Bronica SQ Ai - what to look for ?

[Peter_Jones]

Is there anything in particular to beware of when buying a Bronica SQ Ai ?

I have a chance of buying one at a good price, and it's one cool looking camera 😎

 

[vdonovan]

Run a roll through it first if you can, make sure that all the mechanical bits are working. The mechanical interlocks on Bronnies can sometimes go bad.

Also check the light seals on the film backs. They are probably bad (unless they've been reconditioned) but they are VERY easy to fix.

 

[John Lawrence]

Don't know if it holds true for the SQAi, but I used to own an SQA, and the one part I could never find was a replacement focussing screen. The one in my SQA was heavily marked / scratched.

John

 

[rpsawin]

The SQ backs are often "spotty" so make sure it/they are in working order. As far as replacement scrrens are concerned KEH seems to have them in stock most of the time. I use one with a grid pattern in my SQb and it makes quite a difference...I'm told about 2 stops.

Best regards,

Bob

 

[lawrence]

I replaced the screen on my SQB with a Beattie screen which has gridmarks and a split image rangefinder -- it's brighter too and I'm very happy with it. The grip with the thumb winder is great too and all the PS lenses are fantastic, particularly the PS 50mm and the 110mm macro. As mentioned, the backs are the things to watch -- I have one that chews up film -- scratches down one of the edges -- but the other two are OK. There's a school of thought that the SQA / SQB are more reliable than the SQAi which occasionally suffers from battery problems (it takes lots of little batteries instead of a single big one). Not sure how true this is but I've had no problems so far with SQA / SQB.

 

[John Lawrence]

I replaced the screen on my SQB with a Beattie screen which has gridmarks and a split image rangefinder -- it's brighter too and I'm very happy with it.

I looked at Beattie screens, but the cost was too much for me at the time. So all I could do was look at them, but not through them!

John

 

[lawrence]

I was lucky, I found one on eBay at about half the retail price. Still pretty expensive, though.