

Another note for bokeh is that all Bronica lenses (to my knowledge) have a five bladed aperture. For Bronica you will have to make due with f/2.8, with high speed flash sync of course. I'm specifically referring to the Mamiya system's famous (and expensive!) 80mm f/1.9.

A Bronica backpack with several lenses will weigh slightly more than other systems. While the camera itself is quite lightweight, this is because of the need for a leaf shutter in every lens, about 200 grams extra for each. With that said, the ETR system and Bronica in general do have a couple drawbacks:

#Bronica sq vs sq a plus
The single biggest plus for the system, both the cameras and the lenses have the least egregious pricing on the used market today. Sounds simple, but none of the other systems have consistent filter sizing.

There is a more gradual transition to sharpness, which to my eyes is very flattering for faces and other portrait use. For portraits, medium format film is still unmatched because of the unique bokeh quality of the long focal length lenses. This is provided that 100 speed film is used to keep grain in check, which will usually demand bringing a tripod.
#Bronica sq vs sq a full
For landscape use at slow apertures, 6x4.5 systems (like the Bronica ETR) will have, from my experience, about the same level of resolution for landscape prints as a modern full frame digital camera with a "pro zoom". This larger surface area allows medium format to have higher resolution (sharpness), lower levels of grain, and due to the longer focal lengths required for lenses, out-of-focus blur (bokeh) with a distinct quality. For example, the 6x4.5 format used by the Bronica ETR system has a surface area 2.7 times larger than 35mm film. Medium format systems deliver much higher image quality than standard 35mm by using a larger film frame size. The Bronica ETR system uses medium format 120 film.
#Bronica sq vs sq a mod
Added information about a mod for the 135-N 35mm back. Added information about using 120 film in 220 backs. Added entries and new information in the accessories column.
#Bronica sq vs sq a free
Feel free to chip in with any additional suggestions you may have, I will edit the original post to include them.ĮDIT 11/30/20: Altered wording to make my opinions less contentious. However, there are a bunch of things I wish I would've known before I dove in and bought one, so I thought I would compile this buying guide to help future recruits to the Bronica Gang.
