Anyone on here have any direct experience of the above Mamiya system?
I have a basic Bronica and wondering whether to invest more in that system or jump ship to the Mamiya which seems on paper to me to offer a more 'modern' user experience......basically, similar to a modern SLR. I want this format to take out with me on trips.....unfortunately I can't afford a Mamiya 7 setup.
I would guess the lens quality is similar, and the build quality of the Bronica is good...but it would seem that by the time I have bought a metering prism and maybe power winder/grip it would make more sense to sell on what I have and get the Mamiya..?
I know there are a couple of other well regarded 645 systems out there.....at a price however!!
Way back, I changed from Bronica ETRS to Mamiya 645 Super, the forerunners of both the ones mentioned, but my experience/reasons are probably still applicable.
The four lenses I had of each (150mm - 35mm range) were very similar in IQ and too close to call, they all performed well. However, I just never liked the feel and operation of the Bronica system, whereas the Mamiya was almost like an SLR in handling and I loved it. (Only sold the whole system last month.)
Also the back hinges of the Bronica rusted and the meter head was a very inaccurate "average metering" only, compared with three modes, including spot, with the Mamiya AE head, which was very accurate.
On the other hand I never had any breakdowns with the Bronica, whereas I needed two M 645 Super bodies because they were very prone to jamming up, but I believe this was sorted in the PRO model.
The only real way with such similar systems is to try both, but with so few around now that isn't as easy as it once was.
If it was my choice, I'd probably go Mamiya 645 Pro.
I can just say that I worked on a number of professional shoots in the early 90's where the Mamiya 645 Pro (a more reliable upgrade vs the older Mamiya's in my opinion) was ran constantly - day in day out - and it impressed me with it's robustness, reliability and ergonomics. The lenses are great as well. Not as many Pro's - very few in fact - used Bronica's but a colleague of mine once had the earlier ETR and then later the GS1 (the larger, 6x7 contemporary of the ETRSi). Neither were really that reliable over the long haul under heavy use.
I would go with the Mamiya - particularly since it's still somewhat supported - and there are definitely more of them out there.
I currently own an ETRS with the 75/2.8, metered prism, waistlevel, etc. I also previously owned a Mamiya Pro with the 80/1.9.
I think the Bronica is a fantastic system and has some great lenses. The Mamiya was also good, but I personally couldn't stand the cheap feeling materials the body was made out of. That was enough for me to sell it and keep the Bronica.
However, the main reason (for me) to get the Mamiya system would be for the 80/1.9. What a fantastic lens!
luminosity wrote:
By "Mamiya 7" setup, do you mean the 7+80mm, or do you mean something more than that?
Partly...the Mamiya 7 plus a couple of lenses would be serious money in the UK. The 'beauty' of the ETRSi is that a range of the better PE lenses can be bought relatively cheaply and the UK eBay sees a regular supply.
So I know this would be the cheaper route.
As luck would have it, I was basically given 65 rolls of HP5 last week dated from 2005 to 2008 so I am keen to get shooting...
As far build quality and materials, the Bronica's certainly feel more solid than the Mamiya's, which do seem to be a bit plastic/ cheaper feeling. Surprisingly though, the Mamiya's generally hold up well. The common problem area with the Bronica's is the leaf shutter in the lenses. The focal plane body shutter in the Mamiya is more robust, less prone to failure and requires less "maintenance" over time. Given that Bronica is no longer around, I'm not sure about parts availability and so forth.
I made my living selling Bronica to NYC dealers and many thousands of pros made their living with them as well. The leaf shutter was especially popular with wedding shooters who constituted the majority of pros using the Bronica syatem. There was a time in the eighties or nineties when Mamiya was bankrupt and almost out of business.They were bailed out by a company that made fishing equipment. Many believe that the Bronica was a superior product. If you need service Jimmy Koe was an original Bronica Company repair man and has a stock pile of parts and can fix most Bronica cameras.He is located on Long Island.
I own a 645 pro with the metering prism and the winder. It feels like any modern dslr with an alt lens with auto aperture included. ergonomics are superb for my taste. I wish the batteries in the grip were lighter (6 AAs) but that would be unreasonable to ask.
luminosity wrote:
I had no idea that Mamiya was that close to going under. Thank goodness they survived.
Mamiya bodies may feel cheap, but at least with the 7, the lenses are just the opposite.
Looking it up, it was 1984 that Mamiya went bankrupt. They came back in a huge way though.
In the 90's, Hasselblad and Mamiya pretty much owned the MF market. Most photo schools had their cameras available to students and, by far, that's what most pro's working in Catalog, Editorial, Fashion/ Portraiture and general Commercial photography used. I worked as a freelance professional assistant back then and I don't recall seeing one Bronica being used (Ok, One! - a fellow assistant and friend owned a Bronica GS). There were a few Pentax's here and there (Pentax 67/ 645) but the market was saturated with Hasselblads and Mamiya's. Bronica's, particularly the SQ, were sort of thought of as a poor man's Hasselblad (the only other option for 6x6 modular and leaf shutter lens - though it was electric unlike the blad). Rental houses also by far carried Hasselblad and Mamiya, not Bronica so if a Pro was on location and something broke down, it was easy to get a replacement for a blad or Mamiya. Not so with Bronica. I'm not saying they were not good cameras, just not widely used and accessible.
the Pentax 645 seems to be an awesome 645 option. Best viewfinder out there. Cheap as heck. Great lenses (and you could use the awesome 67 lens also). If you don't need the 80 1.9, than I'd say go with the pentax.
I have ended up with a Bronica ETRSi and the standard PE lens...very sharp....and cheap...main reason for buying in the end.
I wondered if there were any other lenses (PE or MC) that people could recommend? I am mainly interested in going wider...unfortunately the wide zoom is too heavy in my opinion so not an option really. I have also read mixed reviews...if it was a stella performer I might have been tempted.
Out of curiosity..anyone used Bronica lenses on any other system with any success?
