Zenzanon 150mm f/3.5
Zenza Bronica · Bronica S · 1966
Also known as: Zenzanon 150mm f/3.5 · Zenzanon 150mm F3.5 · Zenzanon MC 150mm F3.5 · Zenza Bronica Zenzanon 150mm F3.5 S2 · Bronica Zenzanon 150mm f3.5 EC-TL · Zenzanon 1:3.5 f=150mm · ゼンザノン 150mm F3.5 · ゼンザノン MC 150mm F3.5 · ゼンザブロニカ ゼンザノン 150mm F3.5 S2 · ZENZANON 150mm F3.5 ブロニカ
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zenzanon 1:3.5 f=150mm, 5 elements in 4 groups (Norita Kogaku) · 5 elements in 4 groups | Bronica S | — | — | — |
| Zenzanon MC 1:3.5 f=150mm, 6 elements in 6 groups · 6 elements in 6 groups | Bronica S | — | — | — |
- Two optically different lenses carried the name Zenzanon 150mm f/3.5. The early one is 5 elements in 4 groups (Japanese Wikipedia; Seiden's list via Monaghan: 5e/4g, 2 m, 550 g; English Wikipedia: 5e/4g, f/3.5–22, 1.98 m, 67 mm, 550 g). The later MC lens is 6 elements in 6 groups (Japanese Wikipedia, citing カメラ・レンズ白書1979 p.380, φ67 mm; Seiden; English Wikipedia's second row). The family's closest focus and weight are the early lens's; no source gives them for the MC lens.
- Maker: Japanese Wikipedia assigns the 4群5枚 lens to Norita Kogaku ('ノリタ光学'); the MC lens has no maker in any source. English Wikipedia's table gives no attribution for either 150 and credits Norita only with the 40 and 50 mm.
- Years: no source dates either lens. Robert Monaghan's history places a Zenzanon 150mm f/3.5 among the lenses available from 1966 on, which is the year shown, without saying which design; the MC lens was current in 1979 (白書). No price has been found for either.
How to tell them apart
- Engraved ZENZANON 1:3.5 f=150mm, with or without MC; no shutter, an open rear with the small bayonet and 57 mm thread, 67 mm filter
- Two optical designs under one name: the plain lens is 5/4 and about 550 g, the MC lens 6/6 with its own hoods (Seiden); the engraving is the only sure external distinction recorded
- The leaf-shutter Zenzanon-S 150mm f/3.5 of the SQ and the Zenzanon MC / E / PE 150mm f/3.5 of the ETR share the name but carry a Seiko shutter and a different bayonet; the Komura 150mm f/3.5 for the focal-plane body carries the Komura name
- Fits the Z/D, S, C, C2, S2, S2A, EC, EC-TL and EC-TL II through the body's focusing mount
Zenzanon 1:3.5 f=150mm, 5 elements in 4 groups (Norita Kogaku):
- Nameplate without MC; 2 m closest focus and about 550 g (Seiden via Monaghan)
Zenzanon MC 1:3.5 f=150mm, 6 elements in 6 groups:
- MC on the nameplate; multicoated, with hoods of its own design (Seiden via Monaghan)
- Zenzanon 1:3.5 f=150mm, 5 elements in 4 groups (Norita Kogaku): The earlier lens, listed by Sam Seiden as 5e/4g, 2 m and 550 g and by Japanese Wikipedia as 4群5枚 with Norita Kogaku as OEM. Seiden records it as superseded by the MC version. No date is given for either; the family year follows Monaghan's history, which lists a Zenzanon 150mm f/3.5 among the lenses available from 1966 on without saying which design.
- Zenzanon MC 1:3.5 f=150mm, 6 elements in 6 groups: The later, recomputed lens: 6群6枚 with a φ67 mm screw-in filter per Japanese Wikipedia, citing the 1979 カメラ・レンズ白書; English Wikipedia's table gives 6e/6g and 67 mm with no weight or closest focus. Its maker is not stated by any source. The closest focus and weight in the table above are the early lens's and may not apply.
Specifications
- Formula
- Two designs under one name: 5 elements in 4 groups (early), then 6 elements in 6 groups (MC)
- Aperture range
- f/3.5–f/22
- Min. focus
- 2 m
- Weight
- 550 g
- Filter
- 67 mm
- Country
- Japan
What reviewers say
No reviews aggregated yet — this family is still in the research queue. Written one? We'd love to index it.
History
Two different lenses were sold as the Zenzanon 150mm f/3.5 for the focal-plane Bronicas, filling the gap between the 100 mm and the Nikkor-P 200 that the Nikkor-Q 135mm f/3.5 had covered in the early years. The first is a five-element, four-group telephoto of about 550 g, focusing to 2 m through the body’s mount, with a 67 mm front; Japanese Wikipedia attributes it to Norita Kogaku, the same maker as the compact 40 and 50 mm Zenzanons of 1975 and the 300mm f/4.5. The second, marked MC, is a multicoated recomputation of six elements in six groups, recorded in the 1979 カメラ・レンズ白書 with the same 67 mm filter; its maker is not stated anywhere, and Sam Seiden notes only that it superseded the first and had hoods of its own design.
Dating is poor. Robert Monaghan’s lens history lists a Zenzanon 150mm f/3.5 among the lenses available from 1966 on, without saying which design, and nothing dates the change to the MC lens beyond its being current in 1979. No price has been found for either, and English Wikipedia’s table, which carries both as separate rows, gives neither a maker. No review of either lens has been found.
Both fit every focal-plane Bronica from the Z/D to the EC-TL II and stop down to f/22. The engraving is the only recorded way to tell them apart from outside: a plate reading ZENZANON 1:3.5 f=150mm without MC is the early 5/4 lens, with MC the later 6/6. Neither should be confused with the 150mm f/3.5 Zenzanons of the ETR and SQ systems, which are leaf-shutter lenses on different bayonets.
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 150mm f/3.5? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
Live listings
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