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Bronica was originally unable to manufacture it's own optics and hired Nikon. The early cameras of Bronica were focal plane SLR cameras such as the Bronica S2, C2, EC, etc. offers a unique optical design.
Jul 02, 2001. At that time, the S2A marking after the serial numbere was dropped. New series S2A cameras without the S2A marking start with body number 150037. Bronica EC The Bronica EC was introduced in March of 1972 and represents a new generation of Bronica design.
Unlike more complicated leaf shutter lens designs, these Bronica lenses do not require built-in shutters or focusing. The lens mount can also attach in three different ways with a large bayonet, small bayonet and a 57mm screw mount with a 1mm pitch. This made it easier for manufacturers to easily produce many different types of lens heads that share the same focusing module. This also made it easy for many companies to manufacture automatic or preset diaphragm modules with built-in focusing to attach to an existing lens head design not originally made for the Bronica. This is also great for making, adapting and hacking your own lens.
Nikon decided not to manufacture lenses for Bronica, so the company decided to produce their own optics under the brand name Zenzanon. This situation led Bronica to have a very low supply of the standard 75mm lens when they were to announce the newer Bronica EC series of cameras. Alternatives were needed and a 80mm f2.8 MC Zenzanon by Carl Zeiss Jena DDR was produced. A variety of different Zenzanon branded focal length lenses were made as the supply of Nikkor's decreased.
Cameras like the ETR, SQ and GS use leaf shutter lenses.
Near Mint!. Used / Serial Number: CZ17161 (Body), 143456 (Lens). There is a trace of repair on the bottom of film case lid as seen on the photo 10. NO scratches, NO haze, NO fungus, or NO separations. The 135mm proved problematic if near impossible to focus accurately, so Bronica release an 100mm F.4.5 and later models of the camera had 100mm framelines instead of the 135mm framelines. To tell the two models apart, the serial number for the 135 frameline model starts with a 0, while the 100mm frameline version starts with a 1. BRONICA RF645 + ZENZANON-RF 65mm F4 Commodity condition A/ beautiful goods Serial Number: Body: 0003304 Lens: 0002949 Shutter speed/Aperture P,A,B,1s-1/500s.
- 1Nikkor
- 3Bronica Zenzanon
- 6Sterling Howard
Nikkor
- 180mm f2.5 Nikkor
- 250mm f4 Nikkor
- 300mm f4.5 Nikkor
- 300mm f5.6 Nikkor
- 350mm f4.5 Nikkor
- 500mm f5.5 Nikkor
- 1000mm f6.3 Nikkor
Auto-Nikkor
- 40mm f4 Auto-Nikkor
- 50mm f2.8 Auto-Nikkor
- 50mm f3.5 Auto-Nikkor
- 7.5cm f2.8 Nikkor-P
- 75mm f2.8 P Auto-Nikkor
- 75mm f2.8 PC Auto-Nikkor
- 75mm f2.8 HC Auto-Nikkor
- 85mm f1.8 Auto-Nikkor
- 105mm f3.5 Auto-Nikkor (with leaf shutter and uses large bayonet mount)
- 135mm f3.5 Auto-Nikkor
- 200mm f4 Auto-Nikkor
Tele-Nikkor
The Tele-Nikkor lens system requires a seprate focus module. It is necessary to remove the Bronica focus helicoid to mount.
- 400mm f4.5 Tele-Nikkor
- 600mm f5.6 Tele-Nikkor
- 800mm f8 Tele-Nikkor
- 1200mm f11 Tele-Nikkor
Sankyo Koki Komura
50mm f3.5 Super-Komura image by joanseda(Image rights) |
- 45mm f4.5 Komura
- 50mm f3.5 Komura
- 100mm f2.8 Komura
- 135mm f2.8 Komura (focus mod I)
- 135mm f3.5 Komura
- 150mm f3.5 Komura
- 200mm f3.5 Komura (focus mod I)
- 300mm f5 Komura (focus mod II)
- 400mm f6.3 Komura (focus mod II)
- 500mm f8 Komura (focus mod II)
- 2x Telemore converter
Bronica Zenzanon
Zenzanon MC 80mm f2.8 Carl Zeiss Jena image by theo35mm(Image rights) |
- 40mm f4 Auto-Zenzanon
- 50mm f2.8 Auto-Zenzanon
- 75mm f2.8 MC Auto-Zenzanon
- 80mm f2.4 Auto-Zenzanon
- 80mm f2.8 MC Zenzanon by Carl Zeiss Jena DDR
- 100mm f2.8 Auto-Zenzanon
- 150mm f3.5 Auto-Zenzanon
- 200mm f3.5 Auto-Zenzanon
- 200mm f4 Auto-Zenzanon
- 300mm f4.5 Auto-Zenzanon (uses large bayonet mount)
ETR 6x4.5
Google photos app for mac download. The original lenses are MC, EII are revised versions, and PE are the final version with 1/2 aperture stops.
