The Bronica S2A – 1960s 6×6 Perfection

In the 1950s, Zenzaburo Yoshino set out to build what he thought would be the perfect camera. He had paid attention to what Hasselblad had been doing with their focal plane shutter cameras, the 1000F and 1600F. And he thought he could improve upon that design, while keeping a modular system.

After years of pouring his resources into the design, the Bronica Z debuted in 1958.

One of the notable improvements over the Hasselblad cameras was that the Bronicas featured an instant-return mirror. Today, we take this technology for granted. But back then once you pressed the shutter release, you would experience mirror black out until you wound the film on.

Today, mirrors usually flip “up” to let light pass to the film. But the Bronica’s design was unique in that the mirror would slide down flat under the lens. This design meant that the lens could sit deep in the camera body. And allowed the use of short focal length lenses without interfering with the movement of the mirror.

But Zenzaburo had put so much of his money into the camera design that he had little left to dedicate to lens manufacture. So, a partnership between Bronica and Nikon began. And now when you see these older Bronicas with Nikkor lenses, you’ll know why. If you’ve ever wondered how good a Nikon medium format lens would be, just pick up an old Bronica and find out. And speaking of the lenses, most of them came without a focusing helicoid. That part was separate and mounted to the body.

Bronica kept improving their cameras over the the next couple of years and in 1961 came out with the Bronica S. It was a more basic design, but had improved mechanics and reliability. The S was modular like the Bronica Z and D before it. All the components – lens, viewfinders, and backs were removable and interchangeable.

Around this time, Bronica released an “economy” version of the S – the C- that didn’t use interchangeable backs or have the top 1/1000 sec shutter speed listed. I say “listed” because it’s now generally accepted that the 1/1000 shutter speed is just hidden. If you set the shutter dial to the empty spot where the 1/1000 would be, you’ll get it.

In 1965 the Bronica S was replaced by the S2. It’s improvements included a removable focusing helicoid. This would allow for longer telephoto lenses to be used that would require their own focusing mechanism while keeping the helicoid of the normal range of lenses separate.

In 1969, the S2 was replaced by the S2A and it remained in production until 1977. The S2A offered improved reliability due to upgrades in the winding mechanism. Externally, though, the S2 and the S2A are very similar, and it’s sometimes hard to tell one from the other.

TIP: A LOT of the auctions I see for these cameras claim that they are S2As when they aren’t. There are a few ways to differentiate S2As from S2s.

Early S2As were actually engraved with “S2A” before the serial number.
Later S2As are said to be serial number 150000 and higher.
The winding crank on S2As is black where those on S2s are silver.
The advance knob on S2As is slightly less conical in shape than that of S2s.
There is a difference in the design of the strap lugs. Strap lugs on the S2 usually have black plastic “wings”. When Bronica came out with their next series of 6×6 SLR – the EC in 1972 – they redesigned the strap, and therefore, the strap lugs. To use the new strap on the S2As, they had to remove the plastic wings. So if the Bronica you’re looking at doesn’t have the wings, you’re looking at a S2A.

Somewhere around this time, Bronica also began supplying their own lenses – the Zenzanons – as well as continuing to offer the Nikkors. And some of the multi-coated Zenzanons are very nice. There was even a Carl Zeiss Jena 80mm 2.8 Zenzanon available at one point.

Check out the video below for lots more info on the S2A – including available accessories and a photo shoot in Postignano, Italy. Below the video you’ll find technical specs and photo gallery.

Technicals Specifications:

Original List Price (1971): $449.00 w/75 2.8
Price in 2023 Dollars: $3400.00*
Manufacturer: Zenza Bronica
Model: S2A
Year Introduced: 1969
Film Format: Medium format – 120/220
Lens: Most are non-helicoid designs, some telephotos are equipped with their own helicoid
Shutter: Focal plane
Self-timer: no
Shutter Speeds: 1 – 1/1000, X and B
Shutter Release: on bottom front
Built-in Meter: No, but available with optional chimney viewfinder
Film Speed/ASA Range: N/A
Flash Sync: 1/40
Film Advance: On right
Frame Counter: on right
Exposure Modes: manual
Focusing Screens: center matte-spot
Mirror: Instant return type, sliding down, below the lens
Battery: N/A