Zenzanon MC 75mm f/2.8
Zenza Bronica · Bronica S · 1975 · 5 elements in 4 groups (Xenotar-type layout)
Also known as: Zenzanon MC 75mm f/2.8 · Zenzanon MC 75mm F2.8 · Zenza Bronica Zenzanon MC 75mm F2.8 S2 · Bronica Zenzanon 75mm f2.8 EC-TL · Zenzanon MC 1:2.8 f=75mm · ゼンザノン MC 75mm F2.8 · ゼンザブロニカ ゼンザノン 75mm F2.8 S2 · ZENZANON MC 75mm F2.8 EC-TL
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zenzanon MC 1:2.8 f=75mm, small bayonet | Bronica S | 1975–1976 | — | — |
- Construction: 4 groups/5 elements per Japanese Wikipedia; English Wikipedia's table gives 5e/4g, f/2.8–22, 0.60 m, 67 mm and 210 g; Sam Seiden's list as reproduced by Robert Monaghan gives 5e/4g and the MC marking. shiura.com gives no construction or weight for this lens.
- Maker: Tokyo Kogaku (Topcon). Japanese Wikipedia states it as OEM fact ('東京光学（現トプコン）のOEM'); shiura.com says it is said to be Topcon-made, and English Wikipedia hedges to 'Possibly manufactured by Tokyo Optical (Topcon)'. The lens carries the Zenza Bronica name only.
- Price: ¥39,500 is the EC-TL catalogue price reproduced by shiura.com, which lists the 75mm f/2.8 at that figure beside the 80mm f/2.4 and 100mm f/2.8 at ¥43,000 each; the catalogue's date is not given beyond the EC-TL period, c.1975–77.
How to tell them apart
- Engraved ZENZANON MC 1:2.8 f=75mm with no shutter and an open rear carrying the small bayonet and 57 mm thread; the Zenzanon MC and Zenzanon-E 75mm f/2.8 for the Bronica ETR carry the same name and aperture but have a Seiko leaf shutter and the ETR bayonet, and are far commoner
- Sits among four Bronica standard lenses with the Nikkor-P 75mm f/2.8, the Nikkor-H·C 75mm f/2.8 and, from 1978, the Zenzanon MC 80mm f/2.8 by Carl Zeiss Jena; the Zenzanon 75 is the one with the MC marking and no maker's name on it
- Fits the Z/D, S, C, C2, S2, S2A, EC, EC-TL and EC-TL II through the body's focusing mount
Zenzanon MC 1:2.8 f=75mm, small bayonet:
- Nameplate reads ZENZANON MC 1:2.8 f=75mm; small (inner) bayonet with the 57 mm thread inside it, no helicoid and no shutter
- At about 210 g the lightest of the Bronica standard lenses, against 320–330 g for the Norita-built Zenzanons (English Wikipedia; shiura.com)
- Zenzanon MC 1:2.8 f=75mm, small bayonet: The only version. Listed in the EC-TL catalogue at ¥39,500 and, by shiura.com's account, sold for only about one year, so very few survive ('これらは１年間しか販売されなかっただけに 大変数が少ないようです'). The end year is not stated by any source; the 1976 shown here is the latest year that fits that account rather than a documented date.
Specifications
- Formula
- 5 elements in 4 groups (Xenotar-type layout)
- Construction
- 5 elements / 4 groups
- Aperture range
- f/2.8–f/22
- Min. focus
- 0.6 m
- Weight
- 210 g
- Filter
- 67 mm
- Years manufactured
- 1975–1976
- Country
- Japan
- Coating
- Multicoated (MC on the nameplate)
- Original price
- ¥39,500 (EC-TL catalogue, c.1975) (today ¥81,000)
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 Zenzanon MC 75mm f/2.8 was Zenza Bronica’s own-brand standard lens of the EC-TL period, sold beside the Nikkor-P 75mm f/2.8 that had been the camera’s normal lens since 1959. It is a five-element, four-group design, the Xenotar-type layout, made for Bronica by Tokyo Kogaku, the Topcon company: Japanese Wikipedia states the OEM relationship plainly, while shiura.com reports it as what is said and English Wikipedia as a possibility. Nothing on the lens itself names the maker; the plate reads only ZENZANON MC 1:2.8 f=75mm.
The EC-TL catalogue priced it at ¥39,500, cheaper than the ¥43,000 asked for the 80mm f/2.4 and the 100mm f/2.8, and it was the lightest of the standard lenses at about 210 g, focusing to 0.6 m through the body’s mount and stopping down to f/22, with the usual 67 mm filters. Shiura’s account is that it and the 80mm f/2.4 were sold for only about a year, which is why so few turn up. Why it was dropped is not recorded; from 1978 the Nikkor shortage was met instead with the Carl Zeiss Jena-built Zenzanon MC 80mm f/2.8.
No review of the lens has been found. It fits every focal-plane Bronica from the Z/D to the EC-TL II. Buyers should not confuse it with the Zenzanon MC and Zenzanon-E 75mm f/2.8 of the Bronica ETR, far commoner leaf-shutter lenses that share the name and aperture but not the mount.
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 MC 75mm f/2.8? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
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