- 30mm f3.5 PE fisheye
- 35mm f3.5 PS fisheye
- 40mm f4 MC
- 40mm f4 PE
- 50mm f2.8 MC
- 50mm f2.8 PE
- 55mm f4.5 PE Super Angulon Tilt shift
- 60mm f2.8 PE
- 75mm f2.8 MC
- 75mm f2.8 EII
- 75mm f2.8 EII (late)
- 75mm f2.8 PE
- 100mm f4 Macro PE
- 105mm f3.5 MC
- 105mm f4.5 Macro
- 135mm f4 PE
- 150mm f3.5 MC
- 150mm f4 MC
- 180mm f4.5 MC
- 180mm f4.5 PE
- 200mm f4.5 MC
- 200mm f4.5 PE
- 250mm f5.6 MC
- 250mm f5.6 PE
- 500mm f8 EII
- 500mm f8 PE
- 45-90mm f4.5-9.6 PE
- 100-220mm f4.8 PE
GS-1
- 50mm f4.5 PG
- 65mm f4 PG
- 80mm f3.5 PG
- 100mm f3.5 PG
- 110mm f4 Macro PG
- 150mm f4 PG
- 200mm f4.5 PG
- 250mm f5.6 PG
- 500mm f8 PG
RF645
- 45mm f4
- 65mm f5
- 100mm f4.5
- 135mm f4.5
SQ 6x6
S series
- 40mm f4 S
- 50mm f3.5 S
- 80mm f2.8 S
- 105mm f3.5 S
- 150mm f3.5 S
- 180mm f4.5 S
- 200mm f4.5 S
- 250mm f5.6 S
- 500mm f8 S
PS series
- 35mm f3.5 PS fisheye
- 40mm f4 PS
- 50mm f3.5 PS
- 65mm f4 PS
- 80mm f2.8 PS
- 110mm f4 Macro PS
- 135mm f4 PS
- 150mm f4 PS
- 180mm f4.5 PS
- 200mm f4.5 PS
- 250mm f5.6 PS
Fujita Kōgaku Kōgyō
Kaligar https://acinlisu1976.mystrikingly.com/blog/free-studio-software.
- 52mm f3.5 Kaligar
- 150mm f4 Kaligar
- 240mm f4 Kaligar auto
- 240mm f4 Kaligar
Astro-Berlin
- 125mm f2.3 Astro-Tachar
- 150mm f1.8 Astro-Tachar
- 150mm f2.3 Astro-Tachar
- 200mm f3.5 Astro-Telastan
- 500mm f5 Astro-Fern
- 640mm f5 Astro-Fern
- 800mm f5 Astro-Fern
- 1000mm f6.3 Astro-Fern
- 2000mm f10 Astro-Telestan
Sterling Howard
Astragon
- 500mm f5 Astragon (manual diaphragm)
- 600mm f5 Astragon (manual diaphragm)
- 800mm f5 Astragon (manual diaphragm)
- 1000mm f6.3 Astragon (manual diaphragm)
Sun
- 135-300mm Dionar zoom f/4.5
Kilfitt / Zoomar
- 90mm f2.8 Zoomar Macro Kilar (1:1 macro)
- 300mm f4 Pan Tele Kilar
- 500mm f5.6 Zoomar Reflektar
- 600mm f5.6 Kilfitt Sport-Fern Kilar
- 1000mm f8 Zoomar Reflektar
Meyer-Optik
- 180mm f3.5 Primotar
- 300mm f5.5 Meyer Tele-Megor
At around 1960, a man the Americans called 'Mr. Zenza' came to the USA and had lunch with Burt Keppler, the former well-known publisher of Modern Photography and Popular Photography magazines in the United States and one of the most respected and influential figures in the history of the camera industry. Keppler, who passed away in 2008, was a driving force behind the success of the Japanese camera industry. Mr. Zenza was in America to sell his camera, the Zenza Bronica. It was to become a widely used camera family, not least by recording millions of weddings shot on medium format film.
Rewind.
Zenzaburo Yoshino was born in 1911 as the third son of a prosperous rice dealer, which even at that time had over 150 employees. Yoshino initially continued his family's rice business. However, in the aftermath of WW II and the resulting US occupational forces' rice rationing and control over rice distribution he was keen to expand and diversify the business into new areas. Why he got interested in cameras is not clear, but he was known to enjoy a stroll over Ginza and looking at the various camera stores there. Being from a wealthy family he was certainly in a position to afford the expensive hobby of photography. Yoshino began to be known as a real camera mania, an obsessive photo enthusiast. He admired Victor Hasselblad, the Swedish inventor and photographer, known for developing the modular Hasselblad 6×6 cm medium format camera.
