An overview of the equipment and getting it tested and together.

This is a 6 x 6 cm SLR system which can interchange an assortment of viewfinders and lenses, as well as allow switching film backs in mid-roll to permit swapping between B&W and color, or between different speeds of (120 and 220) film.

07 June 2006 body and back in hand, remainder "en route," after an alarming amount of time spent on Ebay and other online store sites. So far, so good.

09 June, lens arrived, absolutely new in the box — even a warranty card! Truly pristine, looks like it was never on a camera.

12 June, Ta-DA! A waist level finder and a lens hood hath arriven. Then the trouble starts! The back does not index the film or increment the frame counter. :-( Since a second back was in the Grand Plan (tm), one, in "EX+" condition, was ordered.

20 June, second back arrived. Exterior looks like a new one. Loaded film advances, stops at each frame, counter increments — fabulous! Alas, two internal foam light seals have begun to turn to goop. Well, ran a roll of Tmax 100 through it anyway. Developed in HC110, dilution B and scanned the negatives on the Epson 3200, at least we can see some promise.

11 July, the back problem is resolved. Got a like-new one for the one with the goopy light seals and a refund for the one that didn't index. Another is on the way from an Ebay vendor.

14 July, ran a roll of 125PX through. Most frames were dull and boring gray card tests, but Ye Olde Photographer did manage a couple of "real" shots at the end, including a self portrait using a mirror (but no smoke). The roll was developed in D76. Haven't evaluated the tests, but the pix were reasonable. YOP now awaits the 80 mm enlarging lens for his B-8 — it's out there in transit somewhere!

17 July, second back arrived. Loaded a roll of 125PX and did a little study at a local historical site. Things are looking up!

29 September, received a third back auctioned "Buy it Now" at an irresistible price. Also a chance to test Tri-X developed in HC110 "Dilution H" and try a newly acquired monopod.

15 October, tried previous back with light seals replaced. See one small problem, but much better. This test gave a chance to try some yellow and orange filter effects.

16 October, using known good back and newly acquired Gossen Digisix light meter, ran a roll of Fuji Provia 100F; slide film is least forgiving of exposure. 6x6 cm color transparencies — ooh yes!

December: Acquired a 65 mm f4.0 Zenzanon PS lens. This is a slight wide angle, nice for walk-about shooting, and takes the same 67 mm filters.

May 2007: Looky there — a non-metered prism finder hath appeared on the doorstep!

June 28: A Bronicatastrophe! Cable release will not operate shutter, and after some fiddling, shutter doesn't fire at all. Appears to be some mystery interlock hanging. Interchanging backs and lenses makes no difference.

July 20: Received another body that appears to be in good shape — back on the air — we hope.

August 12: Acquired a second body (now the first should last for years!)

August 27: A speed grip — couple that with the prism finder and it's just like a 35mm SLR (except for the four pound eleven ounce {2.1 Kg} weight).

December 03: Received a 45º non-metered prism.

November 2008: Couldn't help himself — YOP snagged a 110mm f/4.5 1:1 Macro lens in very nice shape.

March 2009: Aha! A 50 mm f/3.5 wide angle joins the collection after appearing at an irresistible price.
May 2010: A "Compendium Shade" joins the collection.

August 2013: Another GAS attack! A 150 mm f/4 telephoto joins the collection after wishing for a longer-than-110 mm during a segment of the Towers and Turrets project. And having acquired that, it only made sense to get the matching lens shade. And then, looky — a Bronica S 2x Tele-Converter. That can get us to 300 mm, albeit at f/8.