![]() ![]() This was going to be my first film camera for “serious” use, I wasn’t sure if it was going to work out.īut then, I learned about this Japanese brand that made some medium format cameras similar to the Hasselblads, and they had a few 6×6 cameras that’d fit my budget!Įnter the Bronica SQ-Ai: my favorite camera, ever. Hasselblad: this one seemed to be my dream camera, but it was way too expensive. Not being able to use different lenses, a not very bright finder, a very desatisfying shutter… TLRs: I already had one at home (Rolleiflex) that I didn’t enjoy using. I began what turned out to be a very quick search: there’s nothing in the digital world using a square sensor that I could afford.įilm had to be it, then. Even post-processing the photo would mean you are “wasting” a third of your sensor (16MP 1×1 instead of the 24MP 3×2). Yes, you have a grid that helps a bit, but the stored photo (both RAW and JPEG) was your traditional 3 by 2. You see, my Sony digital camera didn’t support square format natively. These two changes were enough to make me feel very excited about photography again. And I loved the square format.Ĭomposing a square photo isn’t as easy as it might sound or look, and I wasn’t good at it. I tried to do something different to avoid this: first shooting black and white (never shot it before, or at least not thinking in black and white from the beginning but rather converting color photos), and then I started experimenting with different aspect ratios. Just a few months ago, I was happily shooting digital. My most modern 35mm film gear is a Canon A-1, so I've not gone too far off the deep end with that stuff (and in truth, I don't shoot 35mm all that much).Camera review: Bronica SQ-Ai - EMULSIVE Close Search for: Compared with some lists of gear I've seen from a few folks on this site, I'm a mere trifler when it comes to GAS. Which I choose on any given day depends on what I'm shooting, where, and how much bulk I'm willing to carry. My whole pile of Bronica gear probably hasn't cost me as much as just the 110mm 1:1 macro lens would have cost back when they were current products! As mentioned in another thread, I have a 6圆 and a 6x9 folder and a Yashica TLR. One that I got dirt cheap needed new light seals, so I got some practice at that. But over a succeeding year or two, a couple of opportunities came up to grab additional backs, and based on the experience I'd had, I decided to stock up, considering their reliability (or lack thereof). So then I bought another to have two as I had planned. The second had a light leak and I returned it for replacement. Two working backs would be quite sufficient for any likely scenarios I can envision needing to cover, but the first back I bought cranked film all the way through without stopping and I returned it for a refund. Well, I was sort of kidding with that GAS remark, and what you describe sounds like a good goal. So badly mangled, I took another back apart to see what a less damaged one looked like! (I have four backs - oh-h-h-h-h the GAS! ) What was there appears to have been badly mangled, probably by a sloppy darkslide insertion. ![]() That seal is in two sections involving three metal vanes that appear to be a stainless steel foil with a foam strip in one section. My latest repair in the queue is a darkslide seal, but like many other things, it has yet to actually happen. I have renewed those in one back successfully using material I got from Jon Goodman. As paul_c5x4 mentions, the light seals are a foam that fails over time. The back/insert/magazine is probably the Achilles heel of the product. In fact I later picked up yet another body - it cost less than a waist level finder! I have had notions of exploring the internals of the non-functioning body, but it may not happen in this lifetime. At some point I had a problem with the shutter release in the original body which I dealt with by buying another body. Assorted and sundry GAS attacks along the way have taken it far beyond my original minimalist leanings. I've been using an SQ-A since 2006 and am pretty happy with what it can do.
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