Bronica ETRS
Zenza Bronica · Bronica ETR mount · 55.1 × 42.5mm, 5:4 ratio (Tamron spec sheet) · 1978
Known as “poor man's Hasselblad”
Also known as: Bronica ETRS · Zenza Bronica ETRS · Zenzabronica ETRS · Bronica ETR-S · Bronica ETRS 645 · Bronica ETRS 6x4.5 · Bronica ETRS body · Bronica ETRS chrome · Bronica ETRS Clubman · Bronica ETRS Safari · ゼンザブロニカ ETRS · ゼンザブロニカETRS · ブロニカ ETRS · ブロニカETRS
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ETRS, first type (metal panels) | Bronica ETR | 1978 | — | Not published. camera-wiki's table runs the first type from 1978.10 to '1982?', and dates the end of chrome bodies to around 1981 |
| ETRS, second type (polycarbonate shell) | Bronica ETR | — | — | Not published. camera-wiki's table gives '1982?' to 1989.09; Tamron's discontinued-products list ends the ETRS in September 1989 |
| ETRS 20th Anniversary | Bronica ETR | — | — | No number published (Japanese Wikipedia gives none) |
| ETRS Clubman | Bronica ETR | — | — | 300 sets, sold with accessories (Japanese Wikipedia) |
| ETRS SF (Safari) | Bronica ETR | — | — | No number published |
- Weight: 465 g is the body without battery, 1,280 g the standard set without battery (Tamron). Neil Piper weighs a body at 'a shade over 0.5kg' and his kit with winder, AE-II and 50mm at about 1.9 kg; DustyGrain's '940 g body' (search snippet, not read) does not match any published figure and is not carried.
- Battery: Tamron lists one 6 V alkaline or silver cell; Piper writes PX28A or 4LR44. Battery check is a button lighting a red LED in the finder, where the ETR used a green LED on the top plate.
- Dates: Tamron's discontinued-products list ends the ETRS in September 1989; the ETRSi had been on sale since December 1988. Piper's text says 'early 1979 I believe' against his own FAQ's October 1978; October 1978 is what Japanese Wikipedia and camera-wiki give.
How to tell them apart
- 'ETRS' on the nameplate. Metal panels with a round front lens-release button mark the first type; a polycarbonate shell with a rectangular slider on the side marks the second. The ETRSi returned the release to the front and adds a mirror-lock-up lever and an SCA socket
- Eyelet strap lugs and a three-position release lock, against the ETR's spring-catch studs and plain button (camera-wiki)
- Red battery-check LED inside the finder (Tamron)
- No B on the speed dial: T only. B arrived with the ETRSi
- Listing trap: 'ETRS' is also written for ETRSi bodies, and sellers drop the i; the ETRSi has 'ETRSi' on the plate and grey locking dark slides on its Ei backs
ETRS, first type (metal panels):
- Metal body panels as on the ETR, with the round lens-release button still on the front of the body (camera-wiki)
- Eyelet strap lugs in place of the ETR's spring-catch studs, and a three-position lock on the release button: free, body release locked with winder and cable release live, all locked (camera-wiki)
- Extra electronic contact in the finder bay for the AE-II and AE-III finders (camera-wiki)
- Chrome version with chrome backs offered until about 1981 (camera-wiki)
ETRS, second type (polycarbonate shell):
- Polycarbonate outer shell; the lens release moved from a round button on the front to a rectangular slider on the side of the body (camera-wiki)
- Backs with two latch tabs (camera-wiki)
ETRS 20th Anniversary:
- Black painted metal body with brown leather; sold with a matching 120 back and AE-II finder (camera-wiki)
ETRS Clubman:
- Silver 'Clubman' nameplates and a lower rubber side panel on a black painted metal body (camera-wiki)
ETRS SF (Safari):
- Green polycarbonate shell (camera-wiki: 'possibly painted') with tan leather; polycarbonate, so a second-type body
- Sold as a set: 75mm lens, 120 E back, AE-II finder, waist-level finder, speed grip and case (camera-wiki)
- ETRS, first type (metal panels): The camera as launched, carrying the ETR's shutter and frame unchanged with the improved controls Japanese Wikipedia credits to it. Tamron's spec sheet lists the body at 465 g without battery and the standard set of body, ETRS 120 back, 75mm lens and waist-level finder E at 1,280 g and ¥153,000.
- ETRS, second type (polycarbonate shell): A revised shell with the same specifications. camera-wiki queries its own start date, so no first year is given here; the ETRSi of December 1988 was built on this body and moved the lens release back to the front (camera-wiki).
- ETRS 20th Anniversary: Made for Bronica's twentieth year, which camera-wiki puts at 'probably 1979' (the first Bronica appeared in 1959). Japanese Wikipedia lists it among the ETRS limited sets without a count.
- ETRS Clubman: camera-wiki dates it 'perhaps 1980'.
- ETRS SF (Safari): camera-wiki places it between 1982 and 1988; Japanese Wikipedia lists it as 'ETRS SF', a safari-colour limited set.
