Today I’m going to be talking a little about my Bronica ETRSi kit, a camera I came to after my first proper step into film photography with a Bronica ETRC (I discount my Holga for obvious reasons, although I had some fun with it).

Through the magic of eBay, I got my Bronica ETRC for a bit more than $100. The ETRC was one of the first models from Zenza Bronica’s ETR series, and the C version did not have interchangeable backs. So, after playing a bit with it I understood that I needed more versatility and I sold it to buy the medium format kit  I am reviewing today: the  Bronica ETRSi. 

My Bronica ETRSi kit

The Bronica ETRSi was one of the last iterations of the ETR series, featuring all the goodies like flash sync at all speeds (max shutter speed is 1/500 second), multiple exposures and mirror lock-up. It shoots up to 15 6×4.5cm frames on a roll of 120 film in landscape format
Thanks to KEH I got the body, 220 film back, AE prism with metered finder and aperture priority, 75mm f/2.8 lens and a grip for around $250. Later I added a Polaroid back and 150mm f/4 lens.

My go-to kit is the 75mm lens with grip and prism finder because apparently the waist level finder is hard to come by nowadays. Size-wise it as just a tad bigger than a pro DSLR, and pretty much the same weight and handling. I use the AE II prism finder with the meter in Aperture Priority mode most of the time.

When looking into the finder, you can preview your shutter speed, and there is a red lamp that tells you if the dark slide is not removed. Speeds from 1/30 and slower are in yellow, the rest are green.

The prism finder itself has a couple of settings: on the right side there is an Aperture Priority mode, Manual mode (which gives you a preview of suggested shutter speed but you have to select it yourself) and an Off setting.

You can click on any of the thumbnail images blow to open them in full screen.

On the left side is an ISO/ASA setting ring and exposure compensation dial, which goes up 1 or 2 stops. One thing to remember, if you are not using the camera, turn the knob to the red mark (Off), otherwise you will end up with a drained battery, rendering the camera useless.
The grip works very well with the prism finder, turning Bronica into a SLR in terms of usage. You wind a film with a double stroke lever( same as Leica M3 DS) and also you can mount a remote trigger or a flash on the hot shoe. I personally use it with Pocket Wizards, but there is also a PC cord on the body, as a second option.

The Bronica ETRSi has a multiple exposure mode and a mirror lock-up. Both knobs are situated on the right side of the body, which can be a bit confusing at first. The multiple exposure knob has a red dot under it when turned on. I have never used mirror lock-up, so can’t say much about it.

As I mentioned before, waist level finders are surprisingly rare for Bronicas nowadays, and so are the 120 backs…I am shooting with 220 back. If you are a purist it might not be a solution for you. The reason is that  220 film has a paper backing only at the beginning and the end of the roll, so with that in mind, 120 film sometimes might come out scratched a bit and you end up with 14 ½ frames instead of 15.

Also, if you shoot a lot wide open, there might be some slight shifts in focusing. Personally, those issues do not bother me much, so I’ve learned to live with them. I got a hold of a couple of rolls of 220 Portra 160NC, and it works like a charm (although the developing and scanning is hella expensive!)

The 75mm 2.8 lens (I have an older, PE version apparently) also works like a charm. It is a close equivalent to 47mm on the 135 format  –  just what the doctor ordered for the portrait shoots. The other advantage of this lens, in comparison to the 150mm for example, is an ability to close focus almost to one foot (30cm), which for me is amazing! The 150mm f/4, on the other hand, has a lovely bokeh but focuses only to 4 feet or so.

The last part of my kit is the Polaroid back. Before I got a Polaroid Land Camera, it was used A LOT and I probably spent more money on FP100C than any other film, but now it is just lying around. The thing with the Polaroid back though –  and I really don’t know if the issue is with my specific camera or Bronicas in general –  is that to do the exposure, you have to switch to multiple exposure mode on the body, otherwise it won’t work. So there is that.

Before I recap, let me share the most important part of this camera: the photographs it can produce!

Sample photos

All of the photos below were taken with my 75mm f/2.8 lens.

