Bronica rf645 ken rockwell
Saddled with the nickname of "Texas Leica” it is something of a behemoth by rangefinder standards (see the 2nd image below). The camera that we’re looking at in this article, the GSW690ii is a great example of the classic rangefinder with one notable exception, it is in no way diminutive. Of course picking the “right” tool for the job at hand is always a factor. You can debate the superiority of the rangefinder or SLR, and many a photographer has done so, but it really comes down to feel and fit, and for me, they just feel right and fit. I am a big fan of rangefinder cameras and their capability for fast focusing, accuracy (assuming rangefinder calibration of course), stealthy use and usually a smaller form factor (although not always, as we will see in this review). Through the years since I’ve owned and used many different small and medium format rangefinders, including several Leica M’s and medium format cameras like the Mamiya 6 and Bronica rf645. It wasn't long before I had saved enough to move on to better cameras but I came away with an affinity towards the rangefinder that lasts to this day. It was hard to use on a good day, but looking back at the slides from that trip, they were mostly in focus and not too badly exposed considering a 13yr old using sunny 16 and a 25+ year old camera. Beyond the fact that it was cheap, it had 3 things going for it, coupled rangefinder focusing, a Tessar type Solinar 50mm f/3.5 lens and it was CHEAP. I was getting ready to go on a long backpacking trip and I wanted to make sure I could capture that trip with a "real" 35mm camera. To be fair it was a step up from the Kodak Brownie, Instamatic and Polaroids I had used growing up. My first "serious" camera, something I acquired from a pawnshop at the ripe age of 12 or 13, fell into the familiar category of "all I could afford", otherwise called an Agfa Super Solinette.