Zenza Bronica S2A
Zenza Bronica · Bronica S mount · 6×6 on 120 (12 exposures) or 220 (24 exposures) with the standard back; 6×4.5 with Film Back E (camera-wiki; English Wikipedia citing the S2A manual) · 1969
Also known as: Bronica S2A · Zenza Bronica S2A · Bronica S-2A · Bronica S2-A · Zenzabronica S2A · Bronica S2A 6x6 · Bronica S2A Nikkor · ゼンザブロニカ S2A · ゼンザブロニカS2A · ブロニカ S2A · ブロニカS2A
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S2A, 'S2A' after the serial (1969–72) | Bronica S | 1969–1972 | Serials before 150037, engraved with an 'S2A' suffix (camera-wiki) | No production figure is known to have been published |
| S2A type 2 (1972–77) | Bronica S | 1972–1977 | 150037 onward: no 'S2A' suffix (camera-wiki, which dates these cameras after 1973) | No production figure is known to have been published |
- Tamron's official Bronica list has no separate S2A sheet and no S2A price; the S2's ¥93,500 (1965) is the only list price for the pair. The weight and dimensions here are camera-wiki's, which gives one table for S2 and S2A.
- The 1972 'type 2' (English Wikipedia) and the post-150037 change (camera-wiki, after 1973) are recorded as they stand; see the variant notes.
- Ed Worthington's Emulsive review gives manufacture dates of 1965–74, marked unconfirmed by the author; the 1965 is the S2's year, and camera-wiki and English Wikipedia both carry the line to 1977.
How to tell them apart
- Removable 14 mm / 250° focusing helicoid in front of the large body bayonet; small bayonet and 57 × 1 mm thread at its front (as on the S2)
- Smaller advance knob than the S2 (camera-wiki)
- 'S2A' after the serial number on early cameras; later cameras, from serial 150037, drop the suffix and have wingless strap lugs (camera-wiki)
- No mirror lock-up button; PC socket on the shutter-knob side (camera-wiki, S2 page)
- Mark Herse (35mmc) warns that S2 bodies are sometimes offered as S2As and recommends checking the serial and the folding advance handle
S2A, 'S2A' after the serial (1969–72):
- 'S2A' engraved after the serial number (camera-wiki)
- Smaller advance/cocking knob than the S2's (camera-wiki)
- Winged strap lugs, as on the S2 (camera-wiki, which dates the change to wingless lugs after 1973)
S2A type 2 (1972–77):
- No 'S2A' after the serial number (camera-wiki)
- Wingless strap lugs (camera-wiki)
- S2A, 'S2A' after the serial (1969–72): The first form, outwardly an S2 with a smaller winding knob and the new suffix. The change under the skin is the stronger film-advance gear train, which camera-wiki and the S2A reviews credit with far fewer jams than the S2.
- S2A type 2 (1972–77): English Wikipedia names an 'S2A type 2' introduced in 1972; camera-wiki dates the cameras without the suffix and with wingless lugs from serial 150037, after 1973. The two may describe the same change seen from different evidence, or two changes a year apart; neither source gives the type 2's other differences. The May 1972 Ehrenreich brochure cited by English Wikipedia is the document that would settle it, and was not read for this entry.
