Komura 135mm f/2.3 (Bronica)
Sankyo Koki · Bronica S · 1965
single source, unconfirmedAlso known as: Komura 135mm f/2.3 Bronica · Komura 135mm F2.3 for Bronica · Sankyo Koki Komura 135mm f/2.3 · Sankyo Kohki Komura 135mm F2.3 Bronica · KOMURA 135mm F2.3 For BRONICA · Komura 2.3/135 Zenza Bronica S2A · Komura 135mm f2.3 Uni Helical Focusing Unit · コムラー 135mm F2.3 ブロニカ · 三協光機 コムラー 135mm F2.3
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Komura 135mm f/2.3 preset head in Komura Uni Helical Focusing Unit I | Bronica S (57 mm thread of the focusing helicoid, via Komura focusing unit) | — | — | — |
- Filter size, overall length, coating, the preset diaphragm and the focusing unit are from one owner's e-mail (Larry Life, September 1999) printed on Monaghan's page; Japanese Wikipedia and Hiura list the lens by name only. No element count, weight, minimum focus or minimum aperture has been published.
- Date: no source dates this lens. Seiden's 1965–66 history of the Komura line, on the same page, lists a '135mm f3.5 Komura' and no f/2.3; the year given here is the line's. Which 135 mm Komura or Komuras were actually sold for the Bronica is unresolved: camera-wiki lists a '135mm f2.8 Komura (focus mod I)' and a '135mm f3.5 Komura', Monaghan's consolidated list carries all three apertures, and Japanese Wikipedia and Hiura know only the f/2.3. Camera-wiki's 'focus mod I' on the 135mm f/2.8 and the 200mm f/3.5 matches the Focusing Unit I with its 135 and 200 scales that Life describes on the f/2.3, so the f/2.8 entry may be this lens misread; the f/3.5 may be a separate preset lens or a confusion with the Komura 135mm f/3.5 for 35 mm cameras. Neither is confirmed.
- Fit: Life says the focusing unit uses the same thread mount as the Bronica lenses, which is the 57 mm × 1 mm thread inside the small bayonet of the focusing helicoid, and that the rear element will not pass the automatic-diaphragm lever; what that means in practice (whether the lever must be held back, or the unit mounts with the camera's helicoid removed) is not spelled out.
How to tell them apart
- A Komura 135 mm engraved 1:2.3, a speed no other Bronica lens of the length has; Bronica's own 135 mm is the Nikkor-Q 135mm f/3.5
- Preset diaphragm head in a separate Komura Uni Helical Focusing Unit I whose ring carries both a 2.3/135 and a 3.5/200 scale; 72 mm filter; about 50 mm rear element; supplied with a Komura hood (Larry Life on Monaghan's page)
- Not the Komura 135mm f/2.3 sold in 35 mm SLR mounts under the same name: the Bronica lens must be read from its focusing unit and the Bronica thread, not from the engraving
Komura 135mm f/2.3 preset head in Komura Uni Helical Focusing Unit I:
- A preset diaphragm, not the automatic diaphragm of the other Komuras from 45 to 200 mm; the head sits in a 'Komura Uni Helical Focusing Unit I' whose focusing ring carries two scales, 2.3/135 and 3.5/200, so the unit also served the Komura 200mm f/3.5 head (Larry Life on Monaghan's page)
- The focusing unit attaches by the same thread as the Bronica's own lenses, but the rear element, about 50 mm across, is too large to pass the camera's automatic-diaphragm lever (Larry Life)
- 72 mm filter ring, 92 mm long out of the mount, coated, and supplied with a Komura hood (Larry Life)
- Komura 135mm f/2.3 preset head in Komura Uni Helical Focusing Unit I: The only version described. Larry Life's report of September 1999, printed on Monaghan's page, is the one first-hand description: a preset lens head in a Komura Uni Helical Focusing Unit I with a dual 135/200 distance scale, 72 mm filter and 50 mm rear element. Phil Minell had earlier added his 135mm f/2.3 to the same list. Undated; no price found.
Specifications
- Aperture range
- f/2.3
- Filter
- 72 mm
- Country
- Japan
- Coating
- Coated (an owner's description; type unrecorded)
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 Komura 135mm f/2.3 is the fastest 135 mm lens recorded for the focal-plane Bronica, more than a stop ahead of Bronica’s own Nikkor-Q 135mm f/3.5, and it is known almost entirely from one owner’s description. Larry Life, writing to Robert Monaghan’s Bronica page in September 1999 after buying one, insisted that “the 2.3 aperture is not a typo”: the lens is a preset head mounted in a “Komura Uni Helical Focusing Unit I” whose focusing ring carries two scales, 2.3/135 and 3.5/200, so the same unit served Komura’s 200mm f/3.5 head as well. The unit attaches by the same thread as the Bronica’s own lenses, but the rear element, about 50 mm across, is too large to pass the camera’s automatic-diaphragm lever. The lens has a 72 mm filter ring, measures 92 mm out of its mount, is coated and came with a Komura hood. Phil Minell had earlier added a 135mm f/2.3 to the same list. Japanese Wikipedia and Shinsaku Hiura’s Bronica lens page both list the lens by name and give no figures.
That construction sets it apart from the Komuras of 45 to 200 mm with automatic diaphragms, which are bayonet heads for the camera’s own helicoid. It belongs instead with Komura’s long lenses for the Bronica, the 300, 400 and 500 mm heads sold in Unihelicoid focusing units, and the thread it uses is the 57 mm × 1 mm screw inside the small bayonet of the removable focusing unit of the C and later bodies. How it clears the diaphragm lever in practice, Life does not say.
Which 135 mm Komuras existed for the Bronica is not settled. Seiden’s history of 1965–66 lists a 135mm f/3.5, camera-wiki lists a 135mm f/2.8 “focus mod I” and a 135mm f/3.5, Monaghan’s consolidated list carries all three, and the Japanese sources know only the f/2.3. Camera-wiki’s “focus mod I” is attached to exactly the two lenses, 135 and 200 mm, whose scales Life found on his Focusing Unit I, which suggests its f/2.8 is this lens misread; the f/3.5 may be a separate preset lens or a confusion with Komura’s 135mm f/3.5 for 35 mm cameras. No price, date, element count or weight has been published, and no review exists. A buyer should expect a heavy preset lens that needs its own Komura focusing unit, and should check that the unit’s thread and the rear element clear the body in hand.
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 Komura 135mm f/2.3 (Bronica)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
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