I just received a classic Bronica today picked up from a certain online auction site, but my research so far is giving my contrary indications about whether I have an S2 or an S2a. It was advertised as an S2 and I bought it on that understanding though I'd be a little happier if it turned out to be an S2a.

The serial number is in the 120000's and lacks the S2a extension which indicates this should be an S2. But the winding knob which I understand is the only visible distinguishing feature between the two versions appears to be the S2a style. Any theories about the contradictory identifiers or have I just misunderstood something? Also, as was noted in the description, the back won't come off. Pressing in on the dark slide seems to cause something to begin releasing but only barely. I understand there are two styles of dark slide for these cameras.

The one I have has a curved leading edge. Ruse Keygen Photoshop. I was wondering if it was possible the problem is that I have the wrong style and if so is there any way to tell?

Alternatively is there any other common cause for this issue. I can get by without removing the back for now but eventually I hope to get a second back so I can switch film as the situation dictates. Click to expand.This is the main source of confusion as the serial number information all points to this being an S2, but the information I've been able to scrounge says the opposite of what you got from the collectors guide - that it's the S2 knob that is more conical and also that the S2 wind lever is bare aluminium rather than black like I have. For example there's a few examples with photos at, about 4/5th of the way down the page. The same information can be gleaned from. Either way though I think it's probably true that this is an S2. It looks S2 to me as well.

As to the two different backs that require different dark slides: You may have trouble if you try to use the dark slide from one in the slot of the other, but either back should attach to either camera model. I think of the backs as 120-only vs. 120/220 (independent of camera model), not as S2 vs. I have an S2 and agree it seems more robust than it gets credit for, but out of an abundance of caution I limit my use of the winding crank, because if I were to tear up the gears, there's really no fixing it anymore. I'm almost never using the S2 for rapid-fire pictures of race cars, hummingbirds, etc. So knob-winding is fine.

I pull out the crank only to advance from loading to almost frame 1, and from frame 12 to the end of the spool, when there is not tremendous resistance on the gear-train anyway. It's cocking the shutter that seems like it could over-stress a gear somewhere. Click to expand.These cameras were heavily used by wedding and/or portrait photographers. I'm not saying they abused their cameras but they put them through a lot more use than the average amateur. I have read that some of the S2's had their brass gears replaced with steel ones by repair shops after the S2a's came out. Pro use and amateur use are two different things. The problem is if you buy an S2 that has all ready seen a lot of use.

I don't know how strong the brass gears really are. A lot of information about the early Bronica cameras on the internet is a bit murky. Click to expand.I bought a late model S2a once and it had the infinity focus issue. It's hard to believe that Bronica waited until the EC to solve this easy to fix problem. I have not priced S2 and S2a's in a while but the S2a's were selling for more than the S2's on Ebay and even more than the later EC's. Some prefer a non-battery dependent camera and some worried about the split mirror system of the EC.

I had 3 EC's and never had a problem with the split mirror system. I did stay away from the ECTL because if the meter fails the camera becomes a doorstop. I bought a late model S2a once and it had the infinity focus issue. It's hard to believe that Bronica waited until the EC to solve this easy to fix problem.

Zenza’s Rolls-Royce. Which he named Zenza Bronica – the name being partly derived from his name Zenzaburo and the Japanese term. Serial Number. Bronica S2 / Bronica S2a Posted 12-27-'06 / 1-1-2017. The next page contains information on this camera. If the image below looks like your camera, click below to see the full manual.

I have not priced S2 and S2a's in a while but the S2a's were selling for more than the S2's on Ebay and even more than the later EC's. Some prefer a non-battery dependent camera and some worried about the split mirror system of the EC. I had 3 EC's and never had a problem with the split mirror system. I did stay away from the ECTL because if the meter fails the camera becomes a doorstop. Click to expand.My guess is the infinity focus issue wasn't a priority back then since users would only notice it until the foam started to deteriorate which I assume takes quite a few years on average.

