Lifted from a post on the MDF
MJ was a strong supporter of the OM system....
Completely on-topic for once, I'd like to post a brief report of the
new Bronica RF645 compact rangefinder that I shot with yesterday. I only
gave it a quick trial--they had one on display at Reimer's in Milwaukee.
I left my Leica hanging hostage from the salesguy's neck and took their
RF645 outdoors for a stroll.
My friend Michael Reichmann posted a comparison of the Bronica RF645
and Mamiya 7 on his excellent website luminous-landscape.com that tilted
decisively towards the Mamiya. I wrote a full review of the Mamiya 6 for
the old Camera Darkroom, briefly owned a Mamiya 6, and am
very familiar with the Mamiya 7. I like them both--they're great cameras--but
my own reactions tilted just as decisively, and just as quickly, towards
the Bronica.
I think our different reactions have to do with shooting style.
Michael shoots landscape, while I'm more of a people-and-passing-scene type of
photographer. (Wow--I've never actually been able to pigeonhole my style
of photography so briefly before. g>)
As a black-and-white negative film shooter, I like everything about
645. My philosophy has always been that the smaller the negative is, the
easier the camera is to handle in the field; the larger the negative is,
the easier (or perhaps I should just say the more rewarding) it is to
make the print in the darkroom. As a shooter of only medium-level skills
but a darkroom whiz, I've always chosen to go with 35mm--it gives me the
advantagewhere I most need it, and I enjoy (and am up to) the challenge of
struggling with the small negatives in the darkroom. The 645 format tilts the
balance a bit more towards fine printmaking, without much cost in the field.
It's a nice compromise.
It's also practical--16 645 negs fit on to a single proof sheet,
yet are generally large enough to "read" as contacts. I even like the aspect
ratio (shape) of the neg. I like the fact that the 645 negative is still
small, allowing the use of shorter lenses with better d.o.f. (for roughly
the same angle of view on 6x7 as the RF645's 65mm normal lens, a lens
of 80mm focal length is needed).
So now you're aware of all my many prejudices g>.
Another camera I tested for the now-defunkt CD was the Fuji
GS645S, a plastic, manual rangefinder 645 I'm sure many of you are familiar
with. Like the Fuji, the Bronica's viewfinder is "turned on end" relative
to what 35mm shooters are accustomed to. Its native orientation is vertical.
(RB note- that's what I loved about the Pen FT!)
I really liked the old GS645S's vertical format orientation back when I
used that camera. Even when I shoot with 6x6cm square format, I tend
to crop to a vertical 645-sized frame much of the time. I find it a
natural way to see. Michael Reichmann wasn't pleased with this vertical
orientation, since he says 750f his shooting is horizontal. For me it tips more
towards verticals. So my reaction is the opposite of his.
The RF645 is reasonably small and it's certainly well-balanced.
It's not heavy--about the same weight as a Nikon F100. Just for yuks, I
hoisted a full-dress Canon EOS-1v alternately with the Bronica, and the 35mm
Canon was easily both larger and heavier than the rangefinder. The Bronica
has a sizeable handgrip that felt good to me, one that leaves the hand in
a comfortable position relative to virtually all the meaningful controls.
I was impressed with both the feature-pack and the control layout .
Bronica endowed the camera with just about every feature I want in a camera,
from aperture-preferred AE to exposure compensation to a cable release
socket, but they didn't load down the cameras with fanciness and fripperies
that I'd rather not pay for--no laser beams or whirring micromotors or
miniature fireworks displays in the finder. The controls on the camera back are
particularly nice--everything you need within easy reach of the thumb (AE lock
and
a nifty, handy lever for exposure compensation), with locks only where
you need them (on the ISO setting, for instance). Bronica gets high praise
for ergonomics.
The Canadian magazine Photo Life inexplicably gave the RF645
poor marks for the viewfinder. This has created an instant stain on
the camera's reputation around the internet. That's a shame...because
they're full of it! I've used many different varieties of rangefinder camera
in both medium format and 35mm, and the Bronica's finder ranks right up
there among the best. In fact, compared directly to my M6, it scores highly-
-it's as bright, while also being less cluttered, easier to peer into, and
easier to focus. No problem here.
A great feature of the RF645 is the viewfinder information. You can
read on Tamron's website what-all it shows; what I was concerned with
is whether it's visible, and whether it's distracting. Well, it is, and
it's not. You see the shutter speed and aperture big, bright, and bold even
against a bright sky, but it's just far enough away from your direct
view that it doesn't impinge on the image area or make an annoyance of
itself.
