Bronica GS 135-SW 24x69mm Panoramic Back for 35mm film on the GS-1 6x7cm Medium Format Camera

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Bronica GS 135-SW 24x69mm Panoramic Back for 35mm film on the GS-1 6x7cm Medium Format Camera

Home > HCL Blog > Bronica GS 135-SW 24x69mm Panoramic Back for 35mm film on the GS-1 6x7cm Medium Format Camera

The Bronica GS-1 was the company’s only 6x7cm SLR camera, following on from the successful ETR series (6×4.5cm) and SQ series (6x6cm) models. While these were medium format cameras accepting 120/220 roll film, the company had a history of making extra backs that used 35mm film, for images in standard 24x36mm or a wider format, depending on the camera and back.

The panoramic backs for the ETR and SQ cameras produced 24x54mm images, but for the GS-1 a much more interesting GS 135-SW 24x69mm model was planned. This is even wider than the much-lamented Hasselblad XPan (and Mamiya 7 with Panoramic adapter), which used a 24x65mm format.

We weren't sure this interesting accessory was ever sold, though. While we remember reading about it at the time, and it appeared on the system chart in the camera’s instruction manual (as shown in our scan here), we couldn't find any evidence that it ever existed as a physical product. However... we recently came across this thread (in Chinese) which includes this picture. A panoramic back is clearly visible at the top right – is this perhaps the elusive 24x69mm model?

The cropped pictures below weren't taken with this mythical product, but show the correct 2.875:1 aspect ratio of the 24x69mm format:

Seasidescape picture demonstrating the 24x69mm aspect ratio used on the Bronica Film Back GS 135-SW (simulated)

UPDATE: Here's a Bronica user who's created 35mm panoramas on the GS-1, with a more DIY approach:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/digi-film/sets/72157627080307151/with/5944582999/

UPDATE: Here's a press picture of the Bronica GS-1 from 1983 with all the backs, including the 35mm panoramic:

Bronica GS-1 press picture with all backs including 35mm panoramic