#BRONICA S SERIAL NUMBER#
#BRONICA S UPGRADE#

At this time, the Japanese camera industry had already become saturated with 35mm rangefinder cameras and the earliest SLR cameras first started to hit the market. In January 1952, with a much better understanding of manufacturing and the financial means to bring his dream camera to life, ZenzaburЕЌ Yoshino started to work on his first camera.

#BRONICA S SERIAL NUMBER#

The first Hasselblad 1600 F, serial number 0001. His strategy worked, and Shinkodo SeisakushoвЂ™s products sold well and became popular with US servicemen and women stationed in Tokyo. In 1947, ZenzaburЕЌ Yoshino founded a small shop in Toshin-cho, Itabashi-ku called Shinkodo Seisakusho that manufactured small devices like lighters, cigarette cases, clocks, and other compact devices. With his passion shifting from rice distribution to photography, he knew that in order to start over in a new industry, heвЂ™d have to start small, and build up his knowledge, reputation, and most importantly, funding. Unsatisfied that despite owning multiple cameras, there was not one single model that accomplished everything he wanted to do. He also became interested in photography, amassing a collection of 30 cameras that he would use to photograph his daily life. Throughout his time working in the rice industry, Yoshino had a strong fascination with the mechanics of how things operated. ZenzaburЕЌ YoshinoвЂ™s company employed as many as 120 people and was a leader both in producing and distributing rice throughout the country. YoshinoвЂ™s familyвЂ™s business grew substantially throughout the years prior to World War II in Japan.ДЄfter the war, with JapanвЂ™s economy and agriculture in disarray, the rice industry was critical for Japanese farmers and citizens. Born in 1884 as the third and youngest son to a rice farmer in Kanda, Tokyo, he worked at his family farm for most of his life. The first Bronica camera was produced in 1956 by a small Japanese company run by a former rice farmer named ZenzaburЕЌ Yoshino. History ZenzaburЕЌ Yoshino is the namesake and creator behind Zenza and the Bronica. The Bronica was created as an economical option and it shows in itвЂ™s less than stellar reputation for reliability and extremely loud operation. The ergonomics of the camera are familiar to anyone whose used a Hasselblad, and with Nikkor lenses made by Nippon Kogaku, the images they make are excellent. ItвЂ™s overall design was inspired by the Hasselblad 1000 with an interchangeable lens mount and waist level viewfinder, removable film magazine, and focal plane shutter. The Bronica S2 was created for those who wanted an affordable alternative entry into medium format SLRs. Viewfinder: Interchangeable Waist Level ViewfinderДЇlash Mount: M and X Flash, X-Sync at 1/40 Lens: 7.5cm f/2.8 Nikkor-P coated 5-elements in 4-groups The Bronica was a complete system camera with a huge range of lenses and accessories available.ДЇilm Type: 120 / 220 Roll Film (twelve / twenty-four 6cm x 6cm exposures per roll) Most commonly found with a waist level finder, eye level prism viewfinders were available as well. All Bronica S-series cameras shoot 6cm x 6cm images on 120 or 220 format roll film using a top down focusing screen.

#BRONICA S UPGRADE#

Originally built as a discount option to the Hasselblad medium format SLR, the Bronica S2 was an upgrade to the earlier Bronica S with the most significant change being an upgraded interchangeable front helical focusing mount. This is a Bronica S2, a medium format single lens reflex camera produced by Zenza Bronica Kogyo from 1965 to 1969.