Zenzanon MC 80mm f/2.4
Zenza Bronica · Bronica S · 1975 · Double Gauss, 6 elements in 5 groups
Also known as: Zenzanon MC 80mm f/2.4 · Zenzanon MC 80mm F2.4 · Zenza Bronica Zenzanon MC 80mm F2.4 · Bronica Zenzanon 80mm f2.4 S2 · Zenzanon MC 1:2.4 f=80mm · Bronica 80mm f2.4 Zenzanon MC EC-TL · ゼンザノン MC 80mm F2.4 · ゼンザブロニカ ゼンザノン 80mm F2.4 · ZENZANON MC 80mm F2.4 ブロニカ S2
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zenzanon MC 1:2.4 f=80mm, small bayonet | Bronica S | 1975–1976 | — | — |
- Construction: 5 groups/6 elements per Japanese Wikipedia and shiura.com, which calls it a six-element Gauss type; English Wikipedia's table gives 6e/5g, f/2.4–22, 0.70 m, 67 mm and 300 g; shiura.com gives about 300 g.
- Maker, disputed. Japanese Wikipedia states Tomioka Kogaku as OEM fact ('富岡光学のOEM'), and shiura.com reports the same attribution as what is said ('富岡光学（現，京セラオプテック）によるものと言われています'). Against that, shiura.com's author cites the testimony of five people involved at the time ('当時の関係者５名') that it was built by Norita Kogaku like the 40 and the 50, and English Wikipedia gives 'Probably manufactured by Norita Optical'. The shared barrel with the two Norita lenses supports the Norita account; neither is documented from factory records. The lens carries the Zenza Bronica name only.
- Price: ¥43,000 is the EC-TL catalogue price reproduced by shiura.com, the same figure as the 100mm f/2.8 and ¥3,500 above the 75mm f/2.8; the catalogue's date is not given beyond the EC-TL period, c.1975–77.
How to tell them apart
- The fastest lens Bronica ever offered for the system, and the only one marked 1:2.4 (shiura.com); a Bronica 80 reading f/2.8 is either the Carl Zeiss Jena-built Zenzanon or a leaf-shutter SQ lens
- No shutter, an open rear with the small bayonet and 57 mm thread, and a standard-lens-sized barrel with a 67 mm front, about 300 g
- Fits the Z/D, S, C, C2, S2, S2A, EC, EC-TL and EC-TL II through the body's focusing mount
Zenzanon MC 1:2.4 f=80mm, small bayonet:
- Nameplate reads ZENZANON MC 1:2.4 f=80mm; the only f/2.4 lens in the Bronica range, every other Zenzanon standard (75, 80 Zeiss, 100) being f/2.8 (shiura.com)
- Same barrel as the Zenzanon MC 40mm f/4 and 50mm f/2.8, differing only in the engraved scales; with caps on it is hard to tell from the 40 (shiura.com)
- Small (inner) bayonet with the 57 mm thread inside it; no helicoid and no shutter
- Zenzanon MC 1:2.4 f=80mm, small bayonet: The only version. Listed in the EC-TL catalogue at ¥43,000 and, by shiura.com's account, sold for only about one year with the 75mm f/2.8, so few survive. 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
- Double Gauss, 6 elements in 5 groups
- Construction
- 6 elements / 5 groups
- Aperture range
- f/2.4–f/22
- Min. focus
- 0.7 m
- Weight
- 300 g
- Filter
- 67 mm
- Years manufactured
- 1975–1976
- Country
- Japan
- Coating
- Multicoated (MC on the nameplate)
- Original price
- ¥43,000 (EC-TL catalogue, c.1975) (today ¥88,000)
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 80mm f/2.4 is the fastest lens Zenza Bronica ever offered for any of its cameras: a six-element, five-group double Gauss of about 300 g, multicoated, with a 67 mm front, focusing through the body’s mount to 0.7 m and stopping down to f/22. It appeared around 1975 with the EC-TL as one of three Zenzanons that share a single barrel, the others being the 40mm f/4 and 50mm f/2.8, and the EC-TL catalogue priced it at ¥43,000, level with the 100mm f/2.8 and above the 75mm f/2.8. Shiura.com reports that its bokeh and flatness of field are often praised, and that it and the 75 were on sale for only about a year, which is why both are now scarce.
Who built it is disputed. Japanese Wikipedia names Tomioka Kogaku, the Yashica-associated lens maker that later became Kyocera Optec, and shiura.com records the same attribution as the received one. But the same author cites five people involved at the time who say it was made by Norita Kogaku, like the 40 and the 50 whose barrel it shares, and English Wikipedia’s table settles on “probably” Norita. Neither account rests on factory records, and the lens itself carries only the Zenza Bronica name. Shiura’s account of why the Norita lenses stopped, rumours of Bronica’s financial trouble ending the relationship, would then apply to the 80 as well.
No review of the lens has been found. It fits every focal-plane Bronica from the Z/D to the EC-TL II. The f/2.4 marking is the surest identification: the Zeiss-built 80 of 1978, the leaf-shutter Zenzanon-S and PS 80s for the SQ, and every other Bronica standard lens are f/2.8.
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 80mm f/2.4? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
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