Recap

The GOOD:

  • Affordable medium format system
  • Versatile, good lens selection, fairly modern camera (mine is from 1989)
  • Good handling with the grip, landscape 6×4.5 format allows for 15/30 frames, not too cumbersome
  • Aperture priority shooting with the metered prism
  • Great for studio work: sync at all speeds, PC sync/remote trigger supported 

The BAD:

  • Relies on battery
  • Some parts of the system became prohibitively rare and/or expensive (WLF, 120 backs)
  • ETRSi has lots of plastic parts, previous versions are better built (ETR, ETRS)

All in all, I love my Bronica and use it often. Hopefully, I will hunt down the finder and back to make it even more versatile and desirable. Would love to hear your thoughts and experiences.

~ Denys Trofimchuk

Zenza Bronica ETRSi technical specifications

ManufacturerZenza Bronica
(Tokyo, Japan)
Camera nameBronica ETRS
Manufacture dates1988-2005
Camera typeSingle Lens Reflex
Film format(s)6×4.5 – 120 or 220 rollfilm. 15/30 exposures respectively with a 42.5×55.1mm negative size (1:1.29 aspect ratio).

35mm film, 70mm film and Polaroid film backs available
ViewfinderInterchangeable viewfinder system with 5 (five) options: Waist-Level, AE II prism (auto exposure), rotary viewfinder, prism finder and sports finder.

95% coverage with the standard 45° split-image rangefinder spot and microprism collar. Four optional screens as follows:

1) Matte center spot with full-area fresnel lens
2) Full-area matte plus vertical and horizontal grid
3) Microprism spot plus full-area fresnel
4) 45° split-image rangefinder plus full-area fresnel
ShutterSeiko #0 electronically controlled leaf shutter (in-lens)
8s – 1/500s
Fixed at 1/500s w/o battery
Multiple exposure switch
New bulb mode and mirror lock up function
LensesRanging from 30mm fisheye to 500mm. Full list (MC and ECII are updated versions, PE designations are for “final” lenses, which provided ½ aperture stops):

30mm f/3.5 PE fisheye
35mm f/3.5 PS fisheye
40mm f/4 MC
40mm f/4 PE
50mm f/2.8 MC
50mm f/2.8 PE
55mm f/4.5 PE Super Angulon Tilt shift
60mm f/2.8 PE
75mm f/2.8 MC
75mm f/2.8 EII
75mm f/2.8 EII (late)
75mm f/2.8 PE
100mm f/4 Macro PE
105mm f/3.5 MC
105mm f/4.5 Macro
135mm f4 PE
150mm f/3.5 MC
150mm f/4 MC
180mm f/4.5 MC
180mm f/4.5 PE
200mm f/4.5 MC
200mm f/4.5 PE
250mm f/5.6 MC
250mm f/5.6 PE
500mm f/8 EII
500mm /f8 PE
45-90mm f/4.5-9.6 PE
100-220mm f/4.8 PE
Accessories5x finders: Waist-Level, AE II prism (auto exposure), rotary viewfinder, prism finder (must be ordered at time of purchase)
MeteringOnly with AE II finder – TTL/OTF
FlashX-Sync PC connection up to 1/500 sec
TTL/OTF when connected to an SCA flash adapter
Power1x6v 4SR44 / 4LR44
Battery check button
Weight493g (body only)
1346g (with waist-level finder and 75mm kit lens)
Dimensions (appx)110x106x157mm (WxHxD) with kit lens and waist-level finder

Zenza Bronica ETRSi frequently asked questions

What is the Bronica ETRSi?

The Bronica ETRS is a medium format SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera released by Zenza Bronica in December 1988. It was the company’s sixth and final 6×4.5 format camera and was based on the second revision of the ETRS. Main improvements over the previous model were the introduction of new TTL/OTF flash metering, a new mirror lock-up feature, improved body design (for ergonomics and easier lens changing) and locking dark slides.

When was the Bronica ETRS released?

