A new contender for my money

The RB67 is a monster to hand-hold. You really need a tripod. But the bellows focusing comes in handy to get up close to your subject. And it is still in production, so one would think that parts might be more available.

If you've never held an RB67 I encourage you to do so before you buy it. Being a Hasselblad guy I remember the first time I saw an RB and I was shocked at how huge it was. Like Benny said...definitely a tripod camera. At least "most" are going to think so.

Don't have anywhere near me to hold one. Closest I can think of is Norman in Kalamazoo, and that is about 4 hours away. Sucks living in Northern Michigan sometimes. Have to mail order all equipment, or at least wait till I head to Chicago.

The RB67 is indeed a Beast, but mounted on a tripod and used for portraits in a studio it is a thing of wonder and joy. For general use, especially in the field, a smaller package like the Bronica SQ or a Hasselblad is much more portable and easier to use handheld even though most of us use them on a tripod also if shooting slower than about 1/125.

Bronica SQ series is a very nice system. I owned a couple of SQAi bodies and a few lenses. I would have kept it, but opted for a Pentax 645N system to help me keep up with my daughter (autofocus, more advanced metering and a little smaller). Some really nice lenses, high flash sync speeds, available Brightscreen focusing screens (if you like). IT addresses your need for 6x6 negatives and it also has some other interesting film backs, it has a 135W back, takes 35mm film and the negative area is close to a Xpan (but, with many more lens options). With the correct adapter, you can mount a digital back to it as well.

I think I am starting to talk myself into looking at this system again...

Need the Bronica services? http://kohscamera.com/ have Tamron/Bronica trained technicians and I believe they purchased all the remaining parts from Tamron/Bronica USA. Fast turnarounds for repairs.

I have handled the RB/RZ line and it is quite big relative to the Bronica SQ, although it feels reasonable compared to my Fuji GX680 - a true monster of a camera system. The Bronica SQAi felt easier to use (for me at least) than the Mamiya RB/RZ.

If you want something really big (negative size), take a look at something slightly bigger than the Mamiya RB - the Fuji GX680. It has tilt and shift movements built into the bodies (apart from the IIIS I think) and the lenses are amazing. It is bigger then the RB, but it gives you the following film format options - 6x8, 6x7, 6x6, and I think even 6x4.5

Harder to find than the RB, but the tilt and shift movements are amazing.

The SQs have electrical components, correct? I actually have a bit of a love of all mechanical, and hand meter, so am not worried about loosing the metering abilities.

With that said, would an SQ-B be viable, or should I go for the SQ-A or SQ-Ai? As far as I can tell the only disadvantage to the B was the loss of TTL and metering, which, like I said, doesn't concern me.

The one biggest advantage to the RB being those bellows, which makes it tough to give up the idea of it. How much does using an extension tube on the SQ degrade image quality? Or is the resolution of the lenses enough that it doesn't?

Yuri, thanks for all the info! Didn't know anyone was still supporting the Bronica gear.

The RB67 will provide a negative with almost 2x the area of the Bronica if you are printing rectangle. The Bronica 6x6 square becomes 4.5x6 compared to the RB's 6x7. The trade-off is size and weight.