Bronica ETRS (645 Medium Format Film Camera)

[@RobMoses]

Good video. I used to shoot with an SQ-A. I like that picture of your friend at 4:09 and the one of the park with the houses at 4:24. Looking forward more of your videos.

[@KarolaTea]

Ohhh those are some pretty autumnal pictures! I love the yellow glow while also having vibrant colours :)

[@samvarleystephens]

That's colour film for you!

[@TheCRAZYJAII]

Recently purchased one of these and this video has been such a help thank you for explaining things perfectly 💪

[@PoloMuttMedia]

Bought this camera today. Your video is very helpful! Thank you

[@hansmagolves7329]

Alleine das satte Geräusch des Verschlußes! Ich hatte die SQ-A und die GS-1.

[@iandickerman365]

Wow what perfect timing! I just acquired two ETRs for a project I'm working on and ran into a strange issue and wanted to see if I was the only one. I realized that when I had the metered prism turned off, the shutter would only fire at it's mechanical 1/500th speed, not the speed I had set it to. Once I turned it to M mode, it worked fine. The lenses also fired just fine when using the waist level finder. I only ran into this issue when the prism was mounted and turned off. Have you run into that before? This may be a "It's a feature, not a bug" type deals haha. Also, the first picture of the man on the orange chair was definitely my favorite image of the bunch. Love the slight reflection in the glass behind him!

[@samvarleystephens]

I think it is meant to be a feature haha, but it definitely tripped me up a couple of times too. Thank you! It's one of my favourites from the camera too, believe it or not it's from my second roll with it.

[@iandickerman365]

@@samvarleystephens Oh well, I only waisted one frame. Even with HP5+'s excellent dynamic range I don't think 4 stops under is savable haha

[@andrejcimerman9640]

@@iandickerman365 Just tested my AE-II prism with ETR, ETRS and ETRSi models. In all cases metering prism turned off worked exactly the same as when it is set to manual mode. This is also confirmed by the operating manuals. When "M" or "OFF" settings of the AE dial release button are aligned to the index on a properly working prism, the metering unit has no control over the camera and lenses. My best guess is that your lens did not operate at mechanical 1/500s speed as when it is deprived of electrical power, but rather that a malfunctioning prism was sending the same "signal" as when it's detecting a lot or too much light, thus setting your lens to the shortest possible exposure time. As old central Seiko shutters begin to randomly operate at short exposure times unless properly cleaned it might also be a matter of a coincidence that it operated at 1/500s in some of the cases. In any case you must test your lenses, metering prism and your camera body by replacing only one of the three modules with another. For example same metering prism and lens, but different body. This should narrow the cause of malfunction down to the metering prism itself. As indicated by the operating manual you must also clean all of the contact points on both the base of the prism and the camera before attaching one to the other. And don't forget to check the voltage output of your battery with a multimeter since even new batteries fresh out of the box are sometimes depleted.

[@iandickerman365]

@@andrejcimerman9640 Wow, thanks for all the work you did! I will definitely run some tests as suggested to see if its a different issue.

[@jamesblythe5591]

If you have trouble with shutter sticking on the lens again squirt WD-40 contact cleaner into the slots of the sprung loaded shutter pins and operate them a few times and let the cleaner evaporate. I had same problem with mine noticed it at lower 1 - 8 second shutter speeds so I check regularly in case it happens again.

[@inevitablecraftslab]

i would NOT advice anyone to spray wd-40 into any part of a lens and/or camera. This is one of the most idiotic things i read on youtube (today :) ) Never use oil on a lens, over time with changing temperatures it sneaks into optical parts like aperture blades or the lens elements itself. please dont do this. if something sticks and you want to repair it yourself, carefully screw it apart and clean it, but never ever use any oil on a lens.

[@jamesblythe5591]

@@inevitablecraftslab this is electrical contact cleaner as apposed to alcohol and does not leave any residue when evaporated. It is not the WD-40 penetrating oil which you are probably thinking off.

[@paultaylorphotography9499]

Great video mate you’ve got an awesome camera on your hands. I used my bron ETRSi pre digital days for wedding work then put it away once digital kicked off anyway about 4 or 5 months ago I got the film urge again so dug out the bron the majority of my latest vids feature this beast I’m totally hooked on it. New sub for you mate happy to support your journey📷📷📷

[@samvarleystephens]

Cheers! I bet the ETRSi was a killer wedding camera back in the day. Exactly where interchangeable backs would shine.

[@paultaylorphotography9499]

@@samvarleystephens deffo mate I had 3 or 4 preloaded made the job easier I now have two one for colour generally Ektar 100 love the colours from that film the other back is for mono generally hp5 or triX. Funny thing is since digging out the bron I’ve not shot digi for my own chan at all and when at work where digi is a must I always look forward to shooting film strange eh

[@Raevenswood]

I'm going to give you a pro tip on the Bronica systems ... the 220 backs work fine with 120 film you just have to be aware of your frame count so you don't shoot a few frames at the end on the paper backing.... once you reach the end of your frame count just fire off a couple dummy frames and then it will release and let you rewind the roll. 220 backs are about 25% of the cost of a 120 back.

