BRONICA RF645. PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS FOR

Bronica Rf645. Professional Photographers For

Bronicas were workhorse photographic film cameras used by professional photographers for many years until the process of digital photography became widely adopted.We absolutely love creative photography. Bronicas last model, the RF645 rangefinder camera, was discontinued in September 2005, and marked the termination of the Bronica camera brand business. Bronica Tamron Voigtlander Other Brand Shipping/Returns Feedback FAQвЂ™S Blog Contact Used camera shop with great price and service Free & Fast Shipping Money Back Guaranty Japanese Quality Service BRONICA RF645 ZENZANON-RF 65mm F4(11502) HOME / Brand / BRONICA RF645 ZENZANON-RF 65mm F4 (11502). Mint bronica rf 645 medium film camera w/. : bronica chimney finder magnifying hood the finder will fit the bronica ec and ec tl cameras.

Not that Bronica is any slouch in the optics department, either.The three problems with the lenses, listed from leastest to mostest, are 3. This is probably a bit embarrassing to Tamron, since lensmaking is the companyвЂ™s fortГ©. Namely, the lenses, the lenses, and the lenses. The RF645, the first all-new Bronica since the medium-format manufacturerвЂ™s acquisition by the independent lensmaking giant Tamron, has been something very close to a fiasco.There are three basic problems.

As far as I know, most of the stock of 135mm lenses was bought up by retailer Robert White in England, and from what I hear, Robert White wonвЂ™t sell one to you unless you agree to have your camera body calibrated for the lens.Shoppers have duly spanked Bronica-Tamron for all this. Actually, a number of 135mm lenses were made, but evidently Bronica then discovered that the RF645вЂ™s rangefinder baselength was not sufficient for the longer lens to be focused accurately without individual camera-to-lens calibration, so, rather than cope with the PandoraвЂ™s box of hassles that that would have created, they stopped production of the 135mm and, as quickly as they could scramble, ramped up to make a 100mm instead. Ahhh, ahem, well, yes, this is the biggie вЂ” Bronica consistently promised a 135mm telephoto for a long period of time surrounding the cameraвЂ™s release, and then bailed.ThatвЂ™s right, they bagged it.

The 35mm equivalents would be 29mm, 42mm, and 65mm, calculated from the long dimension of the format. As in, itвЂ™s gonna be a problem.As in, slap your forehead and say, 'I coulda had a two-eight!'Finally, for an interchangeable-lens camera, the greatest strength of which is that you can, um, change lenses, having a whopping three choices at your disposal, while better than having just one lens superglued permanently to one body, is, well, not that muchbetter than having just one lens superglued permanently to one body.The lenses available are a 45mm, the 65mm normal that comes with the kit, and that shamefaced stop-gap 100mm (which turns out to be a nice portrait lens, but weвЂ™ll get to that). 100mm just doesnвЂ™t stack up very well to the competition, even when weвЂ™re only talking about the rangefinder competition.Next, considering that the Leica and Cosina-Voigtlander rangefindersвЂ™ stocks-in-trade are fast lenses for low-light work, the BronicaвЂ™s fastest lens speed of f/4 isвЂ¦well, letвЂ™s just call it 'underwhelming.' As in limiting.

Maybe even less, depending on your shopping skills and how much persistence you can muster. Which has brought the price of the 'kit' consisting of the camera body and normal lens down to $1150. Which has led to the nice, fat $450 rebate thatвЂ™s currently in force. Which has led to, er, disappointing sales (IвЂ™m being very mature not to employ a more hyperbolic term like 'catastrophic' here, donвЂ™t you agree?).

You can argue all you want about which 35mm lens is sharpest, but this modest little 65mm paired with its nice big neg blows 35mm right into the tall grass. The BronicaвЂ™s 'orthometer type' normal lens gives you the best of both worlds. Lenses that have nice, soft, coherent blur are often not quite as sharp in the plane of focus, or else they donвЂ™t yield that nice soft blur until theyвЂ™re stopped down. Ordinarily, lenses that are super-sharp tend to have rather jarring and ugly 'bokeh' (out-of-focus blur). ItвЂ™s incredibly easy to use, quiet, very comfortable, portable, ergonomic as hell, and yields spectacular results with pretty much a minimum of fuss.That slow little 65mm normal lens turns out to be a fabulous performer, a downright pretty lens.

People whose shooting mostly runs to 'landscape' (horizontal) orientation, or who donвЂ™t have seven minutes to spare, will want to be careful. It takes about seven minutes to get used to. I love вЂ™em.The cameraвЂ™s native vertical format is another big consideration. That doesnвЂ™t entirelymake up for the slow aperture, of course, but it takes some of the sting out.I canвЂ™t resist offering kudos for the nifty lens shades, too. If youвЂ™re only satisfied with ISO 100 film in 35mm, for instance, you can get as-good-or-better quality with ISO 400 film in the Bronica.

The shutter fires promptly, followed by the lionвЂ™s share of the release noise shortly thereafter. (Incidentally, although that little wheeze makes it seem like thereвЂ™s some shutter lag, there really isnвЂ™t much. The cameraвЂ™s only real oddity, the little self-cocking wheezing noise it makes when you release the shutter, is also hard to miss prior to purchase.

ItвЂ™s virtually as easy to use as a 35mm camera, if not more so, so straightforward and user-friendly is it. The meter is the business, and the control the camera gives you over exposure is considerable. ItвЂ™s easy to see what youвЂ™re taking pictures of. The controls are as well thought out as youвЂ™ll find on any camera. ItвЂ™s very nicely built вЂ” utilitarian, not precious, but good and solid. Unlike many medium-format cameras, the RF645 doesnвЂ™t feel like it was designed somewhere far back in the mists of time by little European guys who have long since gone to the Great Workshop in the clouds.

Assuming you can live with all the evident setup and system limitations вЂ” letвЂ™s say, you ordinarily take pictures in plenty of light, such as outside, you like a slightly wide lens, you donвЂ™t need extreme secondary focal lengths, and you are willing to get used to (or even like) the unusual vertical orientation and the odd, endearing little mouse-whimper noise the shutter makes вЂ” assuming all those things вЂ” well then, itвЂ™s perfect. вЂBy all thatвЂ™s good and glorious take this counselвЂ™So having lived with it, would I recommend it? Depends, depends. If you canвЂ™t take dazzlingly sharp and gorgeous pictures with this thing that will make the neighbors and the in-laws ooh and ahh, well, Bub, you just need to give it up and get into another hobby. And the results will float your boat for the duration of your association with it, pretty much guaranteed.

This camera is as good as any at demonstrating rangefinder advantages, and, er, a bit better than most at demonstrating rangefinder limitations.But would I recommend it as a second or third camera, especially to someone whoвЂ™s already familiar with operating a rangefinder? You betcha. Would I recommend it as a first rangefinder? There, I donвЂ™t see any problem. It would most likely give folks like that some weird ideas about what medium formatвЂ™s all about. Would I recommend it as a first camera for someone making their maiden sortie into medium format? Hmm.

To black-and-white photographers who want big negs and a sleeper of an excellent lens for fine-printmaking purposes? Absolutely. To someone who shoots 35mm but wants medium-format quality waiting in the wings? Oh yeah.