Glass Bodies a variant-level encyclopedia of vintage lenses and cameras by iwillpat

Zenzanon-RF 45mm f/4

Zenza Bronica · Bronica RF · 2000

single source, unconfirmed

Also known as: Zenzanon-RF 45mm f/4 · Zenzanon RF 45mm F4 · ZENZANON-RF 45mm F4 · Bronica RF 45mm f/4 · Bronica RF645 45mm f4 · Bronica Zenzanon-RF 45/4 · Zenza Bronica RF 45mm wide · Bronica RF645 45mm finder · ゼンザノンRF 45mm F4 · ゼンザノン RF 45mm F4 · ブロニカ RF645 45mm

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Zenzanon-RF 45mm f/4 with RF45VF finder (2000–2005) Bronica RF 2000–2005 — —
  1. Construction (5群7枚), 1 m closest focus, the 58 mm screw-in attachment and the RF45VF finder are Japanese Wikipedia's; Tamron Japan's table gives F4.0–32, 1.0 m, 58 mm, 43.9 × 76 (length × maximum diameter) and 330 g.
  2. The seven blades, the 75.1° angle of view and the $732 price are from Tamron USA's archived 2004 product page for the RF45. camera-wiki describes the design as derived from the Biogon/Super-Angulon symmetrical wides and puts the equivalent at about 27 mm; Greenspun says about 28 mm.
  3. Shutter speeds are the body's: the lens holds the #00 shutter and its cocking motor, the RF645 times it.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • The wide-angle of the RF645, about a 27–28 mm equivalent; the body finder shows no frame for it, only a rough view, so it is composed through the RF45VF finder in the shoe while the rangefinder still focuses it (camera-wiki; Greenspun)
  • Same short barrel and 58 mm thread as the 65: read the ring. A double-shoe adapter lets the RF45VF and the RF20 flash sit on the camera together
  • Not the Zenzanon-S 40mm, the Zenzanon-PE 40mm or Mamiya's 43mm f/4.5 for the Mamiya 7: this one reads RF, carries contacts and no cocking lever, and fits only the RF645

Zenzanon-RF 45mm f/4 with RF45VF finder (2000–2005):

  • 'ZENZANON-RF 45mm F4' on the front ring; 58 mm filter thread; the same 43.9 × 76 mm barrel as the 65, 30 g heavier
  • Supplied with the RF45VF optical finder for the accessory shoe (Japanese Wikipedia); a copy offered without it is incomplete
  • Aperture ring f/4 to f/32; 90° focusing throw to 1 m (owner's manual)

Specifications

Formula
Symmetrical wide-angle of the Biogon/Super-Angulon kind, 7 elements in 5 groups
Construction
7 elements / 5 groups
Aperture range
f/4–f/32
Diaphragm blades
7
Shutter
Bronica #00 electronically controlled leaf shutter in the lens, cocked by a motor in the lens; B, 1–1/500 manual, 8s–1/500 aperture-priority, 8s–1/750 program (timed by the body)
Min. focus
1 m
Dimensions
76 × 43.9 mm
Weight
330 g
Filter
58 mm
Years manufactured
2000–2005
Country
Japan
Original price
$732 (2004 Tamron USA list) (today $1,220)

What reviewers say

History

The Zenzanon-RF 45mm f/4 is the wide-angle of the Bronica RF645, announced with the camera in 2000 and listed in the first owner’s manual beside the 65 mm and the 135 mm. It covers 75.1° on the 41.5 × 56 mm frame, about a 27 mm or 28 mm equivalent on 35 mm film depending on who does the sum, with seven elements in five groups in a symmetrical design that camera-wiki traces to the Biogon and Super-Angulon wides. It focuses to 1 m through a 90° turn, stops down to f/32 on seven blades, takes 58 mm filters, and shares the 65’s short barrel, 43.9 mm long and 76 mm across, at 330 g. Like every RF lens it carries the #00 electronic leaf shutter and the motor that recocks it, and takes its speed from the body.

The RF645’s finder has no frame for it. The 45 was supplied with the RF45VF optical finder for the accessory shoe, and a double-shoe adapter was sold so that the finder and the Speedlight RF20 could be mounted together; the body finder still focuses the lens with its rangefinder, and the meter adjusts to it, with the RF20 covering its 75.5° field at a reduced guide number of 16. Philip Greenspun, who shot it in 2001, found the two-window routine, focus in one and frame in the other, slow enough that the camera became somewhat cumbersome as a wide-angle outfit, however good it was with the 65. There was one version only, made until RF645 production ended in October 2005, and Tamron USA listed it at $732 in 2004; Camera Legend quoted $500–750 for a used one in early 2022, finder included being the thing to check.

A copy should come with its RF45VF, which is specific to this lens and not otherwise obtainable, and should be tested on a body, since the shutter and the electromagnetically driven diaphragm are inside the lens and cannot be exercised without one.

Left open: a yen price, a production figure, any serial-number scheme, and a published review of the lens’s optical performance; Greenspun’s is the only first-hand account found.

Expand Collapse

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-RF 45mm f/4? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Buying from Yahoo! Auctions outside Japan. It is a domestic marketplace: sellers ship within Japan, and most will not register an overseas buyer. A proxy service bids on your behalf, receives the item and forwards it, for a fee and a wait. Buyee, Jauce and ZenMarket each accept a Yahoo auction number directly. Listed alphabetically for information — none is recommended over another, and none of these is an affiliate link.

Listings updated 2026-11-02. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.

Related: Zenzanon-RF 65mm f/4 · Zenzanon-RF 100mm f/4.5 · Zenzanon-RF 135mm f/4.5

Sources (7)

Every page here is assembled from public sources, and the gaps are real ones. If you own this lens, know a serial number I'm missing, or can see where I have it wrong, tell me — corrections, serials and sample photos are all worth having.