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Bronica ETRSi – A 645 Medium Format Workhorse That I Love

In the film photography world, there are a handful of iconic brands which end up attracting buyers for more than just their products’ technical capabilities.

To me, Bronica isn’t one of those.

What I’ve learned though, after using the ETRSi system for a couple of months, is that this was a company that built tools that simply got the job done.

The ETRSi in particular, isn’t flashy, doesn’t feel the most precise, yet quickly proved to me that it’s both capable as well as incredibly flexible. And because of that, I’ve found myself quite enjoying this 645 medium format system.

In this article, I’m going to share my experience, the pros and cons, and also how I feel it stacks up against other similarly priced options in the medium format world.

Cliffs Notes:
  • Modular camera system that can be configured multiple ways
  • Compact when stripped down
  • Nice ergos with the grip and AE-II finder
  • At the lower end of the list when it comes to cost
  • Poor corner performance from the older 50mm MC lens
  • Somewhat cheap feeling when it comes to build and tolerances

*You can buy a Bronica ETRSi here (affiliate link)

Why I Chose The Bronica

If you’ve followed my work at all, you may know that I owned a Pentax 645N which I used to create some of the work for my ‘American Mile’ portfolio. That was a camera that I absolutely loved. It was simple and easy to use with great performance. I ended up selling it around a year ago after that project wrapped, as I wasn’t shooting much 6×4.5 anymore.

Pentax 645N, FA 75mm f2.8 / Kodak Portra 400

Recently, I’ve been doing a bunch of hiking and backpacking here in the UK, with plans for some bigger trips later in the year, and that led me to start looking for a medium format camera system that was lighter and more compact.

The Pentax 645 was great but offers zero modularity. The Pentax 67ii, my main camera, definitely doesn’t fit into the ‘light and compact’ category. And my 4×5 system… well, yeah.

So that led me to the Bronica ETRSi. This is a camera that’s always intrigued me, and I love the fact that it can be stripped down or built up to suit different shooting situations. It checked a lot of boxes and is well-reviewed by most people who use it.

ETRSi w/ Speed Grip and AE-II Finder

As mentioned, the model that I bought was the ETRSi, which was released in 1988 and was the last version that Bronica produced. It came with the AE-II finder, speed grip, Zenzanon 75mm f2.8 PE lens, and then I also went and bought a Zenzanon 50mm f2.8 MC lens.

Since doing my initial review, I’ve gone ahead and bought a second camera that came with two extra 120 film backs, a waist-level finder, and the updated 50mm f2.8 PE lens (more on this later).

ETRSi, Zenzanon 50mm f2.8 MC / Kodak Portra 800

What Makes The Bronica Unique

If you’re in the market for a 645 camera, the three most common options are the Pentax 645N, the Mamiya M645, and the Bronica ETR series. They’re all capable and similar in price—which one you choose will come down to the features that appeal to you the most.

The Pentax offers zero customization. No removable grip, no interchangeable backs, and no finder options—what you see is what you get. And for a while, that was actually what appealed to me (*you can watch the review I did on it here).

The Mamiya M645 offers a few more options compared to the Pentax—a handful of finders to choose from, as well as a left-hand grip.

The ETR series is similar to the Mamiya, with numerous accessories available, including prism finders (metered and non-metered), a motorized grip, a speed grip, a waist-level finder, and more. But they also took it one step further, adding the option of a removable film back. This is something that was unique to them until Mamiya released their 645 Super series of cameras in the mid-eighties.

ETRSi w/ Speed Grip and AE-II Finder

In the past, a removable back was something that never appealed to me as I was mostly shooting one type of colour film for all of my work.

But we all change, and now it’s actually one of the things that appeals to me the most. I like the fact that I can take multiple backs with me on my hikes, and make the decision to shoot colour or black and white, depending on location and weather. The modularity of this camera is something that I’ve quickly fallen in love with.

I spent the first month shooting with the ETRSi along the coast in England, mainly working from my car and on short walks. In those situations, I used both the AE-II finder as well as the speed grip, which made the camera incredibly ergonomic and a treat to use.

But on a recent trip to Snowdonia where I was doing some hiking over two days, I loved that I was able to remove the speed grip to lighten the load a bit. It may not sound like much, but when you’re hauling a bunch of other gear and doing a decent amount of mileage, it makes a difference.

