Bronica ETR-C
Zenza Bronica · Bronica ETR mount · 55.1 × 42.5mm, 5:4 ratio (Tamron spec sheet) · 1977
Also known as: Bronica ETR-C · Bronica ETR C · Zenza Bronica ETR-C · Zenzabronica ETR-C · Bronica ETR-C 645 · Bronica ETR-C fixed back · ゼンザブロニカ ETR-C · ゼンザブロニカETR-C · ブロニカ ETR-C · ブロニカETR-C
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ETR-C | Bronica ETR | 1977–1980 | — | Not published. Tamron's discontinued-products list ends it in December 1980; camera-wiki's table gives 1977.11–1980.12 |
- Weight: Tamron prints only the 1,346 g set figure (with 75mm lens and waist-level finder), identical to the ETR's sheet; no body-only weight was found for the ETR-C.
- Battery: Tamron's sheet names a 6 V silver 'No. 544' cell, as on the ETR; PX28 / 4SR44 are the same stack.
- Tamron's standard-set wording lists 'film back' among the set contents even though the back is fixed; it is boilerplate shared across the ETR sheets.
How to tell them apart
- 'ETR-C' with a hyphen is the 1977 fixed-back ETR; 'ETRC' without one is the 1978 fixed-back ETRS. Both are 120-only bodies without a removable back, and listings routinely mix the two
- Shares the ETR's outer body: round lens-release button on the front, spring-catch strap studs, green battery-check LED on the top plate
- The naming follows the focal-plane line, where the Bronica C was the fixed-back counterpart of the S2
ETR-C:
- No film-back release: the back is part of the body and opens for a 120 insert (Tamron: '120フィルム固定式')
- Otherwise an ETR — Japanese Wikipedia says the two share the same inner frame — with the ETR's round front lens release and strap studs
- ETR-C: The only version. Tamron's spec sheet carries the same ¥155,000 standard-set price as the ETR, the same 1,346 g with lens and waist-level finder and the same dimensions, with the film back marked as fixed and 220 absent from the film list.
Specifications
- Format
- 55.1 × 42.5mm, 5:4 ratio (Tamron spec sheet) · 15 on 120; the fixed back takes 120 only (Tamron spec sheet) exposures
- Finder
- folding hood with magnifier, one-action open and close; interchangeable · 4.03× magnification · 94% coverage
- Shutter
- Seiko #0 electronically controlled leaf shutter in each lens; speed set on the body (Tamron spec sheet) · T, 8s–1/500; no intermediate speeds; 1/500 mechanically without a battery · flash sync X contact, at all speeds
- Film advance
- Crank, one full turn; lens interchange only with the shutter cocked, as on the ETR
- Back
- Fixed; 120 film loaded on an insert. Mid-roll changes are impossible and a second insert can only be swapped at the end of a roll (camera-wiki; Tamron lists 120 only)
- Meter
- None in the body
- Weight
- 1346 g
- Dimensions
- 110 × 160 × 106 (W × D × H) with 75mm lens and waist-level finder E (Tamron spec sheet) mm
- Country
- Japan
- Original price
- ¥155,000 (1977) shown by Tamron as the standard-set equivalent — body, standard lens and waist-level finder — the same figure as the ETR (today ¥268,000)
- Accessories
- Waist-level finder E (standard), AE finder (first type), prism, rotary and sports finders, as on the ETR (camera-wiki) · 120 film inserts; a spare insert is the only way to shorten reloading (camera-wiki) · Speed Grip, Motor Drive, tripod release (camera-wiki)
Tamron's sheet repeats the ETR's figures: 4.03× alone, 1.25× with the 75mm lens, coverage 96 × 94%. Finders interchange as on the ETR.
What reviewers say
No reviews aggregated yet — this family is still in the research queue. Written one? We'd love to index it.
History
The ETR-C of November 1977 is the ETR with its film back built in. Japanese Wikipedia says the two share the same inner frame; Tamron’s spec sheet repeats the ETR’s price, weight, dimensions, shutter and finder figures line for line, and differs only where it matters: the back is fixed, the film list reads 120 alone, and fifteen exposures is the only count given. Film goes in on an insert, so there is no mid-roll change and a spare insert only shortens the reload at the end of a roll. The name follows the convention of the 6×6 line, where the Bronica C had been the fixed-back S2.
Why a fixed-back body at the same list price as the interchangeable one is not explained by any source found; Tamron’s sheets show the two sets at ¥155,000 each, and the fixed-back ETRC that followed a year later was cheaper at ¥130,000. The ETR-C lasted until December 1980 by Tamron’s list, nine months after the ETR itself. A buyer looking for one should expect to find it mixed in with the later ETRC, since one hyphen is all that separates the two names and neither has a removable back; the ETR-C has the ETR’s round front lens-release button and strap studs, the ETRC the ETRS’s eyelets and three-position release lock.
No review of the ETR-C was found. It takes every ETR lens, from the 1976 Zenzanon MC series to the PE lenses of the 1990s, and handles as the ETR does; the ETRS page carries the published reviews of the line.
This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.
Live listings
Listings updated 2026-11-02. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.