As for non-battery dependent cameras, I have a strong preference for them too, not so much because of the batteries themselves but because I don't trust old circuit boards. As for the issue with the back not coming off, I may have the mystery solved.

It turns out the dark slide it came with is for the EC models and these are a little shorter. Hopefully getting my hands on the correct S2 dark slide will solve the problem. Click to expand.You'd think that the ratio of backs to slides in the world should be about 1:1, so not many loose slides should be floating around.

I wonder if it's time for someone with the right equipment to 3D-print a batch of dark slides (from dimensions measured/scanned off a good original one), if there were enough interest from places like this and. I know nothing about such processes so could not guess whether the slides could be printed with sufficiently exact dimensions as to be light-tight. If anyone does this, make 'em black! I always thought the shiny reflective metal ones were silly, although I know it shouldn't matter anyway if they're working properly; there'd be no light rays to bounce around in there. Click to expand.Well, this is the thing - the knob says S2a, the serial number says S2. The sources I found say that there's a particular serial number somewhere in the 150000's after which S2a's didn't carry the designation in the serial number but as mine is in the 120000's this implies it's an S2. That's according to the online sources I found anyway, but if you heard something different that could be interesting if you remember the source.

Assuming what I found is correct then what Frank said earlier makes the most sense, it's much more plausible to think that someone replaced the knob with one from a different model (this was done with the darkslide after all) than that someone altered the serial number. Click to expand.The 3D printed stuff I've seen seems a bit rough to work as a dark slide but I suppose this is improving all the time. I was thinking of seeing what could be done with a sheet of polystyrene and a good hobby knife but in the case of the S2 I'm not sure anything shy of a good stiff piece of stainless would have the strength needed to release the back. It might work for other kinds of cameras though. In my case I did manage to come up with a workable, if somewhat inelegant solution. By unwrapping the sheet metal that held the wire handle and flattening it out I got that little bit extra length I needed and the back comes off just fine.

Click to expand.does your 68 S2 have the S2a style knob or the older 'S' style winder/focus gear type winder? The loud click over is usually a good indicator of the newer S2A type gear. The non S2A gear has a quiet gear/ratchet sound that winds until the next frame is wound and, without warning nor change, you come to a stop ( or strip the brass gears! I'm pretty sure there are only two types of gearings, from the S to the S2A. An interesting side note, i saw an old 70's ad of a technician in the US that was adding the mirror lockup feature to the newer S2A.

I have never seen one of these ( except for the photo in the ad ) and would love to see(buy) one. Click to expand.Well, could be then. One of the reasons I started the thread was that I don't know how authoritative the my sources were, web sites probably run by enthusiasts or collectors.

It's easy enough for even a knowledgeable, earnest enthusiast to pass on misunderstood or incomplete information as fact. I know that there are S2As with serial numbers lower than mine but which are marked with the S2A suffix. It never made sense to me that there were S2's with higher serial numbers as I can't imagine production of the two versions overlapped. Such things happen I suppose so you never do know but it would make more sense to me that there would be a certain number after which all cameras are S2A. I still can do no better than to weigh the possibilities. It would be nice to be 100% sure but shy of pulling things apart to have a gander at the cog works I don't imagine I'll have that kind of certainty but I'm not prepared to go that far just to know. Click to expand.Hmm, it seems like more of a clack than a clunk but maybe we're both thinking of the same sound differently.

I know it better by feel than by sound. As I'm winding resistance will increase at about the point I see the little advance knob on the back stop turning so I know that I'm at the shutter cocking stage. (At this point I'll stop using the handle and just turn the knob.) As I advance further the resistance seems to increase somewhat when it seems I reach a sudden stop. As I continue with a slow but certain twist it will suddenly release (here's where the clack comes in), advancing a few more millimetres as it does and it's ready for the next exposure. That release is very sharp and definite. Does that jibe with your experience with either camera?