The Bronica ETRS was released in December 1988 and was discontinued in December 2004 after a 16-year production run. It was the sixth and final 6×4.5 format medium format film SLR made by the company. The complete timeline of this series is as follows:

Bronica ETR released March 1976
Bronica ETRC released November 1977
Bronica ETRS released October 1978
Bronica ETR-C released October 1978
Bronica ETRS (second revision) released ~May 1984
Bronica ETRSi released in December 1988

What is Zenza Bronica?

Zenza Bronica (ゼンザブロニカ – Zenza buronika), also known simply as “Bronica” was a Japanese company founded by Zenzaburō Yoshino.

What is a 6×4.5 format lens equivalent to on 35mm film?

At approximately 56×41.5mm in size, 6×4.5 medium format negatives have a surface area ~2.6 times that of full-frame 35mm film. This translates to a 0.62x crop factor which loosely translated means that the “standard” lens for the format (75mm) will give you the same field of view as a 45mm lens on full-frame 35mm film. Here are some other focal length equivalents rounded to the nearest whole number:

A 6×4.5 format 30mm lens = an 18mm lens on full-frame 35mm film
A 6×4.5 format 40mm lens = a 28mm lens on full-frame 35mm film
A 6×4.5 format 50mm lens = a 31mm lens on full-frame 35mm film
A 6×4.5 format 75mm lens = a 46mm lens on full-frame 35mm film
A 6×4.5 format 100mm lens = a 62mm lens on full-frame 35mm film
A 6×4.5 format 135mm lens = a 84mm lens on full-frame 35mm film
A 6×4.5 format 150mm lens = a 93mm lens on full-frame 35mm film
A 6×4.5 format 180mm lens = a 112mm lens on full-frame 35mm film
A 6×4.5 format 200mm lens = a 124mm lens on full-frame 35mm film
A 6×4.5 format 250mm lens = a 155mm lens on full-frame 35mm film
A 6×4.5 format 600mm lens = a 375mm lens on full-frame 35mm film

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7 responses to “Camera review: Zenza Bronica ETRSi”

  1. @DenysTrofimchuk Did I upset you with my views on ETRS’s? Haha

  2. @DenysTrofimchuk I was out today and had my SQ-A and EOS 630 with me. Coincidence? We’ll never know.

    1. Joincidence? it is a coincidence with J /”Friends” reference here/
      I’ve just sold my Canon EOS630, but I’ve enjoyed that camera immensely.

  3. A couple of comments: the MC lenses are the older lenses with the PE ones being the newer versions. The WLF is fairly widely available, in relative terms obviously as these cameras are some decades out of production, and not too costly. I bought mine on ebay for £40 about a year ago and I’ve seen quite a few since for a similar price. Same with the 120 backs, they are quite freely available at a reasonable price too. The back that is rare, very rare, and also very expensive is the 135W back that takes 3.5×6 frames on 35mm roll film (24 frames on a standard 36 frame roll). Expect to pay £200+ easily for one of these and don’t confuse them with the 135N back which is a lot cheaper and frankly a waste of money unless you’re wedded to 35mm film for some reason. I’d agree with the comments about the speed grip’s usefulness if hand holding the camera but as I mainly shoot landscape or interiors all of my work is on a tripod so my speed grip sits in my cupboard!
    The mirror lock up is either on or off, so you have to remember to manually switch it off (ie return the mirror) otherwise you roll on to the next frame and can’t compose it since the mirror is still up. It’s slightly different on my SQ-A which has the on/off settings and also has a ‘one shot’ MLU function meaning once you’ve exposed the frame and wind the film on the mirror returns and the switch flips back to the off position. Seeing as the etrsi came after the Sq-a I would have thought bronica would have incorporated this, but it seems not. The battery lasts for ever if it’s not required to power the prism; it is however required to operate the shutter. Without the battery the camera has a fixed 1/500 shutter speed.
    Overall though I’d agree with the comments on cost and quality. I find the glass very good and only really bettered by my mamiya Rb67. Clearly I value my back so the rb tends to be for interior work mainly!

    1. Here in US, WLFs for ETR series are hard to find, and once you do – it’s for about $120-150, which is almost as much, as the camera itself :/
      I forgot about the fixed shutter speed,actually,thanks!

 

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