Bronica ETR-Si Review

[seany65]

I used to own one, with 40mm, 50mm and 75mm lenses and a couple of backs. I preferred it to the more plasticky late mamiya 645 I owned.

The 2 things I dind't like was the fact it needed a battery for the shutter and unlike the mamiya, the backs didn't have a slot for the darkslide. I never understood that.

 

[lxmike]

waiting for a Zenzanon 50mm to arrive, has anyone used the 135n back, sometime wonder if it is worth acquiring a 135n back

 

[GarageBoy]

I never understood the panoramic backs - just shoot it in 120 and crop from there - bonus "shift" included

 

[Swift1]

waiting for a Zenzanon 50mm to arrive, has anyone used the 135n back, sometime wonder if it is worth acquiring a 135n back

I've thought about getting a 135N back just for fun. They used to be more affordable, but nowadays they seem fairly expensive.

 

[Swift1]

I never understood the panoramic backs - just shoot it in 120 and crop from there - bonus "shift" included

For one, it's kind of a waste of film to shoot 120 and crop, and using a panoramic back makes you think about the panoramic composition in a way that you don't when shooting with a 120 back.
Everyone approaches photography in their own way. What makes sense for one person doesn't have to make sense to everyone else.

 

[FujiLove]

I never understood the panoramic backs - just shoot it in 120 and crop from there - bonus "shift" included

Just to reiterate what Colton said...I used to have a Mamiya 7ii with 43mm lens, which gave almost exactly the same negative, when cropped, as my Xpan. However the Xpan is a completely different shooting experience because the panoramic finder encourages one to seek out photos that fit that shape of image. It forces you to make the panorama in camera, because there's so little room to crop or rotate the image later. I believe I wouldn't have found or made half of my favourite panoramic images if I hadn't been using a dedicated panoramic camera.

 

[Huss]

That reflection pic in the puddle is just gorgeous.

 

[Swift1]

That reflection pic in the puddle is just gorgeous.

In the review?

That is Half Dome at sunset, reflected in the Merced River. 😀

 

[Huss]

In the review?

That is Half Dome at sunset, reflected in the Merced River. 😀

Yep, outstanding.

 

[Swift1]

Yep, outstanding.

Thanks Huss.
That photo has a somewhat amusing story...

After driving nearly 9 hours to get to Yosemite, we just happened to arrive at the Sentinel Bridge at the perfect time, and (thanks to my handicap placard) we were able to park. There were at least 30 photographers on the bridge, all with tripods set up, and all of them furiously clicking away numerous frames of basically the same composition that everyone else was shooting. I arrived, set up, looked around and thought about how I could possibly get a semi original composition, grabbed my $45 150/4, made one exposure of the reflection alone, then packed up and left. Turned out to be my best photo from the trip 🙂

 

[Huss]

Thanks Huss.
That photo has a somewhat amusing story...

After driving nearly 9 hours to get to Yosemite, we just happened to arrive at the Sentinel Bridge at the perfect time, and (thanks to my handicap placard) we were able to park. There were at least 30 photographers on the bridge, all with tripods set up, and all of them furiously clicking away numerous frames of basically the same composition that everyone else was shooting. I arrived, set up, looked around and thought about how I could possibly get a semi original composition, grabbed my $45 150/4, made one exposure of the reflection alone, then packed up and left. Turned out to be my best photo from the trip 🙂

Love it!! Sometimes that's how things work out, best stuff happens when you are not part of the herd.