Welcome to my review of the Zenza Bronica ETRS Medium Format System Camera.
Up to this point I have never used a medium format camera let alone the Bronica. As the title says it’s a system camera. My Bronica System Camera consist of the camera box (body), the film back, eye level view finder (the other option is a waist level viewer), the speed grip (which has the shutter release on it), and the standard lens of 75mm.
The first novel touch from point of view of a 35mm SLR shooter is the film back system, as we all know with an SLR you load a film either black and white or colour once loaded that’s it you shoot the roll before you can switch. With the film backs you have the option to have multiple. You can load one with colour and another with black and white and then you are able to switch between the two as you go. You could have as many backs as you want each with different type or speed of film, simply change the back and shoot a different film... just remember what films you have loaded.
The camera takes 120 roll film and allows for 15 pictures per roll once loaded as long as the dark plate kept in place it can be removed and replaced without ruining your film. When taking a picture wind on then remove the dark plate take your picture. These cameras do not have a built in light meter as you get with most SLR cameras, so either use a mechanical hand held meter or you can get a light meter app on your smart phone.
On this day I went out for general wander around, it was over cast but dry thankfully. The film I used was black and white film and loading the film was fine - as I never used this before I was not sure what to expect. The camera has a little weight to it that’s fine with a speed grip as this provides good carry handle. If you’re not using one, a neck or wrist strap might be good idea. Using the camera was fine once I got into a routine: get your light meter, set the film speed on the meter, take the meter reading, set your shutter speed remove the dark plate and take your picture.
I had a lot of fun with this camera the end results were pleasing. I had the pictures printed at 10x8 and they looked good all framed up. It was very easy to use, though bulky, using multiple film backs is great idea allowing you to switch from colour to black & white. If you’re using waist level viewer and taking shoots that require slow shutter speeds a tripod will help if difficulty keeping camera steady.
Review by Ken Cork