This is the best viewfinder information readout on any rangefinder
camera that I'm currently aware of. They got this just right.
The shutter release is something I didn't quite get a complete
handle on. On the negative side, it seems a little less razor-sharp in its
responsiveness than the best (remember, the camera I've been using is an M6,
peerless in this category). There's a hint of a "gear-train" kind of feel, as
if the shutter is setting off a chain reaction of mechanical events in
the camera. However, it appears that the camera does not "dry-fire"--that
is, you can't fire the shutter without having film in the camera. Because
I was taking pictures with my film, I didn't look to see when the
shutter actually fires relative to the overall shutter "feel." It's possible
there's some slight shutter lag going on, or it's possible it fires instantly
and what I was perceiving as lag is merely the leaf shutter recocking
itself after it fires or something like that. I don't know yet--I'll have to
wait for a more extensive trial before I sort this out.
On the plus side, the shutter is very quiet, as you would expect.
Off the top of my head, I'd guess it's not quite as quiet as the Mamiya 7,
but in the same league, and it's quieter than the old Fuji I
mentioned, which fires with a sharp "snick." I have no complaints about the
noise
level. I should add that I'm really grateful for the focal length choices
on both the Mamiya 7 and the RF645. Both the 80mm on the former and the
normal
65mm on the latter are about equivalent to 40mm on 35mm, far and away
my favorite focal length lens on 35. I got turned on to this focal length
when I interviewed Sally Mann for CD. She mentioned that
she used to do professional photography around Lexington, Virginia, where
she lives, and that, for her, 40mm seemed "just about perfect." She had
used the Olympus OM Zuiko 40mm f/2. That lens, along with the 40/2
Summicron-C and 40/2 M-Rokkor, subsequently became my favorite lenses. Forty
millimeter has got a more relaxed view on 35mm than a 50mm, yet it scrubs off
that hint of wide-angly feeling that 35mms have. Some people won't think
this is anything special, and I won't argue with them. For me, however,
both these normal focal lengths are just to my own taste.
The whole camera has a decidedly pleasing, well-integrated feel overall.
The smoothly-focusing lens connects precisely to the the big, bright
rangefinder focusing patch; the lens falls very comfortably to hand. This is an
outstandingly easy and comfortable camera to focus. And the overall balance of
the
camera is great. The easy, very comfortable feeling of the focusing coupled
with the big, bright, easy-to-see viewfinder makes the camera seem
welcoming and unfussy. The main selling point of the Leica M6 to me is that it's
so pleasing to shoot with--it's just nice to use. It seems to invite
you to take iit out and play with it. I'm betting the Bronica would share
a fair amount of this property. Only time would tell that tale, of course.
Overall, I got a feeling of technology, and especially ergonomics,
being at my service, instead of being at the service of the sales
brochure--like the camera design was deliberately aimed at real, practicing
photographers rather than gadget freak camera nuts.
Finally, as has been a tradition with Bronica for many years, value
for the dollar is very high--for a "suggested street price" of only $1,800
you get both camera and lens, and the associated flash and the other
lenses are equally inexpensive. This seems right in line with what I'd want
to pay for something less than a studio camera, and compared to other
medium-format options it verges on being a steal. Remember that economies of
scale
don't factor in nearly as much with medium format, which is a big part of
what keeps prices so high. Given this reality, $1,800 is more of a bargain
than maybe it appears at first glance if you don't shoot medium format now-
-compare prices on medium-format cameras in the BH pages in POP and
you'll get a better idea how inexpensive the RF645 really is.
It appears that a few people on this list have a low opinion of magazine
reviewers...and I used to be one. I suppose I should take umbrage at
this, especially given the amount of crap I've had to take from unhappy
manufacturers over the years. But I don't, really. Anyway, I know that this is
a
positive note; but that's because I was really pleased and seriously impressed
with this little camera. In fact, I liked it so much it took me by
surprise--I'm really good at nitpicking flaws in cameras, as any of my
photo-friends
will heartily attest to. Granted, rollfilm is a minority format, and
rangefinders (except around here g>) aren't everybody's cup of tea. With those
two caveats, the Bronica looks like something quite special. I'm just
worried about my credit card at this point.
--Mike
P.S. Please feel free to repost this modest little report anywhere on
the internet where you think it might reach interested parties. I
don't mind. I'll update it if/when I get to put more time in with the RF645.
Insofar as I'd be of any help, questions can be directed to
michaeljohnston@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.
....thanks, Mike... looks like I've finally found the reason to part
with my faithful KOWA SIX.... Rick in VA.
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