Whats the lens mount for a Bronica Zenza?

[peter_hoang1]

<p>Whats the lens mount for a Bronica Zenza C, S, S2, S2A, and EC? is it ETR SQ or somehting else. thanks.</p>

[jeff_livacich]

<p>Something else.</p>

[peter_hoang1]

<p>what was it called? Bronica bayonet mount?</p>

[kparratt]

<p>I bought my S2A with the standard 75 Nikkormat, but I am sure the 100 and 40mm lenses added later were Zenza Bronica. (I sold it all 20 years ago)<br /> From which point of view are you asking the question? Do you have either a Bronica camera or that lens?<br /> Can you point to an image? More information with the question will result in quicker answers, and hopefully more helpful than Jeff's useless response.</p>

[peter_hoang1]

<p>I have both the S2a and nikkor 75mm lens. i just wanted to know what the mount of the camera was called.</p>

[kparratt]

<p>Well I would simply refer to it at as "the S2A mount", because Zenza Bronica lenses were made for the other models as well, and as you know are not interchangeable.</p>

 

[Tony-S]

<p>For the GS-1 it's called the "four claw Bronica GS bayonet mount."</p>

[david_henderson]

<p>From what I can read in the Hove guide- which is not well written and so creates some lack of clarity- , the answer for the C/C2/S2/EC/EC-TL is the "dual bayonet". The smaller mount was used for shorter lenses and could be removed to facilitate the use of longer lenses 300mm up. These models could use a rather limited range of Zenzanon Bronica lenses and some Nikkors. This covers the period from 1964 to 1980 when the SQ sereis was introduced with the later "four claw " mount. From that point on, the mount was intended to use with Zenzanon lenses only. <br>

The earlier S that you mention had a different mount - termed a "small bayonet" and was able to be used with lenses from 40-100mm only. </p>

[jeff_livacich]

<p>My original answer was rather smartass, but at that time I couldn't think what the mount was called. I usually call it the original Bronica mount or early Bronica mount; I think David's right though- it's the "dual bayonet". I think that the "small bayonet" of the S was the small part of the dual bayonet, but maybe that's wrong.</p>

[mark_tate]

<p>Dont hear many refering to Bronica mounts realy .more like the model ,if you have an SQ you get an SQ lens etc ,</p>

[jeff_livacich]

<p>That works with the later models.<br>

But with the original mount, which model designation do you use? Unlike the later mounts, the original mount was used on cameras of different designations but same format, like the C series, S series and EC series mentioned by David.<br>

Like the 35mm camera mounts, its designation was separate from the camera models it went on, and persisted through different models.</p>

[a_grigiss]

Hey gangers, quick question as I'm looking for a lens for my new Zenza practice: I'm interested in the following lens type Zenza Bronica Lens ZENZANON 1:2.8 f=75mm [Ori]

 

Would any of you know if this is compatible with a Zenza Bronica SQ (original)?

[a_grigiss]

Hey gangers, quick question as I'm looking for a lens for my new Zenza practice: I'm interested in the following lens type Zenza Bronica Lens ZENZANON 1:2.8 f=75mm [Ori]

 

Would any of you know if this is compatible with a Zenza Bronica SQ (original)?

[ben_hutcherson]

AFAIK, all of the "SQ mount" normal lenses(for lack of a better term) were 80mm, not 75mm. A leaf shuttered 75mm f/2.8(with electronic contacts) as you've pictured would be for an ETR-series camera.

 

The two mounts are quite similar, and the lenses look similar although they are not interchangeable. In fact, when I bought my ETR outfit, the shop had two SQ lenses(50mm and 150mm) sitting next to the case it was in that they thought went with the ETR outfit, and sent them with me. I brought the two lenses back, but they told me to keep them-it suited me fine as I had an SQ-A also at the time.

 

I'm working somewhat from memory, but I think all SQ-series lenses are designated "Zenzanon S" or "Zenzanon PS." A quick look on Ebay shows that ETR lenses are marked "Zenzanon MC", "Zenzanon EII", or "Zenzanon PE."

[mwmcbroom]

I used to own an EC-TL and as I slowly grew my outfit, when looking for lenses, I just looked for ones that were described to fit S2A/EC, usually. Or when I was hunting for them at camera meets, I'd be asking for early Bronica, to fit S2a or EC, etc. I never referred to the mount by name.

 

Now as far as which lens fits your S2a or EC or whatever you have, one easy way to tell is that first -- the lenses for these early cameras don't have focusing helicals. The helical is a separate piece. Later Bronica lenses are of more typical construction -- that is, with integral focusing helicals. And second, the early lenses don't have electrical contacts, whereas all of the later Bronica lenses -- to fit the ETR series, SQ series, or GX, they all have electrical contacts.

[dennisbrown]

I just looked at the owner's manual on Butkus' web site, and there's no mention of a unique lens mount for the S2 camera. The lenses are referred to as "Nikkor Interchangeable Lenses" and "Helicoid Lens Mount". The mount is referred to as a "bayonet". No further nomenclature is mentioned.

 

At the time the S2 was the only camera Bronica made in medium format, and they used Nikkor lenses; so there probably wasn't any need to specify between 6x4.5, 6x6, or 6x7 format cameras.

[orsetto]

Having once owned a Bronica S2A system myself for some years, and known other owners going back decades to when they were still current, I agree with dennisbrown: the original Bronica lens mount has no specific official name separate from the cameras that used it. At the time, Bronica ONLY sold cameras with this one mount, so it was simply referred to as "Bronica". Today, yes: it gets confusing because Bronica has since marketed multiple newer systems with lookalike incompatible electronic lenses.

 

mwmcbroom and ben_hutcherson explained perfectly how most owners/buyers describe the different mounts nowadays. If you have a body from the original focal plane shutter series, make sure the lens you are considering is said to be compatible with S2, S2A, EC, and EC/TL. Most were branded Nikkor or Komura: these two brands are a dead giveaway that the lens is for the old original system (they were discontinued long before the later modern Bronica systems).

 

Some 80mm, 100mm and 150mm lenses for the old system are branded "Zenzanon": in such cases, make sure the seller specifies the mount you need. An easy visual clue is if the lens looks half finished compared to modern lenses: the old S2/EC lenses have no focusing ring, and the back half extends out unprotected, often with visible levers and springs. The rear lens cap for these looked like a small plastic drinking cup, because there was so much hanging off the rear to protect. The overwhelming majority of these lenses still available used today were 200mm and below, all of which fit the above description. Longer focal lengths are far rarer: chances of finding one are slim. If you do, they will look like normal large lenses with focus rings (they used a secondary mount, exposed when the inbuilt focus ring of the camera body is removed). These are collector's items that sellers will be sure to identify as S2/EC mount.

 

None of the older lenses has electronic contacts: another dead giveaway that they are NOT for the later Bronicas. The modern SQ, ETR and GS all employed electronic lenses with leaf shutters in each lens: these will all have contacts on the rear mount, and be branded Zenzanon (never Nikkor or Komura). They tend to look alike, which is annoying because you can easily buy the wrong one if you aren't careful. Fortunately they are easily identified by the name ring, as ben_hutcherson listed in his post above: just match the lens name to your camera body (i.e., an electronic lens marked Zenzanon-S or -PS fits the SQ series ONLY).

Edited May 7, 2019 by orsetto