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The last 12 000 or so had small updates to the finish (black buttons).
#Bronica sq am series
About 22 500 camera bodies were made in total, with a first series (serial 310XXXX) of about 1500 units, and a internally revised series of about 21 000 (serial 311XXXX, 312XXXX and 313XXXX). The mount is stainless steel, while the front, left and right body covers are made of reinforced plastic. The body, back base and mount are made of a die cast light alloy. The GS-1 body is wider than the SQ-A, due to the larger film format, however the depth and height are about the same. In practice the design of the GS-1 made it possible to differentiate the GS-1 from its main competitors, the heavy Mamiya RZ and Mamiya RB 6x7-cameras with rotating backs and Seiko #1 shutters.ĭesigning the new PG-lenses for the small shutter aperture, Bronica emphasized correction of aberrations, reducing vignetting and a unified color balance for the whole series, with particular attention paid to distortion, aberrations, field curvature and chromatic aberration for the wide angle lenses. The choice of a #0 shutter was then made even if it restricted the possibility of large aperture lenses, especially of longer focal lengths. However, Bronica found that the helicoid diametre would have become 100mm or more, countering the purpose of a (relatively) small and light weight system, and in addition the shutter speed would be limited to 1/400 (not 1/500 as with #0 shutters). In developing the 6×7 camera (GS stands for "Grand Shooting" ), Bronica paid particular attention to implementing a LED display, using a Seiko #0 electronic shutter with digital control, an upgraded PG-series of lenses to overcome the small aperture of the #0 shutter, TTL-flash, multi-format backs and rejecting the use of a revolving back to reduce size and weight, and make it a mobile camera.ĭuring the design phase a #1 shutter with a larger 30mm aperture was considered. Tamron ended production of GS-1 cameras and lenses in June 2002, with sales continuing until stocks were depleted. It is a completely modular camera, with several optional focusing prisms and viewfinders (with and without exposure metering), lenses, and film backs. Introduced in March 1983, the Bronica GS-1 in 6×7 cm format was the largest SLR produced by the company and the first medium format camera with TTL flash metering.
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