Specifications
- Format
- 6×6 on 120 (12 exposures) or 220 (24 exposures) with the standard back; 6×4.5 with Film Back E (camera-wiki; English Wikipedia citing the S2A manual) · 12 on 120, 24 on 220 exposures
- Finder
- Interchangeable waist-level hood with flip-up magnifier over a Fresnel ground glass; prism finders A and C, a magnifying hood, a sports finder and a TTL CdS meter finder were sold (English Wikipedia citing the S2A manual; camera-wiki)
- Shutter
- Vertical-travel focal plane, mechanical; non-rotating single-axis dial (same shutter as the S2: camera-wiki) · B, 1–1/1000 s in full stops, X (1/40); T by locking the release (camera-wiki, repeating the S2 table) · flash sync Automatically switched PC socket: X at the X setting (1/40), FP bulbs to 1/1000, M to 1/125, F to 1/15 (camera-wiki's S2/S2A table) · no self-timer
- Film advance
- Knob with folding crank, about three turns per frame, cocking the shutter and lowering the mirror; the S2A's advance gear train is the stronger redesign and its knob is smaller than the S2's (camera-wiki)
- Back
- Interchangeable, fully coupled 6×6 back for 120 or 220 with dark-slide interlock; Film Back E for 6×4.5, Polaroid back (camera-wiki; English Wikipedia)
- Meter
- None in the body; optional TTL CdS meter finder (camera-wiki)
- Weight
- 1780 g
- Dimensions
- 100 × 100 × 140 (camera-wiki, giving the S2 figures for both cameras and no separate weight for the S2A) mm
- Country
- Japan
- Accessories
- Film backs: 6×6 120/220 back with 120 and 220 inserts, Film Back E for 6×4.5, Polaroid back (English Wikipedia citing the S2A manual; camera-wiki) · Finders: prism finders A and C, magnifying hood, sports finder, TTL exposure-meter finder (English Wikipedia; camera-wiki) · Close-up: CA/CB/CC/CD extension rings, bellows attachment S2 with tilt and shift, compact bellows, reversing ring, copy stand (camera-wiki) · Hand grips T and L (camera-wiki)
Where sources disagree
- S2a-type2 (date of the change)
- 'S2A type 2 introduced 1972' — English Wikipedia
- No 'S2A' suffix and wingless lugs from serial 150037, after 1973 — camera-wiki
Neither source describes what else the type 2 changed.
What reviewers say
- Mark Herse, 35mmc (blog) — An affordable alternative to a Hasselblad: a sharp 75mm Nikkor, a bright finder and good looks in 'a tank' of just under 2 kg whose release sounds like a car door. Check the serial and the folding handle against an S2 with its stripping advance gears, and replace the focusing foam, which throws the focus off as it degrades.
- Michael Preinfalk, Emulsive (blog) — 'A mechanical masterpiece': a solid, battery-free body with a sharp 75mm, best for still life and portraits rather than moving subjects, because it is heavy, very loud, and asks for patience and concentration.
- Ed Worthington ('The 6 Million P Man'), Emulsive (blog) — Recommended for landscape and portrait work, 'a damn good place to start' in medium format: metal build, bright finder, sharp Nikkor 75mm and interchangeable backs, against 1.78 kg, a very loud shutter and rising prices. He paid £250 and saw others at £350–£400.
History
The S2A of 1969 is the S2 with its one serious fault removed. The S2’s film-advance gear train could strip or jam; the S2A’s is a stronger redesign, and the advance and cocking knob became smaller at the same time (camera-wiki). Nothing else of consequence changed: the same mechanical 1–1/1000 vertical focal-plane shutter with X at 1/40, the same flip-down mirror without lock-up, the same removable 14 mm helicoid in front of the large bayonet, the same 120/220 back with its dark-slide interlock, the same 1,780 g. Tamron’s archive list has no separate sheet or price for it, which is a fair measure of how little Bronica itself treated it as a new camera.
Telling the two apart matters because the S2A is the one to own, and camera-wiki gives the marks: early S2As carry ‘S2A’ after the serial number, cameras from serial 150037 (after 1973 by camera-wiki’s dating) drop the suffix and have wingless strap lugs, and the smaller knob is visible in any photograph. English Wikipedia names an ‘S2A type 2’ from 1972, without saying what else it changed. The S2A line was officially discontinued in 1977, September by English Wikipedia’s date, by which time the electronic EC and EC-TL had been the flagship cameras for five years; the S2A stayed in the catalogue as the mechanical, battery-free alternative.
The reviews are consistent about what it is like. Mark Herse at 35mmc calls it ‘a tank’ of just under 2 kg with a release like a car door, Michael Preinfalk at Emulsive ‘a mechanical masterpiece’ suited to still life and portraits rather than anything that moves, and Ed Worthington at Emulsive ‘a damn good place to start’ in medium format for landscape and portrait work. All three praise the 75 mm Nikkor and the bright finder; all three warn about weight and noise; Herse adds the two buying checks, that S2s are sometimes sold as S2As and that the original foam under the screen and mirror shifts the focus as it degrades. Worthington paid £250 in his review’s year and saw other Bronicas at £350–£400.
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.
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