How Good is the Bronica RF645?

[sooner]

Hi Folks,

I held one of these recently and was wowed, much preferred it to the Mamiya 7 in terms of size. However, I already have a GA645 that frankly I have no complaints with. But here's the hard truth: in order to acquire a used RF645, I'd have to sell both my GA645 and my Contax G2 outfit (the wife has sensibly enacted a zero sum money pie when it comes to my camera gear). So, the question is whether giving in to this GAS is worth losing the G2? Please help tip the scale in my mind. Thanks in advance. --John

 

[Dougg]

John, you're in a tough spot! I too have a G2 kit and a GA645 (mine's the Wi model), and it strikes me these two share high optical quality as well as the motorized film advance, auto exposure, auto-focus, and some automation too in the film loading. The Fuji is essentially a giant point'n'shoot, and the G2 appeals more to the technologically sophisticated.

The Bronica is on par quality-wise but more manual in usage, with an excellent coincident-image RF for manual focus. Sometimes I prefer manual RF focusing, but for you to give up both the Fuji and Contax this would have to be a strong preference for you, the big difference that would drive the change.

If it's interchangeable lenses that draw you to the Bronica, there are effectively only two; the 45 and 65. Both the 100 and 135mm are expensive rarities. Of course the the G2 is more flexible in this respect. If you want to go wider in 645 format, there's the GA645Wi (45mm f/4) like mine and the somewhat rare earlier GS645 Wide (which had scale focus for its f/5.6 45mm lens)

I am very fortunate to have a Fuji GS645 (60mm), the Fuji GA645Wi, a Contax G2 kit, and the Bronica kit too. Honestly I don't use the GS very much despite its very compact light size because I like AE. They all can produce outstanding photos.

 

[sooner]

Thanks Doug for the insights, you're a lucky man to have all of 'em. Is the RF645 any "better" than the GA645 in terms of sharpness, color etc? Or is it more of a user preference question, like you mention (i.e. autofocus vs. manual)? I'd hate to lose my nice Zeiss glass with the G2, but to be honest I'm not that fond of the autofocus on it.

 

[Dougg]

Is the RF645 any "better" than the GA645 in terms of sharpness, color etc? Or is it more of a user preference question, like you mention (i.e. autofocus vs. manual)? I'd hate to lose my nice Zeiss glass with the G2, but to be honest I'm not that fond of the autofocus on it.

I can't see any difference in lens quality between the Fujis and the Bronicas; they're both great. I think it comes down to user preference and manual vs auto focus. The Bronica is surprisingly compact; about the same size as the G2 each with their lens and hood, except for being less than an inch taller. The GA645 is larger all-round.

 

[sooner]

Nice photo. Well, that's what I suspected as to lens quality, making the Fuji already in my kit a very good deal indeed. My head says stick with what I've got, except for the general preference for manual focus cameras, but my heart is suffering from GAS!

 

[Range Loser]

Hi, I took a RF645 all over Europe 2 years ago taking shots for a book and it never gave me any trouble. Great quality lens, and very accurate metering in aperture priority mode which I always used. If you see a book called The Grand Literary Cafe's of Europe, check it out.
Andy.

 

[Dougg]

I could add that my Fuji GA645Wi has advantages over the Bronica with the 45mm mounted. Both excellent 45mm f/4, but the RF645 doesn't have 45mm framelines in the VF, so you either use the accessory VF or guesstimate coverage using the whole window area of the built-in VF. Either way you have to keep parallax issues in mind.

The Fuji's dedicated 45mm viewfinder has moving parallax-compensated framelines (the Bronica does too, but only for the longer lenses). Plus the Fuji's framelines even shrink as you focus closer for a more accurate framing. Further, the Fuji focuses to 0.7m while the Bronica is limited to 1m. For these reasons, I generally take the Fuji when I know I'll be using the 45mm a lot.