Bronica E and MC lenses VS. PE
McLeod
between these lenses. Before I bought my ETRSi I had used Hasselblad at
work for over 10 years and had used a Mamiya C330 at home. I couldn't tell
the difference between a Hasselblad negative and a Mamiya negative but I
sure can see the difference between those negatives and the Bronica ones. I
had shot some landscapes with the Bronica and they seemed to just not be as
sharp and capture as much detail as the other two cameras. I guess what I'm
wondering is are the PE lenses much sharper? If they aren't I may be
selling a system that otherwise I love.
Robert Monaghan
seems to be a belief, perhaps stimulated by Tamron's own blurbs on the
benefits of their newer lenses, that the older lenses are less stellar
than the newer optics?...
quoting:
From: Ted Brownlee om...@aol.com
Subject: Response to Bronica PE lenses - How good are they ?
Date: 1998-06-08
I use the 50mm and 200mm MC lenses with my ETRSi. I also have the 75mm PE.
I have rented a 250 PE lens. If your
reputation does not rely on having the absolute best glass, keep your
MC's. It's something to consider if you're buying a new
lens ~ then I'd definitely opt for the PE's. I have not been able to find
a difference between the two. I use the 200mm almost
exclusively. I have heard though, that the longer tele's in the MC formula
aren't up to the PE's (haven't experienced this either).
The 150 in the MC is quite good. Tamron is the current Bronica
distributor. Their optical expertise is behind the two new
zooms, the full frame fisheyes (ETRSi & SQAi), and the brand new macro's.
endquote
from the same page, quote: They have discontinued shutter units for all
but their most recent series of lenses. PE, PS, and PG and have no upgrade
unit for older lenses such as E, EII, MC, and S lenses. ...geoff/camera
tech 2308 Taraval St. S.F.,CA 94116 USA
end-quote:
and
From: wi...@aol.com (Wilt W)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: Re: Bronica Zenzanon lenses
...
The MC lenses are the older design, originating from the days of the ETR
and ETRS. In some cases, the lenses went thru a
number of redesigns and still retained the MC designation and no real name
change, such as the 105mm and the 150mm, In
other cases, the redesign carried the "-II" designation, such as the 75mm
E-II. Most recently, the PE series was introduced
(*before* Tamron bought Bronica). PE adds the following benefits:
1) 1/2 EV lens aperture position detents and communication with AE-II and
AE-III prisms.
2) Improved optics, primarily better contrast at wide open aperture in the
wide angle lenses, 40mm and 50mm
3) Easier to user T setting on lens
--Wilt
====endquote
other users say they can't see the difference between older and newer
glass.
My take on this is:
bronica made changes, slipstreaming them in, so you can't tell if you have
an early lens or a late one, a good one or a better one, and two seemingly
identical lenses may be different both optically and mechanically
the lack of parts for the older lenses may be an issue for some folks, and
a reason for bargaining, or a reason for buying the later lenses...
lenses vary, see http://people.smu.edu/rmonagha/third/variations.html
the newer lenses seem to have many folks believing the changes were major
and beneficial, while others don't see the differences...
my recommendation would be to rent, borrow and try the later lenses first,
using good technique (slow film, tripod..) to see how they stack up.
hth bobm
--
* Robert Monaghan POB752182 Southern Methodist University, Dallas Tx 75275 *
* Third Party 35mm Lenses: http://people.smu.edu/rmonagha/third/index.html *
* Medium Format Cameras: http://people.smu.edu/rmonagha/mf/index.html *