Zenzanon-PE 180mm f/4.5 (ETR)
Zenza Bronica · Bronica ETR · 1988 · 9 elements in 8 groups (design name not published)
Also known as: Bronica Zenzanon-PE 180mm f/4.5 · Bronica ETR 180mm f4.5 · Zenzanon PE 180mm F4.5 ETRSi · Zenza Bronica Zenzanon-PE 180mm F4.5 · ZENZANON-PE 1:4.5 f=180mm · Bronica ETRS 180mm F4.5 PE · Bronica ETRSi 180mm PE · ゼンザブロニカ ゼンザノン PE 180mm F4.5 · ゼンザノンPE 180mm F4.5 · ブロニカ ETR 180mm F4.5 · ゼンザブロニカ ETRSi 180mm
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zenzanon-PE 180mm f/4.5 (c.1988–2004) | Bronica ETR | 1988–2004 | — | — |
- Elements and groups, weight and the 2004 list price are from Tamron USA's Bronica product page for the lens as captured in 2004; Japanese Wikipedia gives the same 8 groups and 9 elements with a 1.0 m closest focus and a 62 mm screw-in attachment, and Tamron Japan's ETRSi data page lists the PE 180 as 8-9.
- An earlier 180: camera-wiki lists both '180mm f4.5 MC' and '180mm f4.5 PE' for the ETR. The MC lens is not in the 1976 ETR manual, Japanese Wikipedia's ETR list or the Zenzanon-E brochure data, and no example has been seen; it is recorded as unconfirmed.
- No launch date for the lens is published; 1988, the start of the PE line with the ETRSi, is used as the first year, and 2004 is the year of the last Tamron USA price list, not a documented end of production. Minimum aperture, blade count, length, diameter and the maximum magnification are not given by any source reached.
How to tell them apart
- An ETR-mount lens: the four-claw Bronica ETR bayonet with its own Seiko #0 leaf shutter, which can only be mounted and removed with body and lens both cocked, their pins on the green dot (ETR manual)
- The only 180 mm in the ETR range: 1:4.5 f=180mm on a PE ring with half-stop clicks. The 1 m closest focus is a third closer than the 150 mm lenses' 1.5 m
- Not the Zenzanon-PS 180mm f/4.5 of the 6×6 SQ, which has the larger bayonet and reads PS; the SQ lens has the same focal length and aperture, so check the mount and engraving, not the numbers
Zenzanon-PE 180mm f/4.5 (c.1988–2004):
- Front ring engraved ZENZANON-PE with 1:4.5 f=180mm; the PE lenses are the only ETR lenses whose aperture ring clicks in half stops (camera-wiki; Tamron ETRSi data)
- Nine elements in eight groups, 840 g, the heaviest ETR prime short of the 250 and 500, focusing to 1.0 m on a 62 mm filter (Tamron USA 2004; Japanese Wikipedia 8群9枚)
- Zenzanon-PE 180mm f/4.5 (c.1988–2004): The one confirmed version. camera-wiki's ETR list also carries a '180mm f4.5 MC', which no other source reached (the 1976 manual, Japanese Wikipedia, Monaghan's brochure data) supports; until a lens or document turns up it stays unconfirmed.
Specifications
- Formula
- 9 elements in 8 groups (design name not published)
- Construction
- 9 elements / 8 groups
- Aperture range
- f/4.5
- Shutter
- Seiko #0 electronically controlled leaf shutter in the lens, 8s–1/500 and T (B on the ETRSi), mechanical 1/500 without battery; speed set on the body
- Min. focus
- 1 m
- Weight
- 840 g
- Filter
- 62 mm
- Years manufactured
- 1988–2004
- Country
- Japan
- Coating
- Multicoated
- Original price
- US$2,108 (2004) (today $3,500)
What reviewers say
No reviews aggregated yet — this family is still in the research queue. Written one? We'd love to index it.
History
The Zenzanon-PE 180mm f/4.5 is the longest of the ETR’s portrait-length lenses and, with nine elements in eight groups, the most elaborate prime in the range. Tamron USA’s product page of 2004 gives the formula, 840 g and a list price of US$2,108, the dearest of the three PE telephotos between 135 and 180 mm; Japanese Wikipedia gives the same 8群9枚, a 1.0 m closest focus and a 62 mm screw-in filter. That 1 m is closer than the 1.5 m of the 150 mm lenses, so the 180 reaches a higher magnification than any other non-macro ETR lens of its length. Like every ETR lens it carries its own Seiko #0 leaf shutter, electronically timed from the body between 8 s and 1/500 with T, and B on the ETRSi; it runs mechanically at 1/500 without a battery and mounts only with body and lens both cocked, and its aperture ring has the half-stop clicks of the PE series.
Whether there was an earlier 180 is unsettled. camera-wiki’s ETR list has a “180mm f4.5 MC” beside the PE, but the 1976 manual’s lens table stops at 150 and 250 mm, Japanese Wikipedia lists no E or MC 180 for the ETR, and the Zenzanon-E brochure data on Monaghan’s page has none; no MC-engraved 180 has been seen. Until one turns up the PE is the only confirmed version, from the PE line’s start with the ETRSi in 1988 to the last Tamron list of 2004, with no launch date of its own published.
No review of the lens on its own has been found. In the Photrio ETRS threads the 180 is named as the best focal length on the ETRS for head shots, with the 150 usable, and a reader of 35mmc’s ETRS review counts it among the expensive ETR lenses on the used market, against the cheap 135 and 150. Left open: the minimum aperture, blade count, length, diameter and maximum magnification, and the question of the MC 180.
This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.
Example photos
Sample photo wanted — shot with a Zenzanon-PE 180mm f/4.5 (ETR)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
Live listings
Listings updated 2026-11-02. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.