The First Camera That Made Me Money - Medium Format Film

In this video I talk about the first camera I owned that made me money as a professional photographer. This was a medium format film camera from the 80s that I purchased used in 2010 and still use today in 2021. The camera is a Bronica ETRS that I predominantly shoot Ilford fp4+ black and white film that I develop, print and scan myself.

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[Murphy]

Film tutorials. Yes please. Love this.

[tcphoto]

My father gave me a Nikon FM for Christmas nearly thirty years ago and I learned enough to test models for a local Agency. It quickly turned into a business and my first MF kits were the Mamiya 645Pro which I sold and bought a Pentax67II then a RZProII. Digital became the rage and I went to a Canon 1D, 1DII, 1Ds...and currently a couple 5DIV's. I miss the days when you owned a kit for years and simply made it work which explains why I still own my Profoto Acute2 kit.

[MrBritishGent]

A Zenit B! I was fifteen and had just gained access to the partitioned-off corner of a friend's garage which became our darkroom. That camera was SO manual you had to focus with the lens wide open and manually stop it down when you were ready to shoot.

[AndyGoodstuff]

I'd definitely love to see more of your personal work through this format. I just hope that making the commitment to start sharing it on youtube doesn't add to the stress and effort of doing something that's otherwise supposed to be enjoyable and fun.

[nuttButterAMK]

It definitely would be very interesting to see more film and more personal projects

[colnagocowboy]

One of my favorite cameras (ETRS) My first camera was a Petri Racer 35mm a birthday gift from my mom in 1975

[oleleclos]

The camera I apprenticed on in the late 1960s was a Sinar Norma (5x4" view camera), but when I started my own studio in 1971, I couldn’t afford Sinar, so bought an Arca Swiss Basic - not only because it was half the cost but also because it was half the weight, and I wanted a view camera I could take on location (and boy, did I). For medium format, money was also an issue, so I bought a Kowa Six outfit with 50-80-150 lenses. Until one day on assignment (in bleak northern Finland) the lens got stuck on the body and I had to do the rest of the job with one lens. Luckily the 50, so I got away with it, but returning home I had no trouble convincing myself (and my bank manager) that I could no longer afford NOT to have a Hasselblad. Those two cameras - the Arca and the Hassie - saw me through a 10 year career and somewhere in the region of 150, 000 pictures. I know, some people do that in a month today, but this was before spray and pray, and the cost of pressing the shutter was several pounds in film, processing etc. in today’s money. Doing a whole career with two cameras (and a total of 9 lenses - 4 for the Arca and 5 for the Hassie) does make me giggle when I hear how many backups people need to be sure today's electronic wonders will see them through a job. After replacing the Kowa I never had another failure - not of cameras, at least ;-)

[ben]

Hi Scott, would love you to go back and do more content on this camera. Hope you’ve been shooting lots on it since!

[bildhunger]

My first Camera was the Canon A1 with the 50mm 1, 8. Soon i bought the 70-210 mm 4, 0 und than the 28 -55 mm 3, 5 -4, 5. This Set is today my best film camera set (with some more primes ;) ).
Never loved a camera more than this.

[chrispatmore]

My first camera was a Polaroid Swinger that I won in a painting competition when I was 11. That’s what got me hooked on photography for the rest of my life. My parents later bought me an Instamatic. The first SLR I bought for myself was a Praktica L then a Topcon before settling on Olympus OM1, which I still use today. I only got a 120 camera a few years back, when I had some spare cash and wanted a big change from digital. It was just before they became fashionable and prices shot up. I got a Mamiya 645 Super and a Bronica SQ-B 6x6 plus lenses, backs, winders etc. For three bodies, five backs and five lenses it cost me around £700. It’s more gear than I need, but it’ll see me to my grave.

[LukeSartor]

Absolutely make this part of your channel

[sidmiller]

I'd love to hear about your process metering and setting up strobes for film! I shoot primarily film (all for fun) and have been learning how to use strobes recently.

[braxtonjens]

Nice!
My first 120 camera is a Bronica SQ-A, with a 645 back, and the 105mm f3.5 lens.
My first camera is/was a canon t6i, because the guy at the camera store a decade ago recommended it.

[davidlinney]

First camera a practica 35 mma.. and worked with a pentax in my assisting days..great memories developing and printing black and white film.. dont miss the smell of fixer on your hands though..well before health and safety..happy days

[stewartdalby]

With you all the way Scott. First camera was a Zenit E with a 50mm Helios f2 lens when I was 15. Bought a bulk film loader & bulk spools of Kodak Tri-x & spent a whole summer around Leicester City Centre shooting anything from ‘Rum Weather’ the vagrant who used to live in Lewis’s shop doorway to Market Traders setting up at 6.00am. Absolutely loved film & still do. Have a very old Bronica ETR & 75mm with 3 backs & enjoy every minute of using it. Process & print mono medium format in my home darkroom & process & scan colour negs. Get so much more enjoyment out of shooting film than I ever do using my ridiculously expensive digital cameras. Must come down to Leicester Lo Fi one Wednesday. Met you a couple of times when I used to work for Apple in the Highcross & always love your YouTube videos.

[kevinconnery]

By all means, show what you're shooting for fun!

i can't remember my first camera, but I do remember it had a built-in flash reflector for flashbulbs, and I used a variety of point-and-shoot hand-me-downs for years. My first 'serious' camera was a Canon FTb which I bought when I was in high school (around 15 years old), and it made me money through high school and college. I still have that one, though I've long since sold my other film gear.

[anthonyfarmer]

This is not a poor mans Hasselblad ! Like most things the Japanese take and develop it is a better camera functionally than the Hassy system ( no worries about lens removal uncocked, cocked, film back to body sync leading to wasted shots etc ) . Just doesn't have the name and maybe, maybe the lenses are not up to the Zeiss ?? I have both and I cannot understand why people turn up their noses at the ETRSi . Thanks for the video, good to see others who appreciate the Zenza . Cheers

[jasonblackman]

I started with a Pentax ME with a 50mm f/1.7 lens. I still have and use it. I’ve only used medium format on a few occasions and have been very tempted to pick up one lately. Thank you for sharing this.

[Andrew-ytpf]

Brings back fond memories of my Bronica SQai. Lovely cameras. First proper camera was a Mamiya ZEX 35mm SLR. First proper money making camera, Mamiya C220, followed by the Bronica. Favourite film, Fuji Velvia. First digital camera, 5D Mk1

[johanmatto]

Noice! Thanks for sharing! A couple of years into shooting professionally, I found film photography and as photography became a full time job, I've found it to be what keeps my photography passion/career in sync and balance. Digital is work, analog is for me. There's a wonderful analog world out there, says me who came up with digital. Please keep on sharing your journey, I'll appreciate it. Oh, and definitely inn for that lighting scale. Never done strobes with film - yet! Cheers