Nikkor-Q 13.5cm/135mm f/3.5 (Bronica)
Nippon Kogaku · Bronica S · 1959
Also known as: Nikkor-Q 135mm f/3.5 Bronica · Nikkor-Q 135mm F3.5 · Nikkor-Q 13.5cm F3.5 · Nikkor Q 13.5cm f3.5 Nippon Kogaku Bronica · Nikon Nikkor-Q 135mm f/3.5 for Zenza Bronica S2 EC · Bronica Nikkor 135mm f3.5 · Zenza Bronica Nikkor-Q 135mm · NIKKOR-Q 13.5cm F3.5 ブロニカ · ニッコール Q 135mm F3.5 · ニッコールQ 13.5cm F3.5 ゼンザブロニカ · ブロニカ ニッコール 135mm F3.5
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nikkor-Q 1:3.5 f=13.5cm (Nippon Kogaku) | Bronica S | 1959 | — | — |
| Nikkor-Q 135mm f/3.5 (mm-marked) | Bronica S | — | — | — |
- Construction (Tessar, 3 groups, 4 elements) and the release date of 8 December 1959 with the D: Japanese Wikipedia, which gives no citation for this lens. Monaghan and the English Wikipedia lens table give 4e/3g, 67 mm and 410 g.
- Attachment size: Japanese Wikipedia says φ82 mm screw-in; Monaghan's page and the English Wikipedia table say 67 mm with Series VIII filters also fitting. Two independent English sources against one Japanese, so 67 mm is used; the discrepancy may be an early-barrel difference and is unresolved.
- Minimum focus: 1.6 m on Monaghan's page, 1.2 m (4 ft) in the English Wikipedia table. Monaghan's figure is used; shiura.com says the lens reaches roughly 1:10 on the common helicoid, closer than the 200mm.
- Aperture blades: six, from shiura.com's own lens, the only source to count them; he notes it against the nine of many other Nikkors. Minimum aperture f/32 is the English Wikipedia table's figure.
- End date: Seiden, on Monaghan's page, says the lens disappeared from the catalogues during S2 production (1965–77); no year is given.
How to tell them apart
- Engraved Nikkor-Q 1:3.5 f=13.5cm or f=135mm with the Nippon Kogaku name; the Q denotes four elements
- A long, slim barrel with the four elements clustered at the front (shiura.com); 410 g; 67 mm filter thread; six aperture blades
- Small (inner) bayonet, mounting through the common focusing unit on every focal-plane body from the D to the EC-TL II
- Not the Nikkor-Q 105mm f/3.5 LS, which has a leaf shutter and its own helicoid; not the Nikkor-Q 13.5cm f/3.5 for the Nikon S rangefinder or the Nikkor-Q Auto 135mm f/3.5 for the Nikon F, which share the name but not the mount; not the Komura 135mm f/2.3 for this mount
Nikkor-Q 1:3.5 f=13.5cm (Nippon Kogaku):
- Focal length engraved in centimetres, f=13.5cm, with the Nippon Kogaku name and tick marks on the aperture scale (shiura.com)
Nikkor-Q 135mm f/3.5 (mm-marked):
- Focal length engraved in millimetres
- Nikkor-Q 1:3.5 f=13.5cm (Nippon Kogaku): The launch form, released on 8 December 1959 with the first Bronica and the 5 cm and 7.5 cm Nikkors (Japanese Wikipedia). Japanese Wikipedia gives this lens an 82 mm attachment where Monaghan and English Wikipedia give 67 mm; an early-barrel difference is possible but no example has been found to settle it.
- Nikkor-Q 135mm f/3.5 (mm-marked): The later marking, sharing the square hood with the 7.5 cm Nikkor-P (Seiden, via Monaghan). Seiden says the lens was dropped from the catalogues during S2 production; no multicoated version was made.
Specifications
- Formula
- Tessar, 4 elements in 3 groups, the glass clustered at the front of a long barrel (shiura.com)
- Construction
- 4 elements / 3 groups
- Aperture range
- f/3.5–f/32
- Diaphragm blades
- 6
- Min. focus
- 1.6 m
- Weight
- 410 g
- Filter
- 67 mm, 67 mm screw-in, also taking Series VIII filters (Monaghan, English Wikipedia); Japanese Wikipedia gives φ82 mm instead
- Years manufactured
- 1959
- Country
- Japan
- Coating
- Single-coated, thinly (shiura.com)
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 Nikkor-Q 13.5cm f/3.5 was the long lens of the original Bronica outfit, released with the 5 cm Nikkor-H and the 7.5 cm Nikkor-P on 8 December 1959, the day the Zenza Bronica went on sale in Japan. It is a plain four-element Tessar with the glass clustered at the front of a long, slim barrel, 410 g, giving a 32° view that corresponds to about an 85 mm lens on 35 mm film. It mounts on the small bayonet through the common focusing unit, so it fits every focal-plane body from the D to the EC-TL II, and on that helicoid it reaches roughly 1:10 at closest focus, which shiura.com finds more practical than the 200mm’s reach. Early lenses are engraved Nippon Kogaku with the focal length in centimetres and tick marks on the aperture scale; later ones read 135mm. It shares the square hood with the 7.5 cm, and Seiden, on Monaghan’s page, says it was dropped from the catalogues during S2 production, leaving the 100 and 150 mm Zenzanons and the Komuras to cover the short telephoto range. No multicoated version was made.
The sources disagree on two of its numbers. Japanese Wikipedia gives an 82 mm attachment, where Monaghan and the English Wikipedia table give 67 mm with Series VIII filters also fitting; an early-barrel difference is possible, but no example has been found to settle it, and 67 mm is used here. Minimum focus is 1.6 m on Monaghan’s page and 1.2 m in the English Wikipedia table. shiura.com, whose own lens is the oldest in his collection, counts six aperture blades, fewer than the nine of many Nikkors, which he holds against it, and notes that the coating is thin but that with so few surfaces it matters little if the hood is used.
Opinion on the lens is divided. shiura.com finds it well balanced and competent, without the distinctive character of a fast 85 mm on 35 mm film; on Photrio one owner calls the Bronica 135 very sharp and contrasty while two others remember it as the one weak lens of the set. No dedicated review has been found.
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 Nikkor-Q 13.5cm/135mm f/3.5 (Bronica)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
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