Easy to use. Has a 35mm feel to it. Leaf shutter.645 format allows for vertical portraits.

None

Great portrait camera. I've owned mine for almost 5 yeras now and I'm still amazed with the sharpness I get with this camera and lenses.

Customer Service

Very good. I have sent all my camera and lens repairs directly to Tamron/Bronica. Always fair and so far have been able to fix all problems.

Similar Products Used:

Mamiya

simple, reliable and modular.

None

I just bought my second ETRSi last week. I have used this camera under every possible set of conditions and have taken literally 500 or 600 images a week with it at times and have never had a single problem with it.

Customer Service

Never had to use

Similar Products Used:

None

*Reliable
*AE III prism
*Spot metering
*TTL Flash
*X-sync to 1/500

*Remembering to change ASA on TTL flash cord or prism when changing backs.
*Clumsy mirror lock system.

Great system for getting into medium format. Plenty of used lenses and accessories available. Make sure you have a good tripod and strong shoulders. With a little patience will give excellent results. Only thing that is missing is autofocus....

Customer Service

Never had a need

Similar Products Used:

Pentax
Yashica

Versatile modular design
Robust construction
Quality workmanship
Realiability
Leaf shutter lenses

Cumbersome mirror lockup
Complicated multi exposure procedure
Bulky, pricey TTL flash adapter and cord assembly

My primary use for this camera and its attendant lenses has been portraiture and wedding. It has never disappointed and never failed. The camera design is straightforward and utterly reliable. The leaf shutter lenses provide flash synch at all speeds to 1/500, which is invaluable for fill flash outdoors. I do wish the procedures for making multiple exposures and MLU operation were less complicated. The consistent performance builds great confidence in its user.

Customer Service

Have not needed

Similar Products Used:

Mamiya 645

Modular design
compact
excellent metered finder (extra $$$)
reliability

can't get a shutter release cable in the socket when on a bracket.
mirror hangs, but very rarely

We use two ETRsi bodies and four lenses doing about 90 weddings a year. We're very hard on equipment here in West Texas! In the last two years, I haven't had to switch to a backup.
It's best used with a Custom Bracket. (that's the brand name),

Customer Service

excellent

Similar Products Used:

Canon EOS
Bronica SQ
Olympus E-10

Modular and well built.

Shutter is mainly battery dependant.

I was actually given this camera by some friends who aked me to photograph their upcoming wedding. I have been asked to shoot weddings quite a few times and have always turned them down. It is very hard to make people happy, especially when they have spent a few thousand dollars on their wedding and the photos taken are the only thing tangible to show for it. However my friends' wedding is to be an extremely casual affair and since they are good friends and not friends of a friend looking to cut costs with an amature artist, I accepted.

The next thing I know my buddy (and I guess soon to be Mr. Buddy) pulls out this 15 (maybe 20) year old ETRS (not an ETRSi) with the 75mm and 150mm lenses, a 120 and a 135 film back, an AE II Pentaprism Viewfinder and the Speedgrip E. I had no idea he even owned the thing and it looked like it had spent a few years in a closet and maybe one or two in the trunk of a car. He said he had it for a long time and that he barely used it. "But", he said, "You use it for my wedding and you can have it".

I couldn't refuse and took it out for some testing. I have to admit that all of my experience in photography has been with 35mm. However this camera only took a little handling before it became easy to use. In fact this camera, with the Speedgrip and Pentaprism, works a lot like a 35mm. The main thing to get over is its weight. Then its size, though it is pretty big, I don't think that it stands out any more than a high-end 35mm like an F5 or an EOS 1v with a powergrip. And while its mirror is louder than a 35mm SLRs' it isn't an instant return mirror and stays up after releasing the shutter. Then of course, there is the shock of the 120 film size results! It totaly blows away 35mm in every way. I now have a hard time using any of my 35mm gear for anything but snapshots.

Now, while the Bronica system is sort of in the middle of medium format price ranges when new. And while the brand isn't very popular. And Despite its wierd reputation of being "the poor mans Hassleblad" (I guess that makes Nikon the poor mans Leica and Canon the poor mans Contax.) There is a lot of mint gear on the used market and can be had for a lot less than new stuff. That's why I'm looking into buying another 120 back and a 40mm lens.

This camera may be 15 - 20 years old and it probably wasn't stored very well. But it sure doesn't look or act like it and I expect to get many more years of use out of it.

I would rate the value 3 stars because one must go to the used market for practical prices. Yet there is a large amount of used gear on the used maket so I add one more star. And of course, being very impressed by a used 15 year old camera 5 stars for overall rating

Similar Products Used:

Pentax K1000 and ME Super SE.
Nikon N60, N65, N70, N80 and FM2n.
Leica M6.

Excellent camera. Lenses are sharp, body is comfortable, it has all the features I need and none of the ones I don't. Leaf shutters in all the lenses is a definite plus.

None

A well built, well performing camera at a great price compared to other systems. After much searching, I think I found the camera I have been looking for.

Customer Service

Excellent when I spoke to them prior to purchase.

Similar Products Used:

Hasselblad 501CM
Pentax 67
Pentax 645
Mamiya RB67

None

None

The Broncia ETRsi is a an okay camera but I think the system is over priced (but thats coming from a guy who spends $15. on plastic cameras and uses them every day) but it easy to use for that person making the jump from 35mm to medium format.

Similar Products Used:

Holga 120s

Been using two ETR's for 23 years, of the 3000 weddings I've photographed in the last 40 years the Bronicas have done over 1800 (about 80 exposures per wedding)and one of them had a broken mirrior lift spring, the only breakdown I've had. Not only a good camera but a great camera sys.
Also, because of the leaf shutter in each lens you can sync electronic flash at any speed-good for out door flash fill.

After about 1000 weddings one of my two Bronicas developed a broken mirrior lift spring

Great system.

Customer Service

OK I guess, haven't used them but once in 23 years.

Similar Products Used:

None

very reliable camera with high quality
optics all at a very reasonable price.
Leaf shutter makes it able to shoot at any sync speed and the TTL flash system is one of the most accurate
when used with the metz flashes.

None

If you are looking for a reliable high quality medium format system
that is still semi affortable, you can't go wrong with the Bronica ETR Si.
PS.. For the best in optical quality use the PE lenses for the ETR Si system.

Customer Service

Good

Similar Products Used:

Mamiya, Hasselblad,