Zenza Bronica GS-1

The Bronica GS-1 is a 6×7 format lens-shutter SLR. It was the last SLR Zenza Bronica ever made, and the largest the company produced. It came out around 1982-83 as a direct challenge to the Mamiya RB/RZ67, pitched as the lighter, more compact alternative. It's a big body, but it weighs less than some of Bronica's own smaller-format cameras, because the design brief put portability first.

The system is fully modular: interchangeable lenses, film backs (including 6×6 and 6×4.5 formats on 120 and 220 film), finders, and focusing screens. The shutter lives in the lens, not the body, so flash syncs at every speed, from 16 seconds to 1/500 sec, all electronically controlled. The lens mount is Bronica's exclusive four-claw GS bayonet, with helical focusing built into each lens. The GS system included two teleconverters (1.4x and 2x) and two extension tubes (18mm and 36mm). The 110mm Macro lens reaches 1:4 on its own and 1:1 with the 36mm tube.

Ross Jukes Photo called it "the perfect package" for a 6×7 medium-format camera, ideal for rookies and professionals alike, and noted how cheap the bodies have gotten on the used market. PetaPixel observed that when the GS-1 came out, its main competitor, the Mamiya RB and RZ series, had a reputation for superior reliability and build quality that justified their much higher prices. The GS-1 has since picked up a reputation as an underrated workhorse. Kyle McDougall's YouTube review, "Six Months with The Bronica GS-1," has drawn tens of thousands of views from shooters discovering it years later.

Production years beyond introduction, original pricing, and exact dimensions aren't well documented in the surviving record.

Known Specs

• Format: 6×7 cm (also accepts 6×6 and 6×4.5 backs)
• Shutter: Electronically controlled leaf shutter in lens, 16s – 1/500 sec
• Flash sync: All shutter speeds
• Lens mount: Bronica GS four-claw bayonet
• System: Interchangeable lenses, backs, finders, focusing screens
• Teleconverters: 1.4x and 2x; extension tubes: 18mm and 36mm

eBay Listings

Late Model [Top MINT] Zenza Bronica GS 120 6x7 Film Back Hol

$245

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