Longer lenses would have their own helicoids. The S2 added a second focusing helicoid for normal length (between 40mm and 200mm) lenses. The first revision came in 1964 with the release of the S2. This camera did not have interchangeable backs, but was otherwise similar to the S. With the S, it is impossible to fire the shutter or remove the back until the dark slide is removed.Ī simpler version called the C came shortly after. The most notable ones are those involving the dark slide. The S trimmed the fat from the previous models, removing extra-long shutter speeds and other extraneous features while adding some nice quality of life features. The S is a 6×6 SLR that introduced a new line of lenses and accessories from previous Bronica bodies. The Z had an instant return mirror, automatic aperture control, and built-in depth-of-field preview.įrom the Z, Zenza Bronica iterated and added features for a few years until the release of their next substantial camera, the Bronica S, in 1961. The Z was an instant success, adding many features to the modular-SLR format that Hasselblad had popularized. Nikon provided the lenses, and they immediately put Bronica on the map as a player in the 120 SLR space. With the Z camera, Zenzaburo had invested so much of his time and energy into the camera itself that he subcontracted the lens design to a well-established brand.
He invested the profits into a factory where he produced jewelry and watches for a while before switching to cameras. He had invested countless years and quite a lot of Yen into this camera.Īfter World War II, Yoshino had founded a camera store that grew popular with GIs and local photographers. Zenza Bronica first came to be in 1958, when Zenzaburo Yoshino revealed his first camera, the Bronica Z.
In the following videos and text, we’ll go over Bronica’s history and then dive into four Bronica systems individually with the help of Nuno and Nico. Even at current prices, though, the various Bronica systems represent a great entry point into 120 photography for most people, and the different systems can serve different photographer’s needs. In their time, they created some of the most intuitive, smart, and well-featured medium format cameras without driving prices up.īronica cameras have earned a reputation as great value propositions for a reason, and only recently have their prices risen. Zenza Bronica was a Japanese company created by engineers, for engineers.
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