Zoom Zenzanon-S Variogon 75-150mm f/4.5 (SQ)
Zenza Bronica · Bronica SQ · 1982 · Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon, 15 elements in 13 groups
Also known as: Zenzanon-S Variogon 75-150mm f/4.5 · Zoom Zenzanon-S 75-150mm F4.5 · Schneider Variogon 75-150mm f/4.5 Bronica · Bronica SQ 75-150mm f/4.5 · Zenza Bronica Variogon 75-150/4.5 · Bronica Zenzanon S 75-150mm · ズームゼンザノンS バリオゴン 75-150mm F4.5 · ゼンザノンS 75-150mm F4.5 · ブロニカ SQ バリオゴン 75-150mm · シュナイダー バリオゴン 75-150mm ブロニカ
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoom Zenzanon-S Variogon 75-150mm f/4.5 | Bronica SQ | — | — | — |
- Construction (fifteen elements in thirteen groups), 1.8 m closest focus, the 93 mm screw-in filter, the macro mechanism with its 0.25 m working distance and the Schneider-Kreuznach origin are from Japanese Wikipedia, which cites the 1982 edition of the Camera Nenkan, p.223. camera-wiki's SQ table gives the same construction, focus and filter and adds the 152 mm length and 1,800 g weight.
- Years: 1982 is the yearbook in which the lens is recorded, not a launch date; the SQ itself dates from August 1980, and no source consulted says when the Variogon was added or withdrawn. It is absent from Tamron USA's April 1996 SQ price list, so it had left the catalogue by then.
- Minimum aperture, blade count, list price and the place of manufacture are not given by any source consulted. The Variogon name and Schneider-Kreuznach credit are Japanese Wikipedia's; whether the lens was assembled in Germany or in Japan is not stated.
- Schneider supplied the same pairing to the 6×4.5 ETR as the Zoom Zenzanon-E Variogon 70-140mm f/4.5 and 125-250mm f/5.6; those are different lenses in a different mount.
How to tell them apart
- Variogon and Schneider-Kreuznach on the ring beside the Zenzanon-S name; no other SQ lens carries a German maker's name
- 93 mm filter thread, shared only with the Variogon 140-280; the PS 50-100 takes 95 mm and the primes from 50 to 250 mm 67 mm (camera-wiki)
- SQ bayonet with the lens-mounted leaf shutter; the Zoom Zenzanon-E Variogon 70-140mm f/4.5 is the ETR counterpart and does not fit
Zoom Zenzanon-S Variogon 75-150mm f/4.5:
- Name ring carries both Zenzanon-S and the Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon name; a Schneider lens built for Bronica's SQ mount (Japanese Wikipedia)
- Fifteen elements in thirteen groups, 1.8 m closest focus, 93 mm screw-in filter, and a macro mechanism that takes the working distance down to 0.25 m (Japanese Wikipedia, citing the 1982 Camera Nenkan); 152 mm long and 1,800 g (camera-wiki)
- Seiko #0 electronic leaf shutter in the lens and the four-claw SQ bayonet; the Bronica-designed PS 50-100 Aspherical that came much later has a 95 mm front and is 50 mm shorter
- Zoom Zenzanon-S Variogon 75-150mm f/4.5: One of two Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon zooms sold under the Zenzanon-S name for the SQ in its early years, the shorter one covering the normal-to-portrait range. It is in the 1982 Camera Nenkan; neither its first nor its last year is documented, and it is absent from Tamron USA's April 1996 price list.
Specifications
- Formula
- Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon, 15 elements in 13 groups
- Construction
- 15 elements / 13 groups
- Aperture range
- f/4.5
- Shutter
- Seiko #0 electronic leaf shutter in the lens, speeds set by the body; mechanical 1/500 without battery power
- Min. focus
- 1.8 m
- Dimensions
- 152 mm long
- Weight
- 1800 g
- Filter
- 93 mm
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 Zoom Zenzanon-S Variogon 75-150mm f/4.5 is a Schneider-Kreuznach zoom built for Bronica’s SQ bayonet and sold under the Zenzanon-S name in the system’s early years. The 1982 Camera Nenkan, as reported by Japanese Wikipedia, gives fifteen elements in thirteen groups, a constant f/4.5, a closest focus of 1.8 m with a macro mechanism that brings the working distance down to 0.25 m, and a 93 mm screw-in filter; camera-wiki adds 152 mm of length and 1,800 g. On 6×6 the range runs from a slightly long normal to a portrait telephoto, about 41 to 82mm on 35mm film. Like every SQ lens it carries a Seiko #0 leaf shutter timed by the body, with a mechanical 1/500 when the battery is flat.
Schneider’s Variogons were the zooms of several leaf-shutter medium-format systems of the period, and Bronica bought them for both of its lines: this lens and the 140-280mm f/5.6 for the SQ, and the 70-140 and 125-250 for the 6×4.5 ETR. The arrangement belongs to the Zenzanon-S era; no PS version followed, and the only zoom Bronica later designed itself for the SQ was the 50-100mm f/4-5.6 Aspherical of the system’s final years. Neither the Variogon’s first nor its last year is documented. It is in the 1982 yearbook and absent from Tamron USA’s April 1996 price list.
No published review was found in English or Japanese, and the lens is rare on the used market. At 1,800 g it is heavier than any SQ prime except the PS 500, and the two-touch zoom and macro mechanism give a buyer more to check than on a prime: the shutter at every speed and at the mechanical 1/500, both rings and the macro engagement for stiffness, and fifteen elements for haze and separation. The 93 mm filter is shared only with the 140-280.
Open points: the launch and withdrawal years, the minimum aperture and blade count, a list price in any currency, and where the lens was assembled.
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 Zoom Zenzanon-S Variogon 75-150mm f/4.5 (SQ)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
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