C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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slr-medium-format
The Bronica SQ Final is a limited production variant of the SQ-Ai, released in 2003 as Tamron-owned Bronica prepared to wind down the brand. It represents the last body to carry the SQ designation, which had sustained Bronica's 6x6 medium-format line since the original SQ launched in 1980.
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C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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Kodak Portra 160 is a professional C-41 color negative film with fine grain, soft contrast, and natural color.
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Kodak Ektar 100 is a fine-grain C-41 color negative film with saturated color and high sharpness.
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Before you buy used
About this camera
The last SQ-system body Bronica produced before the brand's closure - a 6x6 modular SLR marking the end of a 27-year format line.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 120 film, 6x6cm (~12 exp per roll) |
| Mount | Bronica SQ |
| Shutter | Leaf (in lens): 8s - 1/500s + B |
| Flash sync | 1/500s (all speeds) |
| Exposure modes | Manual; aperture-priority (with metered prism) |
| ISO range | 25 - 3200 |
| Film advance | Motor-drive integral (battery dependent) |
| Film backs | Interchangeable (120, 220, Polaroid) |
| Viewfinder | Interchangeable (WLF, prism, magnifying hood) |
| Battery | 6x AA |
| Battery required | Yes |
| Year | 2003 (limited production) |
The SQ system launched in 1980 as Bronica's entry into the 6x6 square-format market, competing with Hasselblad's established 500-series and later the Mamiya RB67 and Rollei SL66 in the broader 6x6 space. The original SQ was followed by the SQ-A (adding aperture-priority), SQ-Am (motor-driven variant), SQ-B (economy body), and eventually the SQ-Ai, which arrived in the early 1990s with updated electronics and compatibility improvements.
Tamron acquired Bronica in the late 1990s. By 2003 the analogue medium-format market was contracting sharply under pressure from digital backs and digital SLRs. Tamron decided to cease all Bronica camera production. The SQ Final was produced in this context - a deliberate send-off for the SQ line rather than a functional redesign. Production of all Bronica cameras formally ended in 2004.
The SQ mount's 27-year run (1980-2004) produced one of the more complete 6x6 lens ecosystems outside Hasselblad, with Zenzanon-S lenses covering 40mm through 500mm and a full range of accessories.
The SQ Final is primarily of collector interest as the closing statement of a long and coherent medium-format system. For photographers, every practical capability of the SQ Final exists in an SQ-Ai body at substantially lower cost - the two are functionally equivalent.
The SQ system's broader significance lies in giving photographers a credible, less expensive 6x6 alternative to Hasselblad through the 1980s and 1990s. The leaf-shutter lens design provided full flash sync at all speeds, an advantage in studio and location work that focal-plane-shutter competitors could not match. Zenzanon-S lenses, particularly the 80mm f/2.8 and 150mm f/3.5, are regarded as optically competitive with contemporaneous Zeiss glass at substantially lower cost.
All SQ-mount Zenzanon-S and PS lenses are compatible. Key focal lengths:
System accessories:
BW
Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
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Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
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