Zenzanon-PE 40mm f/4 (ETR)
Zenza Bronica · Bronica ETR · 1988
Also known as: Zenzanon-PE 40mm f/4 · Zenzanon PE 40mm F4 · Zenzanon-PE 1:4 f=40mm · Bronica ETR 40mm f/4 PE · Bronica ETRSi 40mm f4 Zenzanon PE · Zenza Bronica Zenzanon-PE 40mm F4 ETR · Bronica PE 40mm F4.0 · ゼンザノン PE 40mm F4 · ゼンザブロニカ ゼンザノン PE 40mm F4 ETR用 · ブロニカ ETRSi 40mm F4
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zenzanon-PE 40mm f/4 (1988–2004) | Bronica ETR | 1988–2004 | — | — |
- Eight groups and nine elements, 510 g, 0.35 m and the US$1,987 list price are from Tamron USA's Bronica product page for the lens as archived in 2004. Japanese Wikipedia, citing プロフェッショナル中判カメラ p.112, gives the same 8群9枚, 0.35 m and φ62. Tamron Japan's archived English table gives 8-9 for the PE 40.
- Length 50.5 mm, maximum diameter 82 mm, the f/4–22 range and 510 g are from the live Tamron Japan ETRSi lens table (column 全長×最大径). The PE 50mm f/2.8 shares the same two dimensions on that table.
- Dates: 1988 is the start of the PE generation, which arrived with the ETRSi of December 1988 (Japanese Wikipedia); no source consulted names a launch date for the 40 mm itself. Still listed by Tamron USA in 2004, the last year of ETR production.
- The three ETR 40 mm formulas: 7 groups/9 elements (Zenzanon MC, 1976), 8/10 (Zenzanon-E, c.1981) and 8/9 (this lens). The E and the PE are not the same glass regrouped: the PE has one element fewer. The diaphragm blade count is not given by any source consulted.
How to tell them apart
- The widest rectilinear lens for the Bronica ETR bayonet (about 24 mm equivalent on 35 mm), 62 mm filter, ZENZANON-PE on the front ring, half-stop aperture clicks and a Seiko #0 leaf shutter inside; the lens mounts only with the shutter cocked
- Not the Zenzanon MC 40mm f/4 for the focal-plane Bronica S2/EC bayonet, which has no shutter; and not the Zenzanon-PS 40mm f/4 for the 6×6 Bronica SQ, which has its own bayonet. The ETR lens is the one marked PE
- Against the earlier ETR 40s: ZENZANON MC (nine elements in seven groups, 478 g, 0.4 m) and ZENZANON-E (ten elements, 508 g, 0.4 m) both have full-stop clicks and focus no closer than 0.4 m
Zenzanon-PE 40mm f/4 (1988–2004):
- Front ring engraved ZENZANON-PE; aperture ring with half-stop click stops, f/4 to f/22
- Nine elements in eight groups, 510 g, 82 mm across and 50.5 mm long, focusing to 0.35 m (Tamron tables)
- The same 82 × 50.5 mm barrel as the Zenzanon-PE 50mm f/2.8, so the focal length on the ring is the tell
- Zenzanon-PE 40mm f/4 (1988–2004): The final ETR 40 mm, sold from the ETRSi era until Tamron's 2004 price list. The PE line is dated from the ETRSi of December 1988; no source consulted gives this lens's own launch date.
Specifications
- Formula
- Retrofocus wide-angle, 9 elements in 8 groups (the third of three formulas used for the ETR 40 mm)
- Construction
- 9 elements / 8 groups
- Aperture range
- f/4–f/22
- 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
- 0.35 m
- Dimensions
- 82 × 50.5 mm
- Weight
- 510 g
- Filter
- 62 mm
- Years manufactured
- 1988–2004
- Country
- Japan
- Coating
- Multicoated (PE generation)
- Original price
- US$1,987 list (Tamron USA, 2004) (today $3,300)
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 40mm f/4 is the last of the three lenses Bronica sold as the ETR 40 mm, the wide-angle of about 24 mm equivalent for the 6×4.5 leaf-shutter system. It was computed afresh for the PE generation that came with the ETRSi of December 1988: nine elements in eight groups, 510 g, 82 mm across and 50.5 mm long, with the half-stop aperture clicks from f/4 to f/22 and the new multicoating that mark every PE barrel. It focuses to 0.35 m, closer than either predecessor, through the 62 mm filter thread that most ETR primes share, and on Tamron’s tables it has exactly the same two dimensions as the PE 50mm f/2.8.
The earlier 40s were a nine-element, seven-group ZENZANON MC of 1976 at 478 g and a ten-element, eight-group ZENZANON-E of about 1981 at 508 g, both with full-stop clicks and a 0.4 m closest focus. The PE is not the E lens regrouped: it has one element fewer, and so stands as a third optical design. All three fit all five ETR bodies, each carrying its own Seiko #0 leaf shutter timed by the body from 8 s to 1/500 with T, B being added on the ETRSi, and firing mechanically at 1/500 without a battery; none can be mounted or removed unless the shutter is cocked.
Tamron USA was still listing the lens in 2004 at US$1,987, against US$1,811 for the PE 50mm and US$4,199 for the PE 30mm fisheye, the year Tamron’s Bronica line came to an end. No published review of the PE 40 has been found; what a search returns is dealer stock, where the lens is the commonest of the three ETR 40s and the one that sells for the most. The sources consulted give neither a diaphragm blade count nor a launch date for the lens itself.
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 40mm f/4 (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.