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RF645

Thank you for your purchase of the Bronica RF645 medium format rangefinder camera.
Incorporating the best of Bronica's know-how and technological expertise, the Bronica
RF645 achieves a new dimension in compactness as the world's first medium format 6 x 4.5
rangefinder camera to feature interchangeable lenses, and comes with a superb line up of
lenses to take full advantage of the rangefinder camera. The RF645 employs manual film
advance lever and dual-image superimposing rangefinder focusing for maximum user con-
trol where it counts, while enhancing handling ease with Program AE, automatic shutter
cocking via a motor designed for the maximum enjoyment of photography in mind.
The features and handling procedures described in this owner's manual are based on use of
the Bronica RF645 in combination with the Zenzanon RF65mm f/4 standard lens. To obtain
best results from your new camera, please read this instruction manual carefully before use.
With proper care and handling, the unit will continue to provide pleasure and performance
for many years to come.

Summary of Contents for Rangefinder RF645

Page 1: ...l film advance lever and dual image superimposing rangefinder focusing for maximum user con trol where it counts while enhancing handling ease with Program AE automatic shutter cocking via a motor designed for the maximum enjoyment of photography in mind The features and handling procedures described in this owner s manual are based on use of the Bronica RF645 in combination with the Zenzanon RF65...

Page 2: ...ens aperture operation 3 4 2 Exposure Metering system 3 4 3 Exposure control modes 1 Program AE mode 2 Aperture priority AE mode 3 Manual exposure control 3 4 4 Exposure compensation 3 4 5 AE lock 3 5 Focusing 3 6 Automatic parallax compensation 4 Other features 4 1 Multiple exposures 4 2 Self timer 4 3 Electronic Flash photography 4 4 Long exposure photography 4 5 Infrared photography 4 6 Depth o...

Page 3: ...t shielding curtain engaged during lens interchange A lens shutter camera with interchangeable lens capability would normally require a light shielding curtain to be activated manually prior to detachment of the lens The Bronica RF 645 had made such complex and awkward steps unnecessary enabling photographers to focus on the shooting itself In conjunction with the lens detachment operation the lig...

Page 4: ...y the shutter speed and aperture combination variations or even by compensating the stored exposure with exposure bracketing technique Note Repeated activation of the AE lock memory may be limited by the remaining battery capacity Also the AE lock memory will be automatically cancelled if the power is switched off or camera is left unused for five minutes The dedicated automatic flash unit that cr...

Page 5: ...e meter window Finder Light intake window Rangefinder window Exposure compensation dial scale Exposure compensation dial index Exposure compensation dial Selftimer indicator Multiple exposure ME button Selftimer starting button Viewfinder eyepiece Rubber eyecup Film type display window Film memo holder Strap lugs Spool holder Lens Film speed setting dial lock release button Battery chamber lock re...

Page 6: ...1 1 Loading Batteries The RF645 will not function without batteries loaded 1 Appropriate batteries Load two CR2 type 3 volt lithium battery cells 2 Open the battery chamber cover Pull down on the battery chamber lock release and the cover will swing open 3 Insert batteries Insert two cells of the same type of batteries in the same direc tion as shown in drawing directing the plus side toward the i...

Page 7: ... new batteries together Such improper use of batteries will shorten battery life and may cause battery leakage or even explosion 1 Getting Started 1 2 Attaching and detaching the lens 1 2 1 Attaching the Lens 1 Rotate the rear lens cap of the lens counter clockwise about 70º and lift it off when it comes to a mechanical stop 2 Align the lens mounting index on the lens barrel with its counterpart o...

Page 8: ...ects 1 Getting Started 1 3 Attaching strap 1 Getting Started 1 4 Attaching the proper diopter adjustment lens 1 3 Attaching the Strap Three camera strap lugs are provided with this camera To carry the camera in a horizontal position attach the strap to the upper lugs on both sides To suspend the camera in a vertical position use the upper and lower lugs on the right side of the camera body Follow ...

Page 9: ...r release button it is time to replace the battery with new ones 2 Preparing to Shoot 2 2 Loading Film 2 2 Loading Film 1 Choose a suitable film The Bronica RF 645 can take either 120 or 220 film type 120 type of film with light shielding back paper takes 16 frames to a roll while the 220 type without back paper takes 32 frames to a roll To load the film open the rear camera cover and set the film...

