Bronica RF645 vs Fuji GW690iii

Great find!

I really like the 80mm Nikkor. After many iterations, I always come back to the Plaubel and SWC for my travel kit.

Deardorff38 said:
BTW despite its cost, the handgrip makes a lot of difference in the handling
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I agree with Deardorff38, be patient and a grip will come up at reasonable cost.
 
Thanks guys.

Yes I was looking at the grip too and came across couple used ones. Not really in good condition and they run about 250usd. I also found a shop that sells 3D printed grip and claims to be identical and this goes for about 70 but I don't want to risk scraping my paint.
 
This beauty is home!

Initial impression - it is heavy ! Some people say similar to Rollei TLR but not sure because it's the form factor or I was being very careful with this purchase so it feels a lot heavier.

Some people say it's possible to operate with one hand I don't believe that. It's heavy so definitely not secure to operate with one hand so this is where grip comes handy. Also all the dials while smooth it's not light to turn, it doesn't feel as if it's in not perfect condition , instead it's the premium feeling that it's built that way.

I don't have a large hand so I think it might not be as agile as I want it to be. But think practice will make it better. I am still in the honeymoon period so being extra careful with this.

Changing ISO is a pain but I kind of figured out a way.

And most importantly what do I need to be careful about when operating this camera? I already know:

When retracting the bellow make sure the focus is at infinity. The previous owner told me if I can try to not touch the bellows at all time.

Oh and interestingly, he told me it's a single stroke film advance system! Very different than what I read elsewhere. Is 67 single stroke and 670 is double? Can someone confirm? Although I feel it would be a bit cumbersome to operate at the moment but I am happy with the purchase. This feeling surpassed when I got the Rollei FX. The camera feels so premium in hand! Put in Portra and can't wait to test it out.

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eddy1123 said:
Oh and interestingly, he told me it's a single stroke film advance system! Very different than what I read elsewhere. Is 67 single stroke and 670 is double? Can someone confirm?
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I believe they added to double stroke to the later 670 to ease pressure on the advance mechanism. The difference for long term reliability should be pretty insignificant though.
 
I’ve been following this thread closely, and even though the OP has made a decision and got a beautiful camera I felt the need to reply.

I have well over ten years experience with both the Mamiya 6 and Bronica RF645. They are my main camera systems. I own two bodies of each and all the lenses (100mm for the RF645, not the 135mm). I will defend both of these cameras til the day I die. Neither of these cameras are “fragile” cameras. I’ve hiked hundreds of miles in the mountains with one or the other of these cameras dangling from my neck and never had an issue. I never had an issue with the winder on either of them. They are both well built, the Mamiya a bit better built I believe. The ergonomics of the Bronica are superior and the metering is superior in the Bronica as well. As far as serviceability, a comment was made about the mamiya 6/7 not being serviceable. Bob at precision camera works, formally in Chicago, now in California can fix these cameras and has plenty of parts. No one should be scared off by this. As for the Bronica that might be a bit more difficult. I had both of mine serviced by Tamron shortly before they stopped offering service on the RF645.

If I were looking for a MF RF nowadays I would go with the Mamiya 6, or if you don’t like the square, the Mamiya 7. These cameras are built like tanks and the option for different focal lengths and fact that they ARE STILL SERVICEABLE makes it a no brainer. One of my Bronica RF645 bodies had the dreaded battery drain issue when I purchased it. Fortunately Tamron fixed this for me as well and that camera works great now and is in mint condition. I only use it occasionally. The Bronica is such a pleasure to use though and I hope mine last for many years yet. I am still searching for someone who can service these cameras.
 
brian steinberger said:
I've been following this thread closely, and even though the OP has made a decision and got a beautiful camera I felt the need to reply.

I have well over ten years experience with both the Mamiya 6 and Bronica RF645. They are my main camera systems. I own two bodies of each and all the lenses (100mm for the RF645, not the 135mm). I will defend both of these cameras til the day I die. Neither of these cameras are "fragile" cameras. I've hiked hundreds of miles in the mountains with one or the other of these cameras dangling from my neck and never had an issue. I never had an issue with the winder on either of them. They are both well built, the Mamiya a bit better built I believe. The ergonomics of the Bronica are superior and the metering is superior in the Bronica as well. As far as serviceability, a comment was made about the Mamiya 6/7 not being serviceable. Bob at Precision Camera Works, formally in Chicago, now in California can fix these cameras and has plenty of parts. No one should be scared off by this. As for the Bronica that might be a bit more difficult. I had both of mine serviced by Tamron shortly before they stopped offering service on the RF645.