[@AndrewGronow]

Rewind 120 roll film?

[@theundefinedphotographer]

I have the ETRC, so no removable back, but it gets the job done and helps me get into medium format so I can't really complain. In regards to the shutter speed being inaccurate when it's cold, I've ran into that problem with my Pentax spotmatic. I've tried 2 different bodies during the winter and I had the same problem, so it might have something to do with the age of these cameras.

[@kylendonovan9470]

i know I am kinda randomly asking but do anybody know a good place to watch new tv shows online?

[@kendallmatthias9931]

@Kylen Donovan ehh I use flixportal. Just search on google after it :) -kendall

[@kylendonovan9470]

@Kendall Matthias Thank you, signed up and it seems to work =) I appreciate it!!

[@kendallmatthias9931]

@Kylen Donovan happy to help =)

[@fulgenciomartinez_AEC]

I'm having the same issue. I'll take it to a repair house to see if they can fix it at a reasonable price

[@lkomaromi6878]

Thanks for the info. Great video and beautiful photos! I have a dumb question; I've just bought an ETR, and since I've never used a similar camera before, I was just wondering how to unload the film using the speed grip (rather than the crank), once you hit the 15th frame. There are plenty of videos on how to load the camera, but have not seen a single video on how to unload it - which is understandable, but I just thought I would ask as I have wasted a few rolls before with different cameras due to my lack of experience.

[@samvarleystephens]

Just keep winding it a few times until you feel the tension go.

[@lkomaromi6878]

@@samvarleystephens Thanks a lot!

[@stampydragon2739]

The grease in the shutter can ficken in cold wether making the shutter fire slow

[@andyvan5692]

at 5:56 here is an answer for you, the Battery is going down, or GONE, refer to a Johnathan harris (worldwide camera exchange) youtube video, on how to check these cameras over; there is a 'mechanical' speed, 1/500th it is shooting at this, due to battery depletion, the shutter is electronically timed, but with this mechanical 'backup', so change the lr44 inside the base of the camera, then all should be fixed, HINT: to check for this, before wasting a roll, take a blank back, or with NO back on, and test fire the shutter at 1/2 or 1/4 sec. if you hear TWO clicks, with a delay inbetween all is FINE, if you hear ONE, the battery is gone, the camera has reverted to 'mechanical' shutter timing.

[@samvarleystephens]

I no longer own this camera, but it was not the battery unfortunately. Changing the battery is always my first port of call if I have any issues with an electronic camera. In this case I think the cold weather caused some of the lubricants to dry out and stop the shutter firing correctly - it would fire at completely random speeds or only half open.

[@andyvan5692]

@@samvarleystephens ah, yes, for leaf shuttered lenses it can be another cause, loss of elasticity of the shutter spring, most manufacturers, Mamiya with the RB/RZ are a particular point of this; they say, if you are storing any lens for extended periods (>3 months, approx) de-tension the shutter spring, aka trip the trigger, so the shutter is de-cocked, and also take all the lenses and occasionally (once a week or so) fire the shutter at all the speeds, to exercise the spring, to keep it's vitallity.

[@maxhernie8053]

its a brilliant camera, im lucky enough to own the SQai and the ETRSi. although, the ESTRi i have is having the same issues you mentioned about the pin. my film back's dial wont register the next frame, but winding it will advance the film and the shutter will fire. i just have to remember what frame im on. did you happen to know how you solved this?

[@samvarleystephens]

It only happened the once for me fortunately. I think I just took the film back on and off a few times and if was fine after.

[@Nedumgottil]

Do you know I can use the grip? I'm having trouble removing the film advance lever

[@AdamJonesPhoto]

How do you shoot in portrait mode with a waist viewfinder? Or you using a prism finder?

[@mikejankowski6321]

If you rotate into portrait orientation, the waist level will show your subject upside down (laterally reversed while 90 degrees rotated). Becoming a Large Format experience...just use a prism finder to make it reasonable and familiar.

[@angelodominicsesto8905]

yeah, mine freaked out in the cold too actually .... interesting, wonder what it is exactly ...

[@stampydragon2739]

It's the grease thickening due to cold temperatures not allowing the mechanism to move smoothly

[@bendroege]

Yooo these photos were sick man!

[@samvarleystephens]

Thanks! Your stuff is great too, love your videos

[@johnsonguitarstudio]

You didn't *have* to waste the entire roll. Since it was unexposed, you could have just respooled it to an empty spool in a film changing bag. It's very easy to do, if it ever happens again give it a shot! Worst case scenario, you *actually* ruin the roll.

[@mnoliberal7335]

Personal and malevolent animus toward you by your own camera?? If you say so.

[@yermanoh]

old equipment fails when you least expect it

[@jean-paul7251]

Stop wasting 120 film on these naff shots

[@samvarleystephens]

no