Page 10: ...the leading edge into the slit of the take up spool shaft as far as possible Note When a take up spool is already installed in the right hand film chamber 2 and 3 procedures described above are not necessary 6 Advancing the film gradually with short repeated strokes of the film advance lever check if the film leader is skewed on the take up spool When both film leader edges are evenly positioned b...

Page 11: ...g the film loading process Film winding and ratcheted winding lever The film can be advanced either in one full stroke of the film advance lever of the Bronica RF 645 or in quick short repeated strokes In both cases the shutter cannot be operated until the film is completely advanced to the next frame If advancing to the next frame is incom plete and X mark is displayed on the viewfinder LCD Note ...

Page 12: ...ed and the exposure counter dis plays E 2 4 2 Film Memo Holder It may be necessary to reconfirm the type of film being used in the heat of a photo shooting session To facilitate this clip off the top or bottom flap of the film box and insert it into the memo holder locat ed on the rear cover of the camera Make sure to replace the film box flap when a new roll of film is loaded 2 4 3 How to Remove ...

Page 13: ...e viewfinder field Also confirm that the proper exposure mode shutter speed and aperture are set and displayed 2 Bring your subject into focus in the focusing frame 3 Compose a picture within the view frame 3 2 2 Holding the Camera The Bronica RF 645 is a coupled rangefinder camera If the view of the rangefinder is obstructed by a hand or other object the camera cannot focus 1 Holding the camera f...

Page 14: ...of the unit 3 Shooting 3 3 Shutter release button 3 3 1 Shutter Release Button 1 The Bronica RF 645 applies an electromagnetic release and there fore requires batteries to operate the shutter mechanism 2 The viewfinder LCD is automatically activated with the shutter release button pressed halfway The next stroke triggers the shutter itself 3 When released the shutter opens and shuts with light cli...

Page 15: ... 2 View frame bright frame display and in its center a focusing frame with dual superimposed images Note The bright frame displays shift automatically corresponding to 65mm or 100mm lens when attached 3 Shooting 3 4 Exposures 3 4 1 Shutter Dial and Lens Aperture Operations Photographing modes and the shutter speeds can be selected on the shutter speed dial located on the top of the Bronica RF 645 ...

Page 16: ...g field the bright ness level of the photographic subject the contrast among metering segments and miscellaneous factors to achieve the best photograph ic image reproduction Refer to 6 References Exposure Measurement Sensitivity Patterns Note 1 The impact on exposure settings of any filters attached to the lens must be taken into consideration to determine the correct exposure when compensation fo...

Page 17: ...s an automatic exposure control mode applicable to the most variable photographic situations To set on the mode rotate the shut ter speed dial while pressing the shutter dial lock release button and align A mark to the arrow on the top cover An f number is then manually set on the lens aperture ring For a shallow depth of field to obtain an out of focus background for portrait photography select a...

Page 18: ...culation system The exposure deviation is indicated in stop increments up to 3 stops When 0 is displayed there is no differ ence between the manually set exposure and the metered level When 1 is indicated the manually set exposure can be adjusted to the correct or metered exposure level by setting the shutter speed one stop slower or opening of the lens aperture by one stop A half stop deviation i...

Page 19: ...minutes To cancel the meter reading in memory chose one of the following actions 1 Press the AE L button for the second time 2 Change the shooting mode on the shutter speed dial or 3 Turn off the main switch of the camera Note If the camera is left unused for five minutes continuously the AE lock memory will automatically be cleared 3 Shooting 3 5 Focusing 3 5 Focusing The Bronica RF 645 is a coup...

Page 20: ...e view frame of the Bronica RF 645 finder automatically compensates for the parallax between the shooting lens and the viewfinder angle by compensating its position and viewing frame relative to the focusing distance When mounting a 65mm or 100mm lens focus on a moderate ly distant object The angle of view of the bright frame in the viewfinder will shift toward the lower right hand corner of the v...

Page 21: ...r just one time 4 Other Features 4 2 Selftimer 4 2 Selftimer The selftimer button on the camera back designated by the symbol acti vates a delayed shutter release bypassing the shutter release button The shutter speed indicated in the LCD panel will switch to the selftimer display where the counter begins counting down a ten second delay time At the same time an LED located at the front of the cam...

Page 22: ... speed 2 Automatic Lens Aperture and Film Speed Settings Through dedicated electronic contacts on the hotshoe the film speed and the lens aperture information are communicated to the Speedlight RF 20 The transferred data calculates the effective shoot ing range of the Speedlight RF 20 and displays the result on the LCD panel to prevent exposure control mistakes that are common in flash photography...

