Bronica SQA need help please

David Lingham · 10-16-2007, 02:35 AM

I have a couple of questions regarding my Bronica SQA, I’m ashamed to admit I don't use this camera as often as I should. Firstly, are they known to eat batteries? Effectively, every time I use it, I have to use new batteries, is this normal? I always remove and store the cells every time I use the camera, but when I reinstall them a week or two latter they are dead. I know it is all electronic and at slow shutter speeds a greater drain is put on the batteries but I don’t shoot an excessive amount of film. My second question is about time exposure and the T setting. This, according to the handbook places no drain on the batteries, does this mean that the T setting is manual and should work if there are no batteries or dead batteries in the camera? Also when I’ve tried working with T, as I lock the mirror up the shutter trips. Is this a procedure thing or does it indicate a fault.

Uncle Goose · 10-16-2007, 03:38 AM

when a Bronica uses up a battery that quick it means there is some electronic problem with it, you could have it checked but considering the prices of the bodies it's better to buy another body. Do you use a metered prism?? and if so, which one?? And what brand of battery do you use?? some brands are depleted very fast.

David Lingham · 10-16-2007, 04:25 AM

Thanks for the quick reply. No I don't use a metered prism, and I buy Duracell batteries.

silverliner · 10-16-2007, 09:57 AM

That's very unusual. My SQ-A battery consumption is about 1x4LR44 for every 2 years. I mostly used it with the ME prism which sometimes I forgot to turn the meter switch off. There must be a place where electrical current loss or leak occurred. I have two other SQ bodies an SQ-B and an SQ-Ai both also are very thrifty on battery usage.

DWThomas · 10-16-2007, 09:58 AM

I have an SQ-A, and so far I (thankfully) have no first hand experience with this problem, but it sounds like an internal electrical problem. As I understand it, the SQ-A shutter is mechanical, but electrically timed, I believe it fires at the fastest speed with no battery. The electonics catch the shutter as it opens and hold it for X amount of time. The T button causes the shutter to stay open when tripped and is released manually, so it should work.

My first SQ-A body could sit for months and the battery was still OK, it later developed some sort of internal mechanical problem. Two subsequent working bodies purchased via E-prey arrived with batteries in them, age unknown, which still worked.

I do not use any metering prisms, so the battery only is used for the shutter.

DaveT

silverliner · 10-16-2007, 10:03 AM

More on this battery issue. My two other ETR bodies don't consume much on battery except when I put on an AE-II prism then the battery will lose power very fast eventhough I always turn the meter switch off, but the problem disappeared after I put a strip of plastic tape over the electrical contacts on the body and that rendered the exposure meter useless.

DWThomas · 10-16-2007, 10:04 AM

The shutter is in the lens -- do you have another lens you could try and see if the problem persists? I'm not 100% sure, but I think some of the electronic stuff is in the lens; e.g, a solenoid to catch/release the shutter.

DaveT

David Lingham · 10-16-2007, 11:42 AM

DaveT

Thanks for the informative reply. At present I only have the one lens, so I can't check as you suggested. This has started me thinking that it is a fault, and I'm going to contact a repair shop and ask there advise. Thanks for all your replies.

Sanjay Sen · 10-16-2007, 08:46 PM

Another Bronica SQ-A user here: I bought mine almost two years ago and have not had to replace the battery that came with the camera. It uses up very little battery power and so should last a while. As others have pointed out, there is probably an electrical fault in the camera that is draining the battery.

Best wishes,
Sanjay