one90guy
Well-known
You IMHO got yourself a great camera. Had mine for several years and just finally got the 50mm lens to complete the set. When I bought mine it was a advance purchase as my Bronica EC kit was getting to heavy for me to carry. My only challenge is viewing the viewfinder for shutter speed. Have overcome that some with removing sunglasses for clear lens and wide brim hat for shade. And getting more familiar with the finder. Good luck for your lens quest.
David
David
DrTebi
Slide Lover
The 50mm lens is great! I had the Mamiya 7II with the 50mm lens for a while. Very sharp, a lot of fun.
Good luck with your hunt...
Good luck with your hunt...
Archlich
Well-known
Some technical highlights of the the Bronica RF645 system:
Not only does the lenses have built-in motors for self cocking, they also have electromagnetic diaphragms. No other MF RF use that - in fact it's basically unheard of in MF world, and in the smaller format scene Nikon is still playing catchup recently with this advanced feat Canon managed years ago.
The body automatically engage and disengages the dark slide as you dismount/mount the lens. Gone are the ungainly manually cocked dark slides on the Mamiya 6 and 7s that you always forget to disengage after mounting a new lens.
The flash, being hampered by the leaf shutter, is non-TTL. Yet they invented a unique protocol for the dedicated auto flash to communicate with the body for current ISO and aperture setting, basically making the little flash as advanced as a TTL one - just with the meter on the flash instead of behind the lens.
...
The list can go on for another page. The camera itself handles very well and reminds you all the time that it's "sculpted", which I found is just the word for the build quality.
Yet I still sold it. I mean, it feels a bit too advanced. None of these new gadgets got in my way - they are all very fine, intuitive innovations, yet they didn't inspire confidence either. It's not known to be an ultra reliable camera - many RF645 fail on the film advance mechanism as there too was implemented with some cutting edge staff of which the details I could no longer remember...but you know what I mean.
Not only does the lenses have built-in motors for self cocking, they also have electromagnetic diaphragms. No other MF RF use that - in fact it's basically unheard of in MF world, and in the smaller format scene Nikon is still playing catchup recently with this advanced feat Canon managed years ago.
The body automatically engage and disengages the dark slide as you dismount/mount the lens. Gone are the ungainly manually cocked dark slides on the Mamiya 6 and 7s that you always forget to disengage after mounting a new lens.
The flash, being hampered by the leaf shutter, is non-TTL. Yet they invented a unique protocol for the dedicated auto flash to communicate with the body for current ISO and aperture setting, basically making the little flash as advanced as a TTL one - just with the meter on the flash instead of behind the lens.
...
The list can go on for another page. The camera itself handles very well and reminds you all the time that it's "sculpted", which I found is just the word for the build quality.
Yet I still sold it. I mean, it feels a bit too advanced. None of these new gadgets got in my way - they are all very fine, intuitive innovations, yet they didn't inspire confidence either. It's not known to be an ultra reliable camera - many RF645 fail on the film advance mechanism as there too was implemented with some cutting edge staff of which the details I could no longer remember...but you know what I mean.
brian steinberger
Established
I have 2 bronica RF645s and 2 Mamiya 6s. Both with full set of lenses. I use them for 99% of my work. Love both cameras. I prefer the ergonomics of the bronica yet I prefer the square format. So that's why I have both! I can shoot whatever I feel like.
As far as repairs go, one of my bronicas had the issue mentioned above where the battery's ran to zero with camera off. I had mine repaired by Tamron USA in NYC just over a year ago. So they are still repairing these. I've never had a winder problem on my bronica or Mamiya. I hear that all the time though. Just take it easy winding the film and you'll be fine. Bob at precision camera in Chicago is my go to repairer for the Mamiya 6/7 cameras. He won't touch the bronicas though. So I just plan to shoot them until I can't get problems fixed anymore. I love both cameras and hope that never happens. But if it ever does I'm just gonna get an old rolleiflex TLR and forget electronics for good!
As far as repairs go, one of my bronicas had the issue mentioned above where the battery's ran to zero with camera off. I had mine repaired by Tamron USA in NYC just over a year ago. So they are still repairing these. I've never had a winder problem on my bronica or Mamiya. I hear that all the time though. Just take it easy winding the film and you'll be fine. Bob at precision camera in Chicago is my go to repairer for the Mamiya 6/7 cameras. He won't touch the bronicas though. So I just plan to shoot them until I can't get problems fixed anymore. I love both cameras and hope that never happens. But if it ever does I'm just gonna get an old rolleiflex TLR and forget electronics for good!
oftheherd
Veteran
Everybody is different. I personally found it surprisingly 35mm like in use, just not in weight.