The what-about-the-135 imbroglio has been enough to turn the brand-new camera into a decided "also ran" for the majority of potential medium-format purchasers. Shoppers have duly spanked Bronica-Tamron for all this. As far as I know, most of the stock of 135mm lenses was bought up by retailer Robert White in England, and from what I hear, Robert White won’t sell one to you unless you agree to have your camera body calibrated for the lens. Actually, a number of 135mm lenses were made, but evidently Bronica then discovered that the RF645’s rangefinder baselength was not sufficient for the longer lens to be focused accurately without individual camera-to-lens calibration, so, rather than cope with the Pandora’s box of hassles that that would have created, they stopped production of the 135mm and, as quickly as they could scramble, ramped up to make a 100mm instead. Ahhh, ahem, well, yes, this is the biggie - Bronica consistently promised a 135mm telephoto for a long period of time surrounding the camera’s release, and then bailed. The three problems with the lenses, listed from leastest to mostest, are 3.
Not that Bronica is any slouch in the optics department, either. This is probably a bit embarrassing to Tamron, since lensmaking is the company’s forté. Namely, the lenses, the lenses, and the lenses. The RF645, the first all-new Bronica since the medium-format manufacturer’s acquisition by the independent lensmaking giant Tamron, has been something very close to a fiasco. (Word to the wise: don’t stop reading too soon.) First Things First Right now, until March, Bronica is offering a whopping $450 rebate on this already pretty inexpensive camera, so now seems as good a time as any to revisit the unique, unusual RF645. At the time, I promised a follow-up to my "first impression" that was then circulating on the internet. Last Spring, Bronica sent me a big Pelican case containing an entire Bronica RF645 kit.
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