Hmm, it seems like more of a clack than a clunk but maybe we're both thinking of the same sound differently. I know it better by feel than by sound. As I'm winding resistance will increase at about the point I see the little advance knob on the back stop turning so I know that I'm at the shutter cocking stage. (At this point I'll stop using the handle and just turn the knob.) As I advance further the resistance seems to increase somewhat when it seems I reach a sudden stop. As I continue with a slow but certain twist it will suddenly release (here's where the clack comes in), advancing a few more millimetres as it does and it's ready for the next exposure. That release is very sharp and definite. Does that jibe with your experience with either camera?

Bronica S Bronica S On face value the Bronica S (for Supreme) seems a really nice camera, until you compare it to the earlier and much rarer Bronica Z or D. Introduced in early 1961, the Bronica S is very similar to the earlier Bronicas. They can easily be confused for each other, especially if all you have to go by is the standard price guide descriptions. Yet, closer examination shows they are very different cameras. The earlier Z and D have an 'improved Hasselblad 1000f' feeling reminiscent of the beautiful and graceful 1957 Thunderbird.

The Bronica S takes on a more gaudy aesthetic style, reminiscent of the 1959 Cadillac El Dorado. • Bronica S improvements pointed out by Michael Beard: • Mirror lockup button on bottom of camera below shutter release. • Two cable release mounts, one inside shutter release, one on bottom of camera • Amazingly, you can not accidentally leave the dark slide IN the camera --- and so miss a shot. As a safety device preventing lost Pullet Surprise opportunities, the dark slide will actually pull itself about half way out, to remind you to remove it completely. No, I am not making this up. To remove the back, you have to insert the dark slide and push it all the way in--the back will come off.

Accidentally leaving the dark slide in and so missing a good shot is impossible with this design. Photoimpact Free Download Deutsch Vollversion. OK, some of you don't believe it. I didn't either, but it's true. I wonder if Linhof could do this with 4x5 dark slides?? • Easy Bronica S Identification points: 1/1000th shutter, lever advance, no dark gray center trim, very heavy chrome trim, focusing helical built into body. • The D's 1/1250th top speed was reduced to 1/1000 on the S. • • The D's more complicated advance, shutter speed dial and focus knob was replaced with the S's simpler advance and focus knob, with retractable advance lever.

• • The D's shutter speed dial was moved from the advance/focus knob to the other side of camera • The D's special tripod bayonet replaced by a standard tripod socket • The D's serial # on the back edge of the body, ala Hassy, replaced with a serial # on top edge of magazine. • The D's opening of magazine back on left side of magazine, replaced with opening latch on top edge of magazine. • The D's dejamming screw was eliminated on the S. • The D's self timer and shutter speeds from 2 to 10 seconds eliminated on the S. • The D's focusing lock eliminated on the S. • The D's double exposure button eliminated • The D's Hasselblad like styling was replaced with much heavier, gaudier chrome trim.

• The D's distinctive center dark gray strip styling on finder top and camera back was eliminated • The flash sync connection moved from the left side on the D in the center of the slow speed • Notice the Bronica Z/D/S lenses use focusing helicals built into the camera body. Later Bronicas used a more conventional design with each lens having its own helical. Later lenses will not fit the earlier cameras, but the earlier lenses can be used on the later camera with a Bronica helical adapter. • Finders and backs ARE NOT interchangeable between Z/D cameras and the S. Strange, but true. Neither are the magazine slides. Bronica D dark slide on the left, Bronica S dark slide on the right.

These pics show the new magazine back opening latch, and covering safety latch. All in all, I have to say I find the S a cheapened D. The D, in fact, is a much more feature laden and aesthetically pleasing camera. While some may consider the addition of a winding crank an advantage of the S, I think it turned into a disadvantage. Bronica apparently changed the winding gearing and springs in their transition from the D to the S. The problem, at least in the examples I have examined, is that the S advance and mirror mechanism has considerably more noise and vibration than the D.

Alas, the curse of a beautiful older sister, or smarter older brother. If the D did not exist, I would describing the advanced Bronica S with its advanced instant return mirror, wonderful craftsmanship, easy fast handling, and intelligent system approach. Left to right, the Bronica D and Bronica S. Revised: November 25, 2003.

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