Bronica

Before introduction of the first of what would become a dynasty of Zenza Bronica cameras in 1959, the Latinized Zenza Bronica name was already a popular Japanese luxury goods brand of the Shinkodo Works (in Japanese: ) since 1947, specialized in the production of intricate crafted and decorated personal accessories, such as metal cigarette lighters and cases, cosmetic compacts, and watches, of diverse styles and designs. which at first produced Bronica brand luxury art deco accessories such as cigarette lighters and cases including watches, and positioned Bronica as a luxury brand in Japanese department stores, with popularity thriving among US Army soldiers in Japan. On 17 January 1952, the Shinkodo Works was directed by Yoshino to begin research and development of the Bronica prototype camera. and successor Bronicas, using large-coverage film format, high-quality Nikkor lenses supplied by the then Japan Optical Industries Co., Ltd., Such was the design success of Bronica, that in the United States it attracted influential figures from the photographic industry such as Burt Keppler who met with Yoshino. Bronica later introduced optics and lens units of its own manufacture incorporating Seiko shutters with its later camera designs and held a portfolio of international patents. Acquisition and product discontinuation Bronica was eventually acquired by the lens manufacturer Tamron Co., Ltd., in 1998 with emphasis on Bronica's optical lens manufacturing. In May 2000, Tamron introduced under the Bronica brand the RF645 rangefinder camera. sales having suffered from the lack of consideration to a digital camera back and loss of market share to digital photography and digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras, particularly for the wedding and portrait photography business which had previously been a heavy user of medium-format photographic film but switched quickly to digital photography for its commercial workflow benefits. Bronica's last model, the RF645 rangefinder camera, was discontinued in September 2005, and marked the termination of the Bronica camera brand business. ==Bronica models==

Bronica SLR system-cameras employed a modular design: The major components of the camera—lens, body, film-back and viewfinder were separate and interchangeable, providing options to match the specific photography or workflow needs of the photographer. Classic models From its start, Bronica introduced a number of 6x6 cm medium-format SLR cameras with focal plane shutter, which used Nikkor lenses from Nikon,), while the EC-TL was the first medium-format camera with Aperture priority automatic exposure (AE). The range of Nikkor lenses for these remarkable cameras reached from 30mm (fisheye) to 1200mm and comprised about 30 lenses. Lens optics supplied by Carl Zeiss in Jena, Tokyo Optical Co., Ltd., Norita optics, Komura-Komuranon (Sankyo Kohki), Schneider Kreuznach, as well as lens optics later manufactured by Bronica itself (Zenzanon) based on designs by Zeiss and Japanese lens manufacturers were available, as well as a wide range of accessories, including different film magazines, bellows, and viewfinders. ETR series • ETR: Introduced March 1976, • '''SQ-B (Basic): Thus, motorized film-advance and through-the-lens metering (TTL) functionality were not present, as well as B (bulb exposure), as found on other SQ-series models. T (time exposure), however, was available when utilizing the appropriate SQ-series Zenzanon-S/PS lenses which incorporated the time (T) exposure lever function; by default the Zenzanon-PS/B 80mm f/2.8 lens which accompanied the SQ-B model did not include this feature. All SQ-series accessories and lenses were interchangeable with the SQ-B with few exceptions. GS series • GS-1: Introduced April 1983, production discontinued June 2002. Lightweight, electronically controlled, modular 6x7 cm medium-format SLR camera system with leaf shutter lenses, four interchangeable viewfinders, speed grip, and optional film-backs for Polaroid Land pack film, 6x4.5 cm, 6x6 cm, and 6x7 cm rollfilm. 120 and 220 size film-backs available in 6x4.5, 6x6 and 6x7 cm. A 35mm film-back was listed in the camera's marketing materials, but never materialized. Dedicated Flash (G1). The GS-1 uses "PG"-series lenses in a variety of focal lengths: 50mm, 65mm, 80mm, 100mm, 110mm macro, 150mm, 200mm, 250mm, and 500mm. RF series • RF645: Introduced May 2000, production discontinued September 2005. Extremely light and compact 6x4.5 cm film format coupled rangefinder camera system with four interchangeable leaf shutter lenses: 45mm, 65mm, 100mm and 135mm. The 135mm Tele Lens soon was discontinued due to calibration problems of the rangefinder-system. Dedicated flash (RF20) and special polarizer kit. ==Further reading==