Bronica RF645 serial numbers and the 100 vs 135 questionq

kaiyen

kaiyen

local man of mystery
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Hi all,
Long time member. Loooong time silent. Haven't been on very much as I have fallen away from photography the last few years. Anyway.

I have been looking at the RF645. Am I correct in that ALL serial numbers on bodies that start with 00 are the 135 variant, with 135 brightlines? That seems to be what I'm reading.

Meaning if I want to get 100 brightlines I need something that starts with 10?

thanks.
 
Correct, except... Many, perhaps most, of the original 00 bodies were sent in on a call-back program for frameline change, and the 135 lenses were recalled and exchanged for new 100mm lenses. As a result of the turmoil, 135mm lenses are scarce as hens' teeth, the 100mm is not very common either and went for very high prices for a while. And you can't know which framelines are present in any given 00 camera without inspection.

But y'know, it doesn't matter which framelines the body has if you don't have one of the longer lenses! I bought a new 10 camera and all three later lenses, then got a used original 00 body in hopes of finding a 135mm lens... but never have.

The Bronica RF645 is one of my all-time favorite cameras, somehow akin to the Minolta CLE to my mind.

Welcome back!
 
I remember being able to get that camera brand spankin new back in the day...
But I didnt because I didnt trust the electronics..as in..if it broke 10 years down the road..who would fix it..

If memory serves..the 135 was not particularly well matched to the rangefinder..and there was trouble focusing it..
I wish I had got that camera today...with all the lenses..
 
I had the 135mm model (sadly I didn't keep the serial number) with lens, never had any issues with focus. On the other hand the 45mm viewfinder was miles out of alignment.

Nice thing, but I found it too modern.
 
thanks everyone. Is the 135 even worth considering? Or is the risk of the focus issue just too great?

I have done my best to consolidate my knowledge of the RF645 from multiple threads. Just trying to confirm my thinking. Thanks.
 
kaiyen said:
thanks everyone. Is the 135 even worth considering? Or is the risk of the focus issue just too great?
Click to expand...

If I remember correctly, the 135mm was dropped because it indeed didn't focus reliably.
I had a 135mm camera and had it changed to 100mm. I did have the 100mm lens and the 45mm, which needed an external vf, but later sold all of it because Bronica went out of business.
But it certainly is still one of the cameras I liked most. Used it a lot with Fuji Sensia for magazine work.
 
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