Zenzanon-E 50mm f/2.8 (ETR)
Zenza Bronica · Bronica ETR · 1981
Also known as: Zenzanon-E 50mm f/2.8 · Zenzanon E 50mm F2.8 · Zenzanon-E 1:2.8 f=50mm · Bronica ETR 50mm f/2.8 Zenzanon-E · Bronica ETRS 50mm f2.8 Zenzanon E · Zenza Bronica Zenzanon-E 50mm F2.8 ETR · ゼンザノン E 50mm F2.8 · ゼンザブロニカ ゼンザノン-E 50mm F2.8 ETR用 · ブロニカ ETR 50mm F2.8
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zenzanon-E 50mm f/2.8 (c.1981 – 1988) | Bronica ETR | 1981 | — | — |
- Eight groups and nine elements, 0.5 m and φ62 are Japanese Wikipedia's figures for the ゼンザノンE 50mm F2.8 (新), citing カメラ年鑑'82年版 p.222. Monaghan's copy of the Zenzanon-E brochure E810588 gives the same 8 groups/9 elements and 480 g. No source consulted gives the lens's length or diameter.
- Dates. 1981 is the publication year of the first annual that lists this construction, not a documented launch; the Zenzanon-E revisions of the ETR line are generally placed around 1980–81. The lens was replaced by the Zenzanon-PE 50mm f/2.8 of the ETRSi era, whose own introduction date is not recorded, so no end year is given.
- The E to PE step is the uncertain one. Every source consulted gives nine elements for both lenses, in eight groups for the E and seven for the PE, with no cross-section published for either; the two may be the same glass with one cemented pair added, or a fresh computation. On the published counts they are different designs, and the PE has its own page.
- Minimum aperture, blade count and a list price are not given by the sources consulted.
How to tell them apart
- The 50 mm wide-angle for the Bronica ETR bayonet, 62 mm filter, ZENZANON-E on the front ring and a Seiko #0 leaf shutter inside; the lens mounts only with the shutter cocked
- Not the Zenzanon MC 50mm f/2.8 for the focal-plane Bronica S2/EC bayonet, which has no shutter; and not the 1976 ETR lens engraved ZENZANON MC, an eight-element, 464 g design
- Against the PE: no PE on the ring, full-stop clicks, 0.5 m closest focus against 0.46 m
Zenzanon-E 50mm f/2.8 (c.1981 – 1988):
- Front ring engraved ZENZANON-E, with the hyphen the 1976 MC lenses do not carry
- Nine elements in eight groups and 480 g, 16 g heavier than the MC lens it replaced (Zenzanon-E brochure E810588 via Monaghan)
- Full-stop aperture clicks and 0.5 m closest focus; the PE lens of 1988 has half-stop clicks and focuses to 0.46 m
- Zenzanon-E 50mm f/2.8 (c.1981 – 1988): The recomputed ETR 50 mm of the early 1980s, first found in the 1982 Japanese camera annual (published 1981). Superseded by the Zenzanon-PE 50mm of the ETRSi era; no source consulted dates either end of its production more closely.
Specifications
- Formula
- Retrofocus wide-angle, 9 elements in 8 groups (the second of three formulas used for the ETR 50 mm)
- Construction
- 9 elements / 8 groups
- Aperture range
- f/2.8
- Shutter
- Seiko #0 electronically controlled between-lens leaf shutter, 8s–1/500 and T (B from the ETRSi), 1/500 mechanically without a battery; the speed is set on the body
- Min. focus
- 0.5 m
- Weight
- 480 g
- Filter
- 62 mm
- Years manufactured
- 1981
- Country
- Japan
- Coating
- Multicoated
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-E 50mm f/2.8 is the middle of the three optical designs sold as the Bronica ETR 50 mm, the 30 mm-equivalent wide-angle of the 6×4.5 leaf-shutter system. It added an element to the 1976 lens, nine in eight groups against eight in seven, and 16 g to the weight, at 480 g, while keeping the 62 mm filter thread and the 0.5 m closest focus. It is first found in the 1982 Japanese camera annual, published in 1981, and in the Zenzanon-E brochure that Robert Monaghan reproduced; camera-wiki’s ETR list, which knows the 50 mm only as MC and PE, passes over it, so a lens engraved ZENZANON-E with a hyphen is the thing to look for.
The lens belongs to the revision of the ETR range that followed the ETRS of 1978, when the original MC lenses were reworked under the E name. Its mechanics are those of every ETR lens: a Seiko #0 leaf shutter inside, electronically timed by the body from 8 s to 1/500 with T and firing at 1/500 mechanically without a battery, and a bayonet that accepts the lens only with its shutter cocked. It fits the ETR, ETR-C, ETRS, ETRC and ETRSi alike.
The PE lens of the ETRSi era that replaced it has the same nine elements in seven groups rather than eight, focuses to 0.46 m, weighs 490 g and clicks in half stops. Whether that is the E glass with one pair cemented or a new computation no source consulted says, since none publishes a cross-section of either; on the counts as published they are two designs. When the E 50 was discontinued is not recorded, nor a list price, a blade count or a minimum aperture, and no published review treats it apart from the MC and PE lenses either side of it.
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-E 50mm f/2.8 (ETR)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
Live listings
The listings collector hasn't run for this family yet — check back soon, or search the marketplaces directly meanwhile.