Bronica ETR C repair & common faults
Excellent coverageThe ETR-C is a cost-reduced 1970s variant of Bronica's ETR medium format system, sharing its body mechanics with the standard ETR but built with a fixed, non-removable back rather than the interchangeable ones. It uses electronically-timed leaf shutters built into each Zenzanon lens rather than a shutter in the body, so exposure accuracy and shutter faults both trace back to the lens in use. A floating linkage pin behind the back plate carries the shutter release signal into the lens mount, a point unique to this model.
In-lens electronically-timed leaf shutter (Zenzanon) · CdS AE metering · crank wind · Bronica ETR bayonet mount
Common Bronica ETR C faults
Bronica ETR C won't wind on
If the crank turns but the film doesn't advance, or stops part way through a stroke, the fault is usually in the winding gear train behind the base plate rather than anything visible from outside. A cracked winding gear, a tired stopper spring or a loose axis screw all show up as the same vague slip. Check the crank is folded fully out before assuming the worst.
Bronica ETR C shutter won't release
The ETR-C fires its lens shutter through a small floating pin that runs from the wind mechanism, through the back connecting plate, into the lens mount. If that pin has crept from its sleeve, which happens if the back plate was ever removed carelessly, the body goes dead even though winding feels normal. It won't fire on an incomplete wind, so check the crank has gone fully round first.
Bronica ETR C blank or uneven frames
Frames coming back blank, half exposed or with an odd density gradient point to the leaf shutter blades in the lens not opening fully or closing unevenly, usually weak spring tension on the shutter's operating plate or a sticking aperture ring rather than anything wrong with the film. Because the shutter is electronically timed, it's worth ruling out a flat or corroded battery before assuming a mechanical fault.
Bronica ETR C dark or stuck viewfinder
A finder that stays dark, or a mirror that hangs up instead of flipping back down after the shot, points to the mirror charging linkage, the set lever and latch that cock the mirror on each wind. A misaligned mirror frame gives the same symptom with a finder image that looks slightly out of true rather than fully black. Neither is something to chase without opening the body up.
Bronica ETR C meter or AE not responding
No needle movement or no auto exposure response usually traces back to the switch that selects between manual and AE modes rather than the meter cell itself on this model, so it's worth checking that switch is fully in position before anything else. If it's set correctly and still dead, the fault is in the AE circuit or its wiring and needs the body open to confirm.
Bronica ETR C shutter speed dial stuck at 1/500
If the speed dial won't settle anywhere except 1/500, or the dial ring under the left cover has visibly lifted, the ring that carries the speed markings has come off its correct seat. It's a mechanical seating fault in the dial assembly rather than an electrical one, and it won't clear itself by working the dial harder.
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Try it now ›Scatto is a reference tool for people who service film cameras. It explains mechanisms and quotes service data, but it cannot see your camera at the bench, so verify anything load-bearing before you act on it.