Zenzanon-PS 500mm f/8 (SQ)
Zenza Bronica · Bronica SQ · 1996
Also known as: Zenzanon-PS 500mm f/8 · Zenzanon PS 500mm F8 · Bronica SQ 500mm f/8 PS · Zenza Bronica Zenzanon-PS 500/8 · Bronica Zenzanon PS 500mm · ゼンザノンPS 500mm F8 · ゼンザブロニカ ゼンザノン PS 500mm F8 · ブロニカ SQ PS 500mm F8
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zenzanon-PS 500mm f/8 | Bronica SQ | 1996–2003 | — | — |
- Construction (eleven elements in ten groups), the two low-dispersion elements, the floating mechanism, f/8–64, 8 m closest focus, 122 mm filter, 307.5 mm length and 3,760 g are from Tamron USA's product page as archived in June 2004, which presents the PS and S 500 side by side. camera-wiki's SQ table gives the same figures; Japanese Wikipedia gives the same construction and filter, 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 pp.20-37.
- Closest focus is disputed. Tamron USA's page and camera-wiki give 8 m, and Japanese Wikipedia reports 8.0 m from クラシックカメラ専科 but 8.5 m from プロフェッショナル中判カメラ. The maker's distributor page is the stronger evidence, and 8.5 m is also the S 500's figure, which suggests a transposition. The table shows 8 m.
- Glass type: Tamron USA's copy calls the two special elements fluorite; the Japanese sources consulted do not mention low-dispersion glass for this lens at all. The page records them as low-dispersion elements and leaves the material open.
- Years: 1996 is the earliest dated document found (Tamron USA's SQ price list of April 1996), not a launch date. The 2003 end is the end of SQ-Ai production (September 2003, camera-wiki); Tamron USA still listed the lens in 2004.
- Prices: $13,847 is Tamron USA's April 1996 list price, quoted with the aluminium case, and $15,688 the 2004 list price; both are US distributor figures. No Japanese yen list price was found.
- The Zenzanon-PG 500mm f/8 for the GS-1 has the same eleven-in-ten construction, 122 mm filter and 3,760 g weight. Whether the two share an optical design is not stated by any source; the match is in the published figures only.
- The blade count is not given by any source consulted.
How to tell them apart
- ZENZANON-PS on the name ring and a 122 mm front thread; the S 500 that sold beside it takes 95 mm filters, is 255 mm long and weighs 1,890 g against 307.5 mm and 3,760 g here (Tamron USA, camera-wiki)
- The heaviest SQ lens by a wide margin, at nearly twice the weight of the Variogon 140-280 zoom
- SQ bayonet with the lens-mounted leaf shutter; the Zenzanon-PG 500mm f/8 for the 6×7 GS-1 matches it figure for figure but has the GS bayonet, and the PE 500mm f/8 is the 6×4.5 ETR lens
Zenzanon-PS 500mm f/8:
- Name ring reads ZENZANON-PS 1:8 f=500mm; the PS suffix is the only lens this page covers
- Eleven elements in ten groups with two low-dispersion elements and a floating mechanism, f/8–64, 8 m closest focus, 122 mm filter, 307.5 mm long, 3,760 g (Tamron USA's 2004 page; camera-wiki agrees on every figure, Japanese Wikipedia on the construction and filter)
- Supplied with an aluminium case (Tamron USA's 1996 price list); the S 500 sold beside it has a 95 mm front and weighs half as much
- Zenzanon-PS 500mm f/8: The big SQ telephoto, sold alongside rather than instead of the seven-element Zenzanon-S 500mm f/8: Tamron USA listed both in April 1996 and in 2004, the PS at $13,847 with its case and $15,688 against $3,732 and $4,229 for the S. Its launch year is not recorded in any source consulted; 1996 is the earliest dated document. Its specification matches the Zenzanon-PG 500mm f/8 of the 6×7 GS-1 figure for figure.
Specifications
- Construction
- 11 elements / 10 groups
- Aperture range
- f/8–f/64
- Shutter
- Seiko #0 electronic leaf shutter in the lens, speeds set by the body; mechanical 1/500 without battery power
- Min. focus
- 8 m
- Dimensions
- 307.5 mm long
- Weight
- 3760 g
- Filter
- 122 mm
- Years manufactured
- 1996–2003
- Country
- Japan
- Original price
- $13,847 with aluminium case (April 1996 US list); $15,688 (2004 US list) (today $27,680)
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 500mm f/8 is the largest and dearest lens of the Bronica SQ 6×6 system: eleven elements in ten groups, two of them low-dispersion glass that Tamron USA’s copy calls fluorite, with a floating mechanism, an aperture range of f/8 to f/64, a 122 mm filter, a length of 307.5 mm and a weight of 3,760 g. Tamron’s page gives 8 m as the closest focus, which camera-wiki repeats; Japanese Wikipedia reports 8.0 m from one book and 8.5 m from another, and 8.5 m is also the S 500’s figure. The Seiko #0 leaf shutter is in the lens and timed by the body, with a mechanical 1/500 when the battery is dead, and the four-claw SQ bayonet fits every SQ body.
It did not replace the seven-element Zenzanon-S 500mm f/8 but sold beside it. Tamron USA’s April 1996 price list carries both, the PS at $13,847 with its aluminium case and the S at $3,732 without one, and the 2004 list still has both at $15,688 and $4,229, after SQ-Ai production had ended in September 2003. No source consulted dates the PS 500’s launch; 1996 is the earliest document in hand, so the years on this page are documented-by dates. The Zenzanon-PG 500mm f/8 of the 6×7 GS-1 matches it figure for figure in construction, filter size and weight, though no source says the two share a design.
No published review of the PS 500 was found in English or Japanese, which is unsurprising for a lens that cost as much as several SQ bodies. On 6×6 it frames like a 270 on 35mm film, at f/8 on a waist-level screen, with a closest focus of 8 m: a tripod lens for distant subjects. A buyer should check the lens shutter at every speed and at the mechanical 1/500, the aperture through f/64, the floating group for smooth travel, and the large front and rear elements for haze and separation; the case was part of the supply and is often missing.
Open points: the launch year, the blade count, the glass actually used in the two special elements, a Japanese list price, and which closest-focus figure is right.
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 500mm f/8 (SQ)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
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