Eventually I narrowed my choices down to fully mechanical medium format cameras, as I wanted a slower, more tangible experience than what I’d had with modern digital photography. I perused information online (thanks 35mmc), recalling what I’d learned while shooting film as a teenager, plus lots more about different cameras and film formats. Something clicked during lockdown and I decided that returning to film was the antidote I needed. It had become an exhausting chore that distracted me from enjoying and remembering what I was doing. My photography felt inconsistent, dispensable, and plagued by my own perfectionism. I had shot digital cameras exclusively since the 2000s and grown tired of capturing, sorting, and editing heaps of photos. Like many other photographers, I looked for inspiration to go on photo walks during lockdown, but inspiration eluded me. My partner had to cancel an upcoming visit from overseas, and I had to face the reality of being stuck in a shared flat for six weeks instead of going on a road trip as planned. Still, the initial outbreak and lockdown in Aotearoa was a punch in the gut.

I was lucky to live in Aotearoa/New Zealand during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, spared from the long-term lockdowns, infection rates, and losses that so many others have experienced. Fifty years later, this is still the case, with Bronica S2A kits costing around one-fifth the price of Hasselblad C/M kits. Some other lenses that fit the S2A include the Nikkor-D 40mm f/4, Nikkor-O 50mm f/2.8, Nikkor-H 50mm f/3.5, Zenzanon 150mm f/3.5, and Nikkor-P 200mm f/4.ĭuring the 1960s-1970s, Bronica’s 6×6 SLRs provided photographers with alternatives to the pricey Hasselblad 500 C and C/M. Bronica partnered with Nikon to produce a line of reputable lenses for the S system. It’s sharp, fast enough for shooting indoors in decent light, and produces gorgeous images. That said, the S2A makes up for its lack of subtlety with good looks, a maximum shutter speed of 1/1000 second, interchangeable film backs, a bright viewfinder, and a safety that prevents the shutter from firing without removing the dark slide (i.e., no misfires).įrom what I can tell, the best feature of the Bronica S2A is the standard Nikkor-P 75mm (~50mm equivalent in 35mm format) f/2.8 lens. Firing the shutter is like slamming a car door, so you can forget about being discreet with this camera. Weighing in at just under 2 kg, the Bronica S2A is a tank, almost to the point of being absurd. The S2A is unique in having an ‘instant return automatic mirror’ that swings down instead of up during exposure, which allows space for wide-angle and deep-seated lenses that extend far into the camera body. It was the last fully mechanical 6×6 SLR among Bronica’s Z/D, C, and S series, and later replaced by the electronic EC model.

The Bronica S2A is a hefty 6×6 focal plane medium format SLR produced in Tokyo from 1969-1977.

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