Bronica SQ-Ai

[armand78]

Hi guys, recently a friend of mine passed me his Bronica mf camera, with a couple of lenses, with the intention of selling it through me.
Terrible condition though as he have not been shooting for years.(Last roll of 120 expired at 1996) The lenses is heavily invaded by fungus, one zoom cant even extend anymore. Haha.. Still fell in love with the system instantly though(cant afford a hassey)
Have some questions in mind and hope some of the pros can help me out.

1. There is 3 lenses in total, all which i doubt can return to theirs' glory days. But wondering how much it would cost to clean off the fungus. Would it be better off to just buy new lens, supposedly if my itchy hands can't stay away.

2. If i were to sell it off, i believe it wouldnt worth much, since Bronica is out of production and parts are rare and few. But if someone would just give me a rough feel then i can better answer my friend. (i know there is ebay etc..)

3. Lastly, my hands are really damn itchy, and i sincerely doubt that my friend remember how to operate the system. So, i need someone to teach me!

Thanks in advance for those who replied!

[sabahan]

If it is heavly fungus infected,I don't think any one will service for you,buy a new lens better,the coating may be clean away during the process if someone clean it for you.

[KCLow]

I have an Ai as well. Good camera. With the optional speedgrip handles almost like an SLR. The camera body itself is quite cheap, on e-bay often goes for less than US$100.

For the lens, what are the specs? Some Bronica PS lenses are still worth quite alot, so maybe worth trying to clean. Do check out e-bay for prices.

[armand78]

One is the Bronica SQ-Ai wide angle lens? The rest two are Sigma UC APO 70-210mm len(which you cant extend the zoom anymore) and vivitar series 28-108mm.

Originally Posted by KCLow I have an Ai as well. Good camera. With the optional speedgrip handles almost like an SLR. The camera body itself is quite cheap, on e-bay often goes for less than US$100. For the lens, what are the specs? Some Bronica PS lenses are still worth quite alot, so maybe worth trying to clean. Do check out e-bay for prices.

[KCLow]

Originally Posted by armand78 One is the Bronica SQ-Ai wide angle lens? The rest two are Sigma UC APO 70-210mm len(which you cant extend the zoom anymore) and vivitar series 28-108mm.

What do you mean by wide angle? Do check on e-bay, anything below 50mm is normally still quite valuable. The 80mm however is very cheap. I just bought one for US$70. I am not familiar with the other two lenses.

[meow_meow]

I once brought my lens to Canon for cleaning and was told that those heavily moulded lens even after cleaning, it has tendency to come back...

Originally Posted by armand78 Hi guys, recently a friend of mine passed me his Bronica mf camera, with a couple of lenses, with the intention of selling it through me. Terrible condition though as he have not been shooting for years.(Last roll of 120 expired at 1996) The lenses is heavily invaded by fungus, one zoom cant even extend anymore. Haha.. Still fell in love with the system instantly though(cant afford a hassey) Have some questions in mind and hope some of the pros can help me out. 1. There is 3 lenses in total, all which i doubt can return to theirs' glory days. But wondering how much it would cost to clean off the fungus. Would it be better off to just buy new lens, supposedly if my itchy hands can't stay away. 2. If i were to sell it off, i believe it wouldnt worth much, since Bronica is out of production and parts are rare and few. But if someone would just give me a rough feel then i can better answer my friend. (i know there is ebay etc..) 3. Lastly, my hands are really damn itchy, and i sincerely doubt that my friend remember how to operate the system. So, i need someone to teach me! Thanks in advance for those who replied!