Performance

I’ll start by saying that I really enjoy the look from the Bronica glass. All of the images I created were pleasing and had nice colour and contrast.

But that’s to be expected from most newer medium format optics. All of the big three manufacturers produced lenses with good performance, for the most part, and I felt nothing was lacking with the Bronica lenses when it came to colour and contrast.

A lot of the images I’ve created so far with this system, including the majority included in this article, are from that trip along the English coast where the Zenzanon 50mm MC lens was the go-to.

ETRSi, Zenzanon 50mm f2.8 MC / Kodak Portra 160

Bronica had three different models of lenses for the ETR system. The original was labeled MC, followed by EII, and finally PE. The specific changes vary depending on the focal length.

The 75mm lens I have is the latest PE, and performance from it was great—very sharp across the frame. The 50mm, as mentioned, is the MC version, and even though I enjoyed the rendering, I found it to be very soft in the corners and edges, which was surprising (see image below).

That’s what led me to upgrade to the PE version. I haven’t had time to test it out yet, but according to reviews, it’s substantially better when it comes to edge sharpness. So for that reason, I wouldn’t recommend buying the 50mm MC, unless you’re fine with soft corners.

ETRSi, Zenzanon 50mm f2.8 MC / Kodak Portra 400
Corner / Edge from above frame — shot with the Zenzanon 50mm MC

Critiques

To wrap this up, I’ll close with a couple of critiques:

Lens Performance

As mentioned before, the images shot with the 50mm MC lens suffered from some pretty poor corner performance. So if you’re looking into an ETR system, it’s worth doing your research to figure out which versions of these lenses are the best.

This isn’t a knock on the lens performance of the entire system—every brand has its duds and I stand by my point that Bronica optics are likely just as good as Pentax and Mamiya’s offerings. Just take the time to do some research and figure out which ones to avoid.

ETRSi, Zenzanon 50mm f2.8 MC / Kodak Portra 800
ETRSi, Zenzanon 50mm f2.8 MC / Kodak Portra 400

Build & Feel

The Bronica systems have a reputation for being reliable cameras that hold up well to heavy use. From what I’ve read, these were very popular among wedding shooters back in the day, and a lot of people reached out to me and said that they rarely had issues with the camera.

That being said, when it comes to the feel of the ETRSi, it’s definitely a bit plasticky, with tolerances that are lacking a bit of ‘tightness’.

On my camera, the knobs need a bit of wiggling to click into place, the finder has some play, and the leather feels a bit cheap—not huge issues, it’s just not a camera that’s going to draw you in from a style and quality standpoint.

Focusing Screen

My last critique is in regard to the focusing screen that my camera had, which I’ve since discovered wasn’t the original screen that would have come installed from the factory.

Mine was an accessory screen for shooting with the 135 back. As you can see, it has markings for a 35mm frame, and it lacks any type of focusing aid. It’s just a matte screen. With this setup, I had an incredibly difficult time judging when I was nailing critical focus.

Since then, I’ve installed an original screen that has a split/microprism for focusing, and it’s been a much more enjoyable shooting experience.

So, just a heads up to check which screen is installed in the camera you’re interested in purchasing.

Bronica 135N Focusing Screen

Overall the Bronica is a camera that I really enjoy, and that I’ll likely hang onto for the foreseeable future. As mentioned, it’s not the sexiest camera and not one that’s ever going to be considered an icon. But it makes up for it by being a system that gets the job done and provides a lot of flexibility.

It’s very compact, has a large well-performing lens lineup, can be built up or stripped down depending on your shooting scenario, and isn’t going to completely break the bank compared to some of the other options on the market.

As much as I do get drawn into the allure of certain iconic film cameras, at the end of the day, when I’m out in the field creating, I just want something that’s going to function properly, fit my shooting style, and allow me to create—and that’s exactly what the Bronica ETRSi does.

If you’re interested in purchasing a Bronica ETRSi, you can check them out on eBay here. *This is an affiliate link that helps me create this content for the website and YouTube.

And, if you’re new to medium format film photography, I have a new course I launched that will teach you everything you need to know about shooting with this larger film format. You can check it out here!

About Author

Kyle McDougall is a contemporary landscape photographer originally from Ontario, Canada, now based in the UK.