Bronica SQ-A | the Affordable Medium format Camera
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ต.ค. 2024
- A friend of mine lent me his Bronica SQ-A 6x6 medium format camera, insisting that I try it out. So I took the camera, went to Dubrovnik (even though I never saw Game of thrones) and decided to check out what the fuss is all about :).
Bronica SQ-a deals on eBay: ebay.us/pak7VG;
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MY GEAR FOR MAKING TH-cam CONTENT
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Camera: Canon R6 mark 2 (amzn.to/4bOzvGU) Amazon;
Lens: Canon RF 24-105 f4.0 (amzn.to/3UPfYjy) Amazon;
Fast SD cards: Lexar UHS-II 256 Gb (amzn.to/3SU2GzT) Amazon;
Microphones: Rode Wireless PRO (amzn.to/3T9Dned) Amazon;
Tripod: Gitzo carbon (amzn.to/3IdTeCc) Amazon;
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Camera bag: Shimoda Xplore 35 (amzn.to/49oX0oh) Amazon;
Drone: Mavic 2 Pro (amzn.to/49sAHhz) Amazon;
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MY FILM PHOTOGRAPHY GEAR
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Favorite medium format camera: Hasselblad 500 C/M (ebay.us/IWXpRD) eBay;
Another favorite camera: Mamiya RB67 (ebay.us/7bsse6) eBay;
Favorite color film: Portra 160 (amzn.to/49sH5Ft) Amazon;
Faster color film: Portra 400 (amzn.to/49i9rlT) Amazon;
Favorite BW film: Ilford FP4+ (amzn.to/3IcHMH9) Amazon;
Faster BW film: Ilford HP5+ (amzn.to/3Icsxhi) Amazon;
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This is one of the highest production videos about a camera I've ever seen. You should be very proud of yourself!! Came here to get thoughts on this camera, and I think I'm sold...
Thank you for such a nice comment, very much appreciated! :)
As someone who has owned the Mamiyas in 645, RB67 and the older Bronica S2a, I recently picked up an SQ-A and I have to say I absolutely can tell a quality difference but more so towards the Bronica. The viewfinder is brighter, the components all work flawlessly, even the focusing glass can be removed in the field to clean from BOTH sides not just the top or to install a newer or different type. The lenses alone feel like they focus much better than anything else I've owned and that's even compared to my Pentax 67 system too.
In my opinion it is the best Japanese medium format camera. Unfortunately the Zeiss didn't make lenses for it. Wonderful Croatia.
Hi
Would you say that this is lighter in weight than the hasselblad,?
What’s the difference in handling between the Two would you say
Thanks
Difficult to say since I do not have any of the two anymore so I can’t compare 🤨. But I THINK that the Hass might be (or just feel) a tiny bit leighter.
As far as the handling goes, I’d say that both are good and easy to handle. The Hass might take a bit of adjustment to shutter speeds on the lens while the Bronica has a sort of a dial on the body.
The main and perhaps only difference (aside from the price, of course, is that everything on the Hass feels a bit… nicer, a bit premium. The levers, buttons, body material, sounds… they all just feel and sound a bit nicer.
For someone who says he's not used to the square format, you took some great photos!
Thank you for the kind words! 😉
naargh; square is cool. Also, technicians don't like dealing with the electronics on this platform .. which isn't an issue 4 the "other" brand. It's still cheaper than the Blad. I enjoy mine tho am still a bit timid with it.
There are focusing screens with marking for both vertical and horizontal 645 ratios so you can easily picture for cropping.
Why I gave up film in 2023, after 50 years. And I qualify this by saying that I am in Australia and that makes a difference. I worked out that it costs me $100 a roll of 120 film to take, process, scan and edit 12 images. Madness.
1. Film roll costs have gone through the roof and the range is fast disappearing.
2. Down here it costs $30-40 to have a lab process your negatives and $2 per image to scan them at decent resolution.
3. If I want to produce say 40mb images by scanning myself, I would need to spend $600-1800 for a scanner.
4. If I wanted to buy a mell maintained Bronica SQ-A it would cost me close to $2000.
5. There is no one down here who can now fix it if it breaks.
6. So if you add up all these costs over a year, I could buy a Panasonic Lumix S5 and a couple of fantastic lenses for the same money or less. or, I could buy a D850 and use cheaper Nikkors and halve that cost.
So what did I do. I bought the Panasonic kit and I get better results, faster and for half the cost of film.
Hi Steve and thanks for the comment. This is a very interesting angle…. I agree to a degree, it IS becoming ludicrously expensive and cumbersome, perhaps to a point where it’s blocking the fun and creativity. I might make an update to my “Why shoot film” video 😉
Is the s5 medium format?
Ghad damn those are some nice looking pictures!
Bravo! Svaka sve bolj i bolja!! a o fotkicama neću ni pričat! Nice mate!
Finally a new episode, nice to see you back! Love it!
It took a while but here it is! 😀
Love your content! Looking forward to the next one!
Another interesting video Alexander. What a photogenic place Dubrovnik is, you are fortunate to be able to access such places. I am still going through a phase with my Mamiya RB67 and took particular note about the light weight of the Bronica. It's only when you have been walking around with a Mamiya for an hour or two that you realize why it's called "the beast". It's like having a couple of bricks strung around your neck. Watching you handle the Bronica and bring it so easily to the eye made me jealous. Anyway, hope you make another video soon with more shots in it - you have a good eye for composition. Cheers.
Dear Bryan, thanks for such a nice comment, I appreciate it! Yes, we have quite a few nice places close to me (and Slovenia is really close with incredible mountains!) and sometimes I feel reeeeeally ungrateful. Bronica IS lighter and easier to use but there’s something special to the RB and I keep coming back to it.
New video on Mamiya 645 is in the works, should be out in about a week 🥲
@@alexander.starbuck still waiting for the video
Great to see you in action again!
Odlična epizoda. Uživam gledati tvoje video uratke. Fotke su ti mrak! 👍🏻😄📷🎞
Hvala majstore! 🤗
Odlicno!
Again you nailed it, my friend! Production is top notch. Hard to follow!
You're joining YT soon 😉
@@alexander.starbuck I hope so;)
Noice ❤️…samo naprijed 💪🏼
Straight to the brown! 🤠
Love it!
Thanks man, I appreciate it 😀
not yet been to Dubrovnik.. But it seems like i need to go there.
Indeed, you should visit! 🤗 But try to avoid the height of summer season (jul/aug) since it gets really crowded. June and sep are also nice, usually warm for exploring and swimming, less crowds, lower prices 😉
@@alexander.starbuck regarding the season i know.. but still stuck to school vacations for a year or 2. Love that camera shop in Zegreb.. A lot of film there.. (Foto Studio Centar).
@@marciano-jones I understand. If it’s school holidays, then you’re stuck I’m afraid 😁. Next time you’re in ZG, make sure you visit Prizma Foto store. They have lot’s of film and other gear and are really really nice people.
@@alexander.starbuck Good to know.. will do next time i'm in the neighborhood