Zenzanon-PE 75mm f/2.8 (ETR)
Zenza Bronica · Bronica ETR · 1988
Also known as: Bronica ETRSi 75mm f/2.8 PE · Bronica ETRS 75mm F2.8 PE · Zenzanon-PE 75mm f/2.8 · Zenzanon PE 75mm F2.8 · Zenza Bronica Zenzanon PE 75mm 2.8 · Bronica 75mm f/2.8 Zenzanon-PE lens for ETR · ゼンザブロニカ ゼンザノン PE 75mm F2.8 · ゼンザノン PE 75mm F2.8 · ブロニカ ETRSi 75mm F2.8 PE · ETR-Si 75mm PE
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zenzanon-PE 75mm f/2.8 (1988–2004) | Bronica ETR | 1988–2004 | — | — |
- Element and group count, 62 mm filter, 440 g and the price are from Tamron USA's 2004 product page for the lens (Tamron's site carried the Bronica line by then); Tamron Japan's English ETRSi page gives the same 6-element, 5-group formula, as does Japanese Wikipedia citing プロフェッショナル中判カメラ p.112.
- Closest focus is disputed: Tamron USA's product page and Tamron Japan's English page say 0.6 m, the figure of every earlier ETR 75; Japanese Wikipedia (citing the same プロフェッショナル中判カメラ p.112) and Tamron Japan's current specification table say 0.42 m, which is also the figure for the PE 60. Neither is better evidenced; the field follows the maker's own product page. Denys Trofimchuk, reviewing an ETRSi, wrote that the 75 close-focuses to almost a foot, which fits neither.
- The 1988 start is the ETRSi's launch (December 1988, Japanese Wikipedia), not a dated announcement of the lens; the 2004 end is the end of Bronica production, the lens being in Tamron's last price list.
- Aperture blade count is not given by any source found.
How to tell them apart
- The last of three 75s: half-stop aperture clicks and the ZENZANON-PE engraving set it apart from the E II (whole stops, 62 mm) and the MC/E (whole stops, 58 mm filter)
- A Bronica four-claw ETR bayonet with a Seiko #0 leaf shutter inside the lens, mounting only with the shutter cocked; fits every ETR body from 1976 to 2004 and nothing else. Not the Zenzanon-PS 80mm f/2.8 of the SQ or the Zenzanon-PG 100mm f/3.5 of the GS-1
Zenzanon-PE 75mm f/2.8 (1988–2004):
- Engraved ZENZANON-PE; aperture ring clicks in half stops, which no E or MC lens does (camera-wiki)
- 62 mm filter thread, 440 g; six elements in five groups (Tamron USA 2004; Tamron ETRSi page; Japanese Wikipedia)
- Zenzanon-PE 75mm f/2.8 (1988–2004): The standard lens of the ETRSi from December 1988 to the end of Bronica production in 2004. Its launch date is taken to be the ETRSi's, since Tamron's ETRSi page lists the 6-element, 5-group lens as the body's standard; no separate announcement was found.
Specifications
- Formula
- 6 elements in 5 groups (Tamron ETRSi page; プロフェッショナル中判カメラ via Japanese Wikipedia); design type not published
- Construction
- 6 elements / 5 groups
- Aperture range
- f/2.8
- Shutter
- Seiko #0 electronically controlled between-lens leaf shutter, 8s–1/500 and T (B on the ETRSi), mechanical 1/500 without a battery; speeds set on the body
- Min. focus
- 0.6 m
- Weight
- 440 g
- Filter
- 62 mm
- Years manufactured
- 1988–2004
- Country
- Japan
- Coating
- Multicoated; a new multicoating is claimed for the PE line over the E lenses
- Original price
- US$1,147 list in Tamron USA's 2004 price list, the cheapest ETR prime (the PE 60 was $1,811) (today $1,900)
What reviewers say
- Wayne Lorimer (Kosmo Foto), on an ETRS (blog) — "In a word – incredible": the standard 75 PE is super sharp and contrasty, buttery-smooth to focus, and produces beautiful negatives. Zeiss quality? Probably not, he says, but no one will be disappointed. A reader's comment under the review agrees that the 75's image quality is what won him over.
- Denys Trofimchuk (Emulsive), on an ETRSi (blog) — The 75 PE kit lens "works like a charm"; shooting a lot wide open he noticed slight focus shifts, which did not bother him. He later added the 150mm f/4 for its bokeh.
History
The Zenzanon-PE 75mm f/2.8 is the third and last standard lens of the Bronica ETR system, the one sold with the ETRSi from December 1988 until Bronica production ended under Tamron in 2004. It is a new design rather than a re-badge: six elements in five groups, against the five in four of the 1976 MC/E lens and the six in four of the E II, with a 62 mm filter thread and 440 g on Tamron USA’s 2004 product page. The PE line as a whole brought half-stop aperture clicks and a new multicoating to the ETR lenses, and every PE lens fits every ETR body back to 1976, as the older lenses fit the ETRSi.
The shutter is the same Seiko #0 electronically controlled between-lens unit as in every ETR lens, timed by the body from 8 s to 1/500 with T, plus B on the ETRSi, and running at 1/500 mechanically when the battery fails; the lens mounts only when cocked. Closest focus is the one figure the sources cannot agree on. Tamron’s English pages say 0.6 m, like every earlier 75; Japanese Wikipedia, citing プロフェッショナル中判カメラ, and Tamron Japan’s current table say 0.42 m, which is also the PE 60’s figure. Neither is better evidenced, and the page follows the maker’s product page for the lens. Tamron’s last price list put it at US$1,147, the cheapest ETR prime, against $1,811 for the PE 60.
It is the 75 the reviewers use, usually without noticing which 75 it is. Wayne Lorimer, writing up an ETRS for Kosmo Foto in 2019 with two PE lenses, found the 75 “super sharp, contrasty” and “buttery-smooth to focus”, and summed it up in a word as incredible, while conceding it was probably not Zeiss quality. Denys Trofimchuk’s ETRSi review for Emulsive says the 75 PE kit lens “works like a charm”, with slight focus shifts when he shot a lot wide open that did not trouble him. Robert Monaghan’s older pages collect forum advice to prefer the E II or PE over the first MC 75 for flare.
Buying one: dealers mix the MC, EII and PE labels freely, so look for the ZENZANON-PE engraving and the half-stop clicks of the aperture ring, which no E or MC lens has. Left open: the diaphragm blade count, the lens’s own announcement date, which of the two closest-focus figures is right, and any serial-number information.
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 75mm f/2.8 (ETR)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
Live listings
- Bronica ETR Si with 75mm f2.8 Zenzanon-PE
- ZENZA BRONICA ETR Si AE-II プリズムファインダー ZENZANON-PE F2.8 75mm レンズ付 遮光板欠品 ジャンク Y11828828
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