Zenzanon-PS 250mm f/5.6 (SQ)
Zenza Bronica · Bronica SQ · 1996
Also known as: Zenzanon-PS 250mm f/5.6 · Zenzanon PS 250mm F5.6 · Bronica SQ 250mm f/5.6 PS · Zenza Bronica Zenzanon-PS 250/5.6 · Bronica Zenzanon PS 250mm · ゼンザノンPS 250mm F5.6 · ゼンザブロニカ ゼンザノン PS 250mm F5.6 · ブロニカ SQ PS 250mm F5.6
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zenzanon-PS 250mm f/5.6 | Bronica SQ | 1996–2003 | — | — |
- Construction (seven elements in five groups), f/5.6–45, 3 m closest focus, 67 mm filter, 150.2 mm length and 1,010 g are from Tamron USA's product page for the lens as archived in June 2004. Japanese Wikipedia, citing プロフェッショナル中判カメラ p.113 and クラシックカメラ専科No.57, and camera-wiki's SQ table give the same construction, focus distance and filter; camera-wiki also gives the same length and weight.
- Years: 1996 is the earliest dated document found (Tamron USA's SQ price list of April 1996), not a launch date; no source consulted says when the PS 250 replaced the S 250. The 2003 end is the end of SQ-Ai production (September 2003, camera-wiki); Tamron USA still listed the lens in 2004.
- Prices: $2,387 is Tamron USA's April 1996 list price and $2,704 the 2004 list price, both US distributor figures; no Japanese yen list price was found.
- The blade count is not given by any source consulted.
- The earlier Zenzanon-S 250mm f/5.6 (five elements in five groups, 129 mm, 870 g) is a different optical formula and has its own page.
How to tell them apart
- ZENZANON-PS on the name ring; the S version of the same focal length is 129 mm long and 870 g against 150 mm and 1,010 g here (camera-wiki)
- 67 mm filter thread, the common SQ size, on a barrel longer than any other SQ prime except the two 500s
- SQ bayonet with the lens-mounted leaf shutter; the 250mm f/5.6 lenses marked PE or E are for the 6×4.5 ETR, and the Zenzanon-PG 250mm f/5.6 is the 6×7 GS-1 lens
Zenzanon-PS 250mm f/5.6:
- Name ring reads ZENZANON-PS 1:5.6 f=250mm; the PS suffix is the only generation this page covers
- Seven elements in five groups, f/5.6–45, 3 m closest focus, 67 mm filter, 150.2 mm long, 1,010 g (Tamron USA's 2004 product page; camera-wiki and Japanese Wikipedia agree on the construction and focus distance)
- Seiko #0 electronic leaf shutter in the lens and the four-claw SQ bayonet; fits every SQ body from the 1980 SQ to the SQ-B
- Zenzanon-PS 250mm f/5.6: The second-generation 250 of the SQ system, a seven-element recomputation of the five-element Zenzanon-S 250mm f/5.6. The earliest dated document in hand is Tamron USA's April 1996 price list, where it is the only 250mm; its launch year is not recorded in any source consulted. It was still on Tamron USA's 2004 list, after SQ-Ai production ended in September 2003.
Specifications
- Construction
- 7 elements / 5 groups
- Aperture range
- f/5.6–f/45
- Shutter
- Seiko #0 electronic leaf shutter in the lens, speeds set by the body; mechanical 1/500 without battery power
- Min. focus
- 3 m
- Dimensions
- 150.2 mm long
- Weight
- 1010 g
- Filter
- 67 mm
- Years manufactured
- 1996–2003
- Country
- Japan
- Original price
- $2,387 (April 1996 US list); $2,704 (2004 US list) (today $4,770)
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-PS 250mm f/5.6 is the second-generation 250 of the Bronica SQ 6×6 system, a seven-element, five-group recomputation of the five-element Zenzanon-S 250 sold from 1980. Tamron USA’s product page gives f/5.6 to f/45, a closest focus of 3 m, a 67 mm filter, a length of 150.2 mm and a weight of 1,010 g; Japanese Wikipedia and camera-wiki agree on the construction and the distance. The leaf shutter is in the lens, a Seiko #0 timed electronically by the body with a mechanical 1/500 when the battery is dead, and the four-claw SQ bayonet fits every SQ body from the 1980 SQ to the 1996 SQ-B.
When the PS replaced the S is not recorded in any source consulted. Japanese Wikipedia takes the PS construction from the Professional Medium Format Camera book and the Bronica issue of Classic Camera Senka and the S construction from the 1982 yearbook, without a changeover date; the earliest dated document in hand is Tamron USA’s April 1996 price list, where the 250mm is the PS at $2,387, and the lens was still on Tamron’s list in 2004 at $2,704, after SQ-Ai production had ended in September 2003. The years on this page are documented-by dates, not a launch.
No published review of the PS 250 was found in English or Japanese; the search returns dealer copy and listings. On 6×6 the lens frames like a 135 on 35mm film, and at f/5.6 on a waist-level screen it is a lens for a tripod or for daylight. A buyer should check that the shutter fires at every speed on a body and holds 1/500 without power, that the aperture closes to f/45, and that the groups are clear. The S and PS share focal length, aperture, filter and closest focus, so the name ring is the tell in a listing photograph; the PS is 21 mm longer and 140 g heavier.
Open points: the launch year, the blade count, a Japanese list price, and any first-hand account of its rendering.
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-PS 250mm f/5.6 (SQ)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
Live listings
- Zenza Bronica Zenzanon-PS 250mm f/5.6
- 【美品】Zenza Bronica Zenzanon PS 250mm F/5.6 Lens For SQ A Ai ゼンザブロニカ マニュアルフォーカスレンズ #303
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