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

Zenzanon-RF 65mm f/4

Zenza Bronica · Bronica RF · 2000 · Symmetrical Orthometar-type, 6 elements in 4 groups

single source, unconfirmed

Also known as: Zenzanon-RF 65mm f/4 · Zenzanon RF 65mm F4 · ZENZANON-RF 65mm F4 · Bronica RF 65mm f/4 · Bronica RF645 65mm f4 · Bronica Zenzanon-RF 65/4 · Zenza Bronica RF 65mm · ゼンザノンRF 65mm F4 · ゼンザノン RF 65mm F4 · ブロニカ RF645 65mm

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Zenzanon-RF 65mm f/4 (2000–2005) Bronica RF 2000–2005 — —
  1. Construction (4群6枚), 1 m closest focus and the 58 mm screw-in attachment are Japanese Wikipedia's; Tamron Japan's lens table gives F4.0–32, 1.0 m, 58 mm, 43.9 × 76 (length × maximum diameter) and 300 g. Mike Johnston also quotes 300 g.
  2. The seven-blade diaphragm, the 56.1° angle of view and the $587 price are from Tamron USA's archived 2004 product page for the RF65. The symmetrical Orthometar-type description is camera-wiki's.
  3. camera-wiki's lens table prints the 65 as f/5; Tamron's pages, the owner's manual and the lens barrel read f/4, and f/5 is treated as a typo.
  4. Shutter speeds belong to the body's timing: the lens carries the #00 shutter and its motor, the RF645 sets the speed.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • The standard lens of the RF645, roughly a 40 mm equivalent on 35 mm film (Johnston; Camera Legend says 39–40 mm); 58 mm filters and a 43.9 mm barrel, the same housing as the 45 mm
  • Not the Zenzanon-S 65mm f/4 for the Bronica SQ, the Zenzanon-PG 65mm f/4 for the GS-1 or Mamiya's 65mm f/4 for the Mamiya 7: this one is marked RF, has electrical contacts and no mechanical cocking lever, and fits only the RF645
  • The body finder shows its 65 mm bright frame automatically when it is mounted; the lens cap and bayonet hood fit tightly enough that the cap can be trapped under the hood (Greenspun)

Zenzanon-RF 65mm f/4 (2000–2005):

  • 'ZENZANON-RF 65mm F4' and the serial on the front ring; a 58 mm filter thread; the short barrel (43.9 mm long, 76 mm across) that the 45 shares
  • Bronica RF645 bayonet with electrical contacts at the rear and no shutter-cocking lever: the #00 shutter inside is cocked by the lens's own motor after each exposure
  • Aperture ring f/4 to f/32 with half-stop clicks; focusing ring with a 90° throw to 1 m (owner's manual)

Specifications

Formula
Symmetrical Orthometar-type, 6 elements in 4 groups
Construction
6 elements / 4 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
300 g
Filter
58 mm
Years manufactured
2000–2005
Country
Japan
Original price
$587 (2004 Tamron USA list, lens alone); in Japan only within the ¥220,000 (¥231,000 with tax) body set (today $975)

What reviewers say

History

The Zenzanon-RF 65mm f/4 is the lens the Bronica RF645 was sold with: in Japan the camera was priced only as a set with it, ¥220,000 (¥231,000 with tax), and the owner’s manual describes the camera in combination with it. On the upright 41.5 × 56 mm frame it covers 56.1°, which Mike Johnston and Camera Legend put at about a 40 mm equivalent on 35 mm film. Japanese Wikipedia gives six elements in four groups, camera-wiki calls it a symmetrical Orthometar type, and Tamron’s tables give f/4 to f/32, focusing to 1 m through a 90° turn of the ring, a 58 mm filter thread, a barrel 43.9 mm long and 76 mm across, and 300 g. The #00 electronically timed leaf shutter sits inside it with the motor that cocks it after each frame, and the body supplies the speed: B and 1 to 1/500 in manual, 8 s to 1/500 in aperture priority, 8 s to 1/750 in program.

There was only one version, made from the camera’s launch in November 2000 until RF645 production ended in October 2005; Tamron USA listed it alone at $587 in 2004. It is told from the SQ’s Zenzanon-S 65mm f/4 and the GS-1’s Zenzanon-PG 65mm f/4 by the RF marking, the row of electrical contacts and the absence of any cocking lever, and from Mamiya’s 65mm f/4 for the Mamiya 7 by the name on the ring. camera-wiki’s lens table prints it as f/5, which no other source supports.

Its reputation is the system’s. Johnston found it a fine performer with pleasant bokeh and its f/4 maximum the limitation that, with the rest of the slow line-up, kept the camera from selling; Camera Legend finds it sharp and high-resolving, with a background blur subtle enough that the subject stands clear of it; Greenspun’s only complaint was a lens cap that fits so tightly it can be trapped under the bayonet hood. Camera Legend quoted $450–650 for a used copy in early 2022. Because the shutter is in the lens, a copy should be tested on a body: listen for the shutter’s clicks and the motor’s hum after the exposure, and check that the aperture, driven by electromagnets, stops down to what the ring says.

Left open: a yen price for the lens alone, a production figure and any serial-number scheme.

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 65mm f/4? 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.

Related: Zenzanon-PG 65mm f/4 · Zenzanon-RF 100mm f/4.5 · Zenzanon-RF 135mm f/4.5 · Zenzanon-RF 45mm f/4

Sources (9)

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.