eagle Lake, TX


Quintana, TX


Quintana, TX

Wish me luck. I'll post a few of the lens test shots.

[John Parry]

Wow - very impressed by Eagle Lake, Wes....

Yes - that Bronica seems to be doing the business!

Regards - John

[Just Plain Curt]

I liked all 3 but #2 is absolutely riveting. Great work.

[kiev4a]

wclavey said:

I guess from years of using TLRs, it has taken almost no time to get accustomed to using this camera, although I will say that it is quite a bit louder than the c220 or the c3.

.

As I remember you have to get used to the body torque when the FP shutter stops. Bronicas generated quite a bit of sound.

Very nice. I like the center one, too. Reminds me a little of a stormy day on the North Jetty at the mouth of the Columbia River.

[herron]

Wes...that second shot is spectacular!

[herron]

I haven't used my Mamiya C3 TLR in years...but I use some of my folders often.


Old Vintage Mamiya-6 Folder (c.1940)
75mm Olympus Zuiko f/3.5 lens
1/50 second @ f/8 on Fuji Superia 100 (120 rollfilm)

[John Parry]

Ron Herron - Well that one worked as well! Beautiful shot. Was the Zuiko lens on the original camera, or did it happen to fit?

Regards - John

[herron]

Thanks, John. I really like my Mamiya-6 folder. Takes great pictures (if the camera holdee can find them and focus on them).

Right after WWII, shutters and lenses were in short supply in Japan. Unable to buy a sufficient supply of shutters and lenses from Chiyoda, their former supplier, Mamiya purchased a factory in Setagaya (Tokyo) to manufacture shutters and lenses for themselves. It was this Mamiya Setagaya factory (later called Setagaya Koki) that originated the Sekor lens name.

However, for a short time, Mamiya also bought lenses from Olympus Optical. This nice Olympus Zuiko is the lens that came with my Mamiya-6.

[wclavey]

So, I took my 2 "new" lenses out for a test drive on Saturday. No scientific testing, but just to see how they would do. I shot some pictures in the backyard with the 200mm and took the 50mm with me when we went out for the afternoon and dinner. Here is the first of the scanned 50mm shots. I cropped a bit to remove some of the distractions on the sidewalk.



I have a few more from this roll to scan, but I am highly satisfied with the 50mm. I shall turn my attention to the 200mm this evening.

[kiev4a]

Very Nice!

[wclavey]

So it looks like the telephoto is working well, too. I'm very pleased with the kit I was able to assemble over a 2-3 month period by visiting used camera stores, auction sites and 'for sale' boards. It might have been easier to plunk down the money an buy someone else's kit but this kept me off the streets.