Zenza Bronica ETRSi

[Roberto]

Hello,
Gentlemen I would need your opinion...
Tomorrow evening I'll go to my local photo shop, it's held by a old nice man.. well to make a short story shorter, he's selling 2 Zenzas, I'm really tempted.

So go ahead:
1. Why should I?
2. Why not?
3. How much should I pay?

Thanks!
Rob.

 

[Steve Bellayr]

More info. please.

 

[Roberto]

More info. please.

Ok.. Let me try: the cameras are fully working with grip, lens (dunno which one) and metered prism.
He said the belong to the dark middle age, I don't think so...

Tomorrow he will tell me the price, but I know nothing about MF and less about Zenzas.

 

[oscroft]

Without knowing what kind of photography you do, what formats you use, what your possible reasons for buying it might be, etc, it's impossible really for anyone here to suggest whether or not you should buy.

Personally, I have an ETRSi and several lenses (40, 75, 150, 200), and I like it a lot. The lenses are very good indeed - good sharpness and contrast. And I like 645 format for ISO 400 B&W work - I mainly use Tri-X in it. (Oh, and if you get one, get at least two 120 film backs).

But having said that, the Bronica kit doesn't get used very much, because it's big and heavy - most of my photography is travel-related, and it's really not portable enough for that. And I like street-shooting too, which calls for something more portable and unobtrusive.

If you want to get a better appraisal of whether people here think an ETRSi might suit you, I'd suggest you tell us more about yourself and your photography - what kind of subjects you mostly shoot, what kind films you like, what formats you use (would this be your first MF camera?), etc. And perhaps give us some idea of why you're thinking of it.

 

[Roberto]

Without knowing what kind of photography you do, what formats you use, what your possible reasons for buying it might be, etc, it's impossible really for anyone here to suggest whether or not you should buy.

Personally, I have an ETRSi and several lenses (40, 75, 150, 200), and I like it a lot. The lenses are very good indeed - good sharpness and contrast. And I like 645 format for ISO 400 B&W work - I mainly use Tri-X in it. (Oh, and if you get one, get at least two 120 film backs).

But having said that, the Bronica kit doesn't get used very much, because it's big and heavy - most of my photography is travel-related, and it's really not portable enough for that. And I like street-shooting too, which calls for something more portable and unobtrusive.

If you want to get a better appraisal of whether people here think an ETRSi might suit you, I'd suggest you tell us more about yourself and your photography - what kind of subjects you mostly shoot, what kind films you like, what formats you use (would this be your first MF camera?), etc. And perhaps give us some idea of why you're thinking of it.

Right!

I mainly use B&W film and this would be my first MF, I already have a Bessa R, many Russian RF and a Nikon F3HP.

I shot mainly street pictures, and for this I like the RFs, but I feel impaired using them to shot portraits.. it's more a feeling than everything else, but anyway having that little 90 frame in the viewfinder with lot of things flying around distracts me.

Why am I considering it, well for 3 reasons:

1. hate to see it sitting unused in a shelf with the owner saying that in this digital era it is useless
2. hope to obtain a good price
3. I'm planning to change my film scanner and the next one would have MF film scanning capability

ohh one more reason.. I suffer from GAS.

Rob.

 

[ernstk]

Your last reason is by far the most valid.

I got an ETRSi a few months ago but haven't used it much. I wanted better quality of negatives, I liked the idea of the format. It was a lovely camera, going for a good price. And I had gas.

Ive shot 2 rolls of film with it and haven't developed them yet.

I bought a Hasselblad SWC and will major on that as my medium format camera.

Ernst

 

[erikhaugsby]

Just remember that even though the ETRSi is 645, it is horizontally-aligned, meaning you would need to turn the camera 90 degrees to shoot vertical portraits.

 

[KoNickon]

It sounds like a good deal. Most likely the lens is the normal lens, which is 75mm I think. These have excellent reputations -- reliable and excellent image quality. Not much to debate about, if you ask me! Keep us posted.

 

[ernstk]

Apparently the lenses vary somewhat in quality. The PE lenses, which are the latest, seem to have the best reputation.

Ernst

 

[sjw617]

I shot mainly street pictures, and for this I like the RFs, but I feel impaired using them to shot portraits..
ohh one more reason.. I suffer from GAS.

Rob.

Reasons #1 and #2 and #3 are GAS. Getting a new scanner is not a good reason to get a whole new system.
I had a full ETRSi kit and found it to be too 35mm (transparancy wise) and way too bulky for an everyday camera - too much to haul around. If you really want to go MF I would suggest 6x6 or 6x7. For portraits you could even go with a folder and carry is sometimes for everyday shooting.
Don't jump in and have to sell it at a loss as I did. If you wanrt to go MF then don't go for small, go large.

Steve

 

[kmack]

The ETRSi is a good system. A lot of people used them for portrait work and landscapes. The lenses are sharp. 645 is not a format for everyone it is a bit of a speciality item.

It is a little lighter than a Hasselblad, but the Hassy gives you a bigger negative. On the plus side, with the 645 you can get 15 frames out of a 120 roll rather than 8 or so for a 6x6.

The ETRSi is a loud camera, it is a heavy and bulky camera for street shooting but it can be used that way. With the grip it handles similarly to a large 35mm SLR.

The ETR's really shine when used on a tripod.

 

[oscroft]

ohh one more reason.. I suffer from GAS.

Enough said - go get it 😀

It should be great for portraits, though a tripod would be a good idea. I particularly like my ETRSi for landscape - both rural and urban.

I disagree about the variability of lens quality though. I have E series and the older MC series lenses, and they're all superb - really sharp right to the corners, and with good contrast and very little flare (though I do always use lens hoods). I get good colour rendition from them too (especially my MC 40mm, which is the one I've mostly used for colour). So I think the improvements from MC to E to PE were actually quite marginal - and the MC lenses are great bargains now.

As for not wanting such fine kit to sit on a shelf unused, I can only offer my admiration and support. If you're getting a new scanner and fancy playing with 645 negs, you should have a lot of fun. (And if you fancy trying it, Fuji Velvia 645 slides are gorgeous).

As for maybe going even bigger (6x6, 6x7), you start getting into seriously heavy gear - for an interchangeable lens SLR that you can realistically carry around (I sometimes go walking around with camera and two lenses - through usually not too far), the ETRSi is about the biggest I'd want.

Oh yes, I'd say you really do need a prism finder (I have a metering one), because portrait format shots aren't really an option with a WLF.

Prices? There's usually a fair bit of ETRSi kit going on eBay, so you can probably get some idea from there. (I bought my 150mm lens last year via eBay for £70 - US$140)