If I were looking for a MF RF nowadays I would go with the Mamiya 6, or if you don't like the square, the Mamiya 7. These cameras are built like tanks and the option for different focal lengths and fact that they ARE STILL SERVICEABLE makes it a no brainer. One of my Bronica RF645 bodies had the dreaded battery drain issue when I purchased it. Fortunately Tamron fixed this for me as well and that camera works great now and is in mint condition. I only use it occasionally. The Bronica is such a pleasure to use though and I hope mine last for many years yet. I am still searching for someone who can service these cameras.
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Thanks Brian. Yes no doubt that they are all very fine cameras.

I was actually looking very closely at Mamiya 6 and with its collapsible design it can be kept relatively compact. Bronica is awesome but just based on my observation on the internet, some have experienced issue and Tamron had it clear that they will no longer service the camera so this got me worried. But of course everyone's mileage may vary. Some like yourself never had any major issue with it.

For me I don't need an interchangeable system. By no means that I am a camera expert but it seems to be the consensus that mechanical cameras are more serviceable. So I ended up with the Makina

Another point that I must admit is that there are just seem to be less Makina on the market, especially ones in good condition. I happened to come across one in great condition and it's a bit less costly than the Mamiya 6 with the 80mm lens, so I decided to pull the trigger. Film is more a collectible to me more than an actual tool so the cool and rarity factor also plays a role in the decision making.

Thank you for your input and You seem to be very happy with your cameras and this is what's important. Happy shooting.
 
brian steinberger said:
I’ve been following this thread closely, and even though the OP has made a decision and got a beautiful camera I felt the need to reply.

I have well over ten years experience with both the Mamiya 6 and Bronica RF645. They are my main camera systems. I own two bodies of each and all the lenses (100mm for the RF645, not the 135mm). I will defend both of these cameras til the day I die. Neither of these cameras are “fragile” cameras. I’ve hiked hundreds of miles in the mountains with one or the other of these cameras dangling from my neck and never had an issue. I never had an issue with the winder on either of them. They are both well built, the Mamiya a bit better built I believe. The ergonomics of the Bronica are superior and the metering is superior in the Bronica as well. As far as serviceability, a comment was made about the mamiya 6/7 not being serviceable. Bob at precision camera works, formally in Chicago, now in California can fix these cameras and has plenty of parts. No one should be scared off by this. As for the Bronica that might be a bit more difficult. I had both of mine serviced by Tamron shortly before they stopped offering service on the RF645.

If I were looking for a MF RF nowadays I would go with the Mamiya 6, or if you don’t like the square, the Mamiya 7. These cameras are built like tanks and the option for different focal lengths and fact that they ARE STILL SERVICEABLE makes it a no brainer. One of my Bronica RF645 bodies had the dreaded battery drain issue when I purchased it. Fortunately Tamron fixed this for me as well and that camera works great now and is in mint condition. I only use it occasionally. The Bronica is such a pleasure to use though and I hope mine last for many years yet. I am still searching for someone who can service these cameras.
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My experience with the Bronica RF645 was much different that yours. I loved the ergonomics, and the lenses were stellar. But the winding mechanism was unreliable. I had it repaired once under warranty. Several months later the winder started acting up once again, so I sold it (with full disclosure of the winding issue). Search the Internet and you'll find that the winder problem is not rare.

So now I shoot a Mamiya 7 II. That camera has been 100% reliable.
 
When I needed to replace my worn out 6x6cm cameras, I considered 645, 6x7, and 6x9 medium format cameras. I tried a 645 but did not like the ergonomics. I now shoot with 6x7 and 6x9cm cameras and simply love the image size. The image quality of my Fuji 6x9cm rangefinder is so close to my 4x5 inch view camera that if I did not need shift/tilt/slide features, I would only use my 6x9.
 
Perhaps Bronica improved the quality (or let it sink) over the brief period that they made the RF645 as the user experience seems so varied. Mine was a dog. If you looked at the camera, the rangefinder went out of adjustment. The battery door had 2 flimsy clasps on it and so had to be held closed with tape. Similarly, the exposure compensation dial on the back moved off zero with the slightly touch and had to be taped to zero. When the film advance died while on a significant vacation, I had it repaired - under warranty - and then sold the camera.
Good luck if you buy one, hopefully you don't get mine.
 
I thought about picking up a MF rangefinder, but I'm happy with my Yashica TLR. The form factor and portability is quite good, I'm not sure how the image quality would be compared with a rangefinder though? Probably better on the rangefinder?
 
I bought my Bronica RF used in 2005. Traveled with it, used it quite a bit - no issues. I really like the camera. I do fear something going wrong and being unable to repair it.
 
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