Page 23: ...645 is eight full seconds If a longer exposure is required set the shutter speed dial on bulb B The electronically control shut ter system of this camera stops consuming battery power one second after the shutter click in bulb operation in order to conserve the battery Still it is strongly recommended to carry backup battery cells if repeated long exposures are anticipated Note 1 The viewfinder LC...

Page 24: ...rs Note The depth of field tables for lenses other than the 65mm lens is printed on the instruction manual of each lens 65mm Distance m F4 F5 6 F8 F11 F16 F22 F32 1 0 0 96 1 04 0 95 1 06 0 92 1 09 0 90 1 13 0 86 1 20 0 82 1 30 0 75 1 52 1 2 1 14 1 27 1 12 1 29 1 09 1 34 1 05 1 40 1 00 1 52 0 94 1 69 0 85 2 08 1 5 1 41 1 61 1 37 1 66 1 32 1 73 1 27 1 84 1 19 2 06 1 10 2 40 0 98 3 33 2 1 83 2 21 1 7...

Page 25: ...itch turned OFF Turn ON main switch Flashing LCD warning Shutter speed LCD flashing Beyond exposure control range Change f number setting When dark Open aperture to smaller f number When bright close aperture down to larger f number Aperture shutter speed flashing Beyond metering range Subject too dark Too dark Use photo lamp flash unit Subject too bright Too bright Use ND filter Adjust exposure b...

Page 26: ...again to activate LCD panel In finder LCD turns itself off 6 sec after shutter release button depression for saving energy Selftimer does not work Shutter dial set on B Change shutter dial position 5 Troubleshooting What s happening Viewfinder LCD Cause of trouble Means to solve How to operate Warning indications AL mark indication Camera in AL lock mode Cancel AE lock mode Press AE L button Turn ...

Page 27: ...de Check flash range on flash unit LCD Others What s happening Cause of trouble Means to solve How to operate Battery dries up too fast Used AE lock mode too long Load new batteries Cancel AE lock after shooting in this mode Used camera under low temperature atmosphere Load new batteries Take backup batteries for photographing at a cold place What s happening Cause of trouble Means to solve How to...

Page 28: ...14 is the correct exposure with ISO 100 film the shutter speed setting will be 1 250 sec when f8 is set to the aperture ring If the aperture is adjusted to in the above case the shutter speed setting will become 1 125 sec An EV 14 is the brightness outdoors on a bright sunny day ZENZANON RF 100mm F4 5 ZENZANON RF 45mm F4 ZENZANON RF 65mm F4 ...

Page 29: ...l focusing system built in to each lens Focus ring rotations 90 on 45mm f 4 65mm f 4 60 on 100mm f 4 5 Shutter Bronica No 00 type electronically controlled lens shutter in each lens shutter speeds B 1 to 1 500 sec on manual without intermedi ate speeds 8 to 1 500 sec on aperture pri ority AE mode 1 12 stop increment control 8 to 1 750 sec on programmed AE mode 1 12 stop increment control Electroni...

Page 30: ...finder magnification 0 6X viewing field 81 at 3 m In Finder Display Shutter speeds lens aperture correct expo sures flash ready exposure compensation warning AE L warning multiple exposure ME warning Exposure Metering Center weighted area comparative metering system metering range EV 3 to EV 18 65mm f 4 ISO 100 film speed range ISO 25 to 1600 exposure compensation range 2 to 2 EV 1 2 stop incremen...

Page 31: ...ly pressing the shutter button then press on the multiple exposure ME button on the camera rear cover 4 In case the shutter does not operate check the following a Battery status b The main switch c If the lens is mounted correctly If the lens is not securely locked on the camera body the light shielding curtain will remain activated and the shutter will be locked Remount the lens correctly and loc...

Page 32: ...ng it on a tripod or fitting it on a bracket of a large flash unit be sure the strap ring tripod socket or mounting lock are the correct size that they are in good working condition and that the camera is securely fastened to these devices About the Batteries Batteries left in a camera for prolonged periods may leak resulting in malfunctioning of the circuitry or corrosion of internal mechanisms W...

Page 33: ...unction but rather an inherent characteristic of LCD technology Operational Conditions of Camera Temperature range 5deg C to 40deg C or 23deg F to 104deg F Relative humidity range Less than 80 If left in the direct sunlight or on the dashboard of a car the camera may far exceed operational temperature range causing damage to the camera Do not leave your camera in conditions of heat or direct sunli...

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