Specifications
- Format
- 55.1 × 42.5mm, 5:4 ratio (Tamron spec sheet) · 15 on 120, 30 on 220; 35mm and Polaroid pack-film backs were added for the ETRS (Tamron spec sheet) exposures
- Finder (waist-level finder E (standard))
- folding hood with magnifier, one-action open and close; interchangeable · 4.03× magnification · 94% coverage
- Finder (AE-II prism finder)
- metering pentaprism; readout shown on half-pressing the release (Japanese Wikipedia)
- 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, with small-step winding possible (Tamron); lens interchange only with the shutter cocked, and the shutter will not cock on an empty back unless the multiple-exposure lever is set (camera-wiki)
- Back
- Interchangeable ETRS 120, 220, 135 (35mm) and Polaroid backs, plus the 70mm back (Tamron lists 120, 220, 35mm and Polaroid pack film each in its own back; camera-wiki adds the ETRS 135 back and CB102/CB103 Polaroid backs). Second-type backs have two latch tabs
- Meter
- None in the body; metering through the AE, AE-II or AE-III finder
- Motor drive
- Speed Grip E, Motor Drive — camera-wiki lists the Speed Grip and a Motor Drive; the Motor Winder Ei needs the ETRSi
- Weight
- 465 g
- Dimensions
- 91 × 69 × 87 (W × D × H) body only; 91 × 165 × 107 with 75mm lens, 120 back and waist-level finder E (Tamron spec sheet) mm
- Country
- Japan
- Original price
- ¥153,000 (1978) for the standard set of body, ETRS 120 back, 75mm lens and waist-level finder E (Tamron Japan spec sheet, shown as a set because of the tax-display rules of the time) (today ¥253,000)
- Accessories
- Waist-level finder E, AE finder, AE-II, AE-III, prism finder, rotary finder, sports finder (camera-wiki) · ETRS 120, 220 and 135 backs, 70mm back, CB102/CB103 Polaroid backs; chrome 120/220/70mm backs until about 1981 (camera-wiki) · Speed Grip, Motor Drive, tripod release, Polaroid tripod adapter (camera-wiki) · Interchangeable focusing screens; microprism as standard (Tamron)
Tamron's ETRS sheet says only that finders interchange; the magnifier and coverage figures are the ETR's (4.03×, 1.25× with the 75mm, 96 × 94%), repeated on the ETRC sheet, and the finder is the same part.
The AE-II and the later AE-III use a contact added to the ETRS body and are not fully compatible with the ETR (camera-wiki). The first-type AE finder, a plain prism, a rotary finder and a sports finder are also listed for the system.
Where sources disagree
- First
- '1982?' — camera-wiki's model table, with its own question mark
- around 1981 — camera-wiki's statement that chrome-body production switched to polycarbonate about then
Both from one page. No source gives a firm year for the polycarbonate ETRS, so the variant carries no start date.
What reviewers say
- Wayne Lorimer, Kosmo Foto (blog) — His go-to film camera for landscapes: "Sure, it ain't no featherweight", but the modular body can be pared down, and his two 75mm PE lenses are "super sharp, contrasty, buttery-smooth to focus". "They aren't called the 'poor man's Hasselblad' for nothing."
- Neil Piper, Emulsive (blog) — "It's a freakin' tank, and that's a great thing for me to be totally honest" — about 1.9 kg with winder, AE-II finder and 50mm, and he would be disappointed if it handled any other way. "That's cheap for entry into the quality end of the medium format market."
- Andy (The Phlogger), 35mmc (blog) — "A great option for anyone who wants to get into medium format photography." Lighter than a Mamiya 645 as a body, but the "brick like" Bronica is "in no way ergonomically designed for handholding, although a grip will help"; he used it only with the waist-level finder.
History
The ETRS of October 1978 is the ETR with its handling sorted out. The shutter, the 55.1 × 42.5 mm frame and the four-claw bayonet are unchanged; what Japanese Wikipedia calls improved mechanisms and operation shows up on the outside as eyelet strap lugs, a three-position lock on the release button and a contact in the finder bay for the new AE-II prism, whose readout appears on a half-press. Tamron’s spec sheet lists the body at 465 g and the standard set, body, ETRS 120 back, 75mm lens and waist-level finder, at 1,280 g and ¥153,000, two thousand yen less than the ETR’s set two years earlier. Backs for 35mm film and Polaroid pack film joined the 120, 220 and 70mm ones.
Two bodies carry the name. The first keeps the ETR’s metal panels and round front lens-release button and was offered in chrome as well as black until about 1981; the second, which camera-wiki dates from around 1982 with a question mark, has a polycarbonate shell and a rectangular lens-release slider on the side. The second body is the basis of the ETRSi, which put the release back on the front. Three limited sets sit alongside: a 20th Anniversary camera in black paint and brown leather with an AE-II finder (probably 1979), the 300-set Clubman with silver nameplates and rubber side panels (about 1980), and the green-and-tan ETRS SF safari set sold some time between 1982 and 1988. Tamron’s list ends the ETRS in September 1989, nine months after the ETRSi arrived.
Reviewers agree on what it is. Wayne Lorimer at Kosmo Foto made it his landscape camera and admits “it ain’t no featherweight”; Neil Piper at Emulsive calls it “a freakin’ tank” and means it kindly, weighing his kit with winder, AE-II and 50mm at about 1.9 kg; Andy at 35mmc finds the bare body lighter than a Mamiya 645 but the brick shape no help for handholding without a grip. All three bought in cheaply, and Lorimer repeats the “poor man’s Hasselblad” tag that follows the line. Without a battery the camera still fires at 1/500, which is the one thing it does on its own; everything else, from the AE finder to the 8-second slow end, needs the 6 V cell.
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
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