Zenzanon-PS 50-100mm f/4-5.6 Aspherical (SQ)
Zenza Bronica · Bronica SQ · 2004
Also known as: Zenzanon-PS 50-100mm f/4-5.6 · Zenzanon PS 50-100mm F4-5.6 Aspherical · Bronica SQ 50-100mm f/4-5.6 · Zenza Bronica Zenzanon-PS 50-100/4-5.6 · Bronica Zenzanon PS 50-100mm · Zenzanon PS 50-100 Aspherical · ゼンザノンPS 50-100mm F4-5.6 · ゼンザブロニカ ゼンザノン PS 50-100mm · ブロニカ SQ 50-100mm F4-5.6
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zenzanon-PS 50-100mm f/4-5.6 Aspherical | Bronica SQ | — | — | — |
- Construction (twelve elements in ten groups), the two large hybrid aspherical elements, f/4-5.6, 1.5 m closest focus, 95 mm filter, 102.5 mm length, 102.2 mm diameter, 1,010 g and the bayonet petal hood are from Tamron USA's product page as archived in June 2004. camera-wiki's SQ table gives the same construction, focus, filter, length and weight. Japanese Wikipedia's Bronica article, which tabulates every other SQ lens, does not list this one.
- Years: 2004 is the date of the only document found, Tamron USA's product page and price, and is not a launch year. The lens is absent from Tamron USA's April 1996 SQ price list, and SQ-Ai production ended in September 2003 (camera-wiki), so the launch falls between those dates, most likely in the system's last years; a Japanese release date was not found.
- Price: $2,865 is Tamron USA's 2004 list price, a US distributor figure; no Japanese yen list price was found.
- Minimum aperture and blade count are not given by any source consulted; f/5.6 is the maximum aperture at 100mm.
- Tamron's copy calls it the first zoom developed for the Bronica 6×6, which is true of Bronica's own design work but passes over the Schneider-built Zoom Zenzanon-S Variogon 75-150mm f/4.5 and 140-280mm f/5.6 sold for the SQ from its early years.
How to tell them apart
- The only SQ zoom with ASPHERICAL on the ring and a 95 mm filter; the two Variogons take 93 mm and are Schneider-Kreuznach lenses
- Short and fat: 102.5 mm long by 102.2 mm across at 1,010 g, with a bayonet petal hood (Tamron USA)
- SQ bayonet with the lens-mounted leaf shutter; the Zenzanon-PE Aspherical 45-90mm f/4-5.6 is the look-alike 6×4.5 ETR zoom and does not fit
Zenzanon-PS 50-100mm f/4-5.6 Aspherical:
- Name ring reads ZENZANON-PS 50-100mm 1:4-5.6 with ASPHERICAL; the only version, and the only PS-series zoom for the SQ
- Twelve elements in ten groups with two large hybrid aspherical elements, 1.5 m closest focus, 95 mm filter, 102.5 mm long by 102.2 mm across, 1,010 g, bayonet petal hood (Tamron USA's 2004 page; camera-wiki agrees on construction, focus, filter, length and weight)
- Seiko #0 electronic leaf shutter in the lens and the four-claw SQ bayonet; the Variogon zooms of the S era are Schneider lenses with 93 mm fronts, 152 and 221 mm long
- Zenzanon-PS 50-100mm f/4-5.6 Aspherical: The last lens added to the SQ system and its only zoom of Bronica's own design. Its launch year is not recorded: it is absent from Tamron USA's April 1996 price list and appears on Tamron's 2004 product pages at $2,865, after SQ-Ai production ended in September 2003, so it dates from the system's final years, about 2000 to 2003.
Specifications
- Construction
- 12 elements / 10 groups
- Aperture range
- f/4
- Shutter
- Seiko #0 electronic leaf shutter in the lens, speeds set by the body; mechanical 1/500 without battery power
- Min. focus
- 1.5 m
- Dimensions
- 102.2 × 102.5 mm
- Weight
- 1010 g
- Filter
- 95 mm
- Country
- Japan
- Original price
- $2,865 (2004 US list) (today $4,760)
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 50-100mm f/4-5.6 Aspherical is the last lens Bronica added to the SQ 6×6 system and the only zoom of its own design for it: twelve elements in ten groups with two large hybrid aspherical elements, a variable f/4 to f/5.6 across a range that on 6×6 corresponds to about 27 to 55mm on 35mm film, a closest focus of 1.5 m, a 95 mm filter, a bayonet petal hood, and a squat barrel 102.5 mm long by 102.2 mm across weighing 1,010 g. The figures are Tamron USA’s; camera-wiki repeats them. The Seiko #0 leaf shutter is in the lens and timed by the body, and the four-claw SQ bayonet fits every SQ body from the 1980 SQ to the SQ-B.
Tamron’s copy calls it the first zoom developed for the Bronica 6×6, which is fair to Bronica’s design office but not to the record: the Schneider-built Zoom Zenzanon-S Variogon 75-150 and 140-280 were sold for the SQ from its early years. When the 50-100 itself arrived is not documented. It is absent from Tamron USA’s April 1996 price list and from Japanese Wikipedia’s otherwise complete SQ lens table, and present on Tamron’s 2004 product pages at $2,865, after SQ-Ai production had ended in September 2003; the launch therefore falls in the system’s final years, around 2000 to 2003, and the 2004 on this page is the date of the one document found, not a birth year. The Zenzanon-PE Aspherical 45-90mm f/4-5.6 is its 6×4.5 counterpart on the ETR.
No published review was found in English or Japanese, and it is a scarce lens on the used market. What can be said follows from the figures: a wide-to-normal zoom with a slow long end, aspherics to hold the wide end’s corners, and a 95 mm front that shares filters with the two 40s and the S 500 but with no other SQ lens. A buyer should check the lens shutter at every speed and at the mechanical 1/500, the zoom and focus rings for stiffness, and the large front element for marks; the petal hood is specific to the lens.
Open points: the launch year and a Japanese list price, the minimum aperture and blade count, 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 50-100mm f/4-5.6 Aspherical (SQ)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
Live listings
The listings collector hasn't run for this family yet — check back soon, or search the marketplaces directly meanwhile.