In 1946, Yoshino opened a used camera store called 新光堂写真機店 — Shinkoudou Shashinki-ten in Kanda-Tachō (神田多町), the ward of Chiyoda in Tokyo. Despite the hard times of the post-war era, many still affluent Japanese would sell off their cameras to buy the latest models. The shop was a viable business and prospering. Nonetheless Yoshino grew tired of simply buying and selling cameras. Thus behind the shop's premises the 新光堂製作所 — Shinkoudou Manufacturing workshop was established in 1947, with the primary intention to design and manufacture cameras. They failed to do so, but to improve their skill and workmanship the workshop started producing delicate fashion accessories made of metal, such as metal cigarette cases, brooches, lighters and women's compacts (portable beauty accessory with powder and mirror). In 1952 Yoshino wanted to try building a camera once more but realised that a better workshop was needed.
The actual birthplace of Bronica was an old Japanese-style building in Kami-Itabashi in Itabashi ward in northern Tokyo, a district known for its numerous small manufacturing operations. Zenzaburo Yoshino was a child of the Meiji era and was content with a modest and simple factory. It even served as a home for the Yoshino family, including their two children aged two at the time and a maid, on the first floor and the machinery, reception and delivery areas on the ground floor. The division of the house was not too dissimilar from his earlier experience of running the rice store.
The accessory business blossomed and a large proportion of the company's income was re-invested into the development of a camera. Yoshino was not a trained camera designer, but he had a dream and two common Japanese personality traits: persistency and tenacity. It took eight years to finalise the design and build the camera, which he named Zenza Bronica – the name being partly derived from his name Zenzaburo and the Japanese term for 120 medium format sized film, buroni (Brownie).
Bronica Lens Serial Numbers Production Date
Originally that first camera that went on sale in 1959 was simply called Zenza Bronica and later renamed Zenza Bronica type D (Deluxe) and the follow on model type S (Standard). The Bronica D was the Japanese answer to the Hasselblad and in several ways outclassed the Swedish offerings.
It was a 6×6cm single-lens reflex camera similar to Hasselblad in design style and size, but this camera had various advantages over the original Hasselblad 1600F and 1000F with focal plane shutters:
- the reflex mirror and aperture are returned to the original position after exposure
- to allow intruding retro-focus lenses, the reflex mirror is not just flipped up but sliding down
- very long exposures up to 10 seconds using self-timer
- inserting a dark slide automatically detaches the back preventing accidental exposure
- the film can be loaded fully automatically just as with the Rolleiflex without aligning the start mark
However, the Bronica D was not just a technical feat, it also was a very pleasing object to handle and showing Yoshino's workshop's experience in manufacturing fashion accessories. The chrome (actual stainless steel) elements and subtly curved lines gave it a delicate and precious appearance, not simply a metal box with a lens in front, despite the modular design. More information and pictures on Cameraquest.
The following Bronica Z and successor Bronicas, using large-coverage, high-quality Nikkor lenses, became instant successes. Bronica later introduced lenses of its own manufacture with its later camera designs.
Zenza Bronica Ltd. was eventually acquired by the lens manufacturer Tamron in 1998. Zenzaburo Yoshino died in 1988. As a response to the digital revolution Tamron discontinued the brand's single-lens reflex models (SQ, ETR and GS) in October 2004. Taskbar showing in fullscreen games windows 10. Bronica's last model, the RF645 rangefinder camera, was discontinued in October 2005 and Tamron announced the termination of the Bronica brand and medium format cameras.
Classic Bronica Resources
Bronica Classic Medium Format Cameras pages — the most comprehensive information in English on all things Bronica
Bronica Users Group on Yahoo! Groups
Bronica D, C, S, S2, S2a, EC Group on Flickr
Ia writer 5 2 6 cylinder. Maintainance of Zenza Bronica cameras: The son of Zenzaburo Yoshino established a company named '1st Technical Service'. They have many genuine Bronica parts. Electronical circuits also stocked. No parts for type D and type S. Tel +81-3-5390-2833 (Japan) [Note: not verified whether this still exists]
Bronica Lens Hood
Tamron are still providing parts and service to the more recent Bronica medium format cameras. In case you need help, please take advantage of our Camera Parts & Repair Service.
Related posts and articles on Japan Exposures:
Bronica Etr Lens Chart
- Royal Road is the Way of Bronica Royal Road is the Way of Bronica from Japan Exposures on Vimeo. In 2010 I met